Excerpt from History of the City of Evansville and Vanderburg County, Indiana, Vol. 1

Of course for quail and rabbits the old square trap made out of hickory splints, fastened together with bark and set with a nubbin of corn on a figure four, was used.

The bear trap was a huge affair - an enormous log, raised up and set so that it could fall only in a certain place, and to get to the bait the bear must step exactly into position. In setting these, the Skill of the hunter was again called into play. The world wagged then just as it does now. Some hunters were very lucky because they used their brains and were not afraid of toil and exposure to all kinds of weather, and their traps were set and watched as they should be. Others were unlucky simply because they liked a big fireplace too well. There were hardy pioneers in those days and some less hardy just as one finds them today in the pioneers of industry.

In every work regarding the settlement of southern Indiana, much space is given to Indian murders and hunting. But it is a fact that after going carefully over all the old stories I cannot find an account of a single Indian atrocity that occurred at or near Evansville. All the old works are full of them, but the nearest crimes of which any record is given were near Vincennes, or Rockport (only one happening there) or along the Wa bash in White County.

But of hunting tales there is a great store. I doubt if there are today in Evansville twenty men who understand how to pick up a Sign or still hunt, for that is the way our ancestors hunted.

It was only after the introduction of the long eared Virginia and North and South Carolina hounds that driving deer began. As I state elsewhere, cur dogs were the only kind known here in the early days. Many of the younger generation, however, love to read old hunting stories and this will reach the eyes of many who will never see a wild deer or wild turkey. Hounding deer and driving deer are synonymous. The hunter goes out with his hounds securely tied until he reaches a well known feeding place or a deer crossing, i. E., a place where they cross little lakes or creeks. The hounds are then released and the hunter stands quietly and listens. When they strike a trail that is fresh, they at once give tongue, i. E., begin to bark and follow it rapidly. The hunter listens till he gets the general direction and then hurries to some favorite crossing spot and waits for the deer to come running past him. All he has to do is to allow for the speed of the deer and kill it, for it usually passes within thirty yards of him.

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