Sure, I know what you're thinking. How interesting can the exploits of a Kentucky Well-Digger be? Well, consider this: Shaw was also, to borrow Sullivan's phrase, a "career alcoholic", and digging wells required him to handle (literally) large quantities of explosives. And hey, he wasn't just a well-digger anyway. He spent a miserable time in the (British) army too, and was also an accomplished, um, basket-maker. In short, a marvellous lost gem. This snippet gives a good sense of the gonzo nature of things:
