The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-17
AN 0LD-TIME TRAPPER.
The Abundance of Game of ALI Kinds About
Indianapolis Less than Forty Years Ago.

Il suppose said George W. Pitts, "that am
about the last man who ever did any trapping
that counted for anything in money here round
about Indianapolis. came to this town from
Centerville, Wayne county, where Governor
Morton came FROM and was born there in the
same year that he was commenced trapping
about this town with my father in 1888, as boy
only fourteen years old, and made business IN
til 1849 of hunting and trapping. I used to take
my traps and float down White river, staying
out until the streams froze up. l knew all the
hollow sycamores along the river, and many
night have slept in them with big fire blaz-
ing out in front. l trapped muskrat, mink,
coon, otter and fox. Coon skins paid the best.
l gave COW and calf to old Josh Hinesley in
1840for a coon dog He was good 'un. Many
time in one night I got enough 'coons with
him to pay for that cow and calf. The skins
were fetching dollar apiece He was the best
dog ever see, and never lied.
II always went alone trapping, as 1 never
cared to give any man chance to get on to my
menhod l made my living trapping. When
was going to school to the old Marion County
Seminary kept up my trapping on Fall creek
and on the river as far as McCartys farm. l
made enough MOI ~ outside Of school hours to
the winter, while going to school, l caught one
night, in Pogue's run, near its mouth, three
otter at one Slide and one about where the Belt
now crosses the run. Along in 45 cleared as
high as $50 week trapping between this town
and Waverly, down the river. The river was
better than Fall creek, because the bottoms
were wider and the settlements couldn't get so
near to the haunts of the animals. think
caught the last otter ever trapped in Marion
county That was in 40 up on Fall creek, about
rp,la nf fair I no
skin. There are few otter down about Worth
ington yet, and think I'll take my traps down
there one of these days
'In those days wild turkeys were plenty all
round town, especially north of town along in
the Fall creek bottoms. have shot gobblers
weighing twenty two pounds when cleaned. l
used turkey to bait for coon and mink; parsnip
is the best for muskrat In 1847 killed deer,
q big buck, on the river twelve miles below
town Around Crown Hill used to be, along
about 40, splendid place for turkeys and squir-
rels some deer there, too. Any man who could
shoot at all could calculate on getting fifteen or
twenty squirrels in an hour or SO in the after
noon. often used EN- to bait with. They
great pest to the farmers. In A or As they
came travelling through here from the North,
scores and scores Of thousands of EN-.
have seen them swimming the
river in great droves and stood on the bank
with club and killed them They would come
out right az ones feet exhausted and hardly try
to get away. They were very lean, and seemed
to have been starved out. They were the old
fashioned gray squirrel Fox squirrels were
rarely seen then but about 45 they began to
appear, and soon drove the gray squirrels out"
Thomas McClintoek, aged seventy-four years.
who had been listening, here interposed to add
his testimony to the fact that the squirrels were
great pests to the farmer They were running
my corn. and / proposed to Andy Smith and
Bob Duncan that if they would come out to my
farm and kill squirrels one day, my wife would
get them up a good dinner. They came, aud in
that one day Andy. killed ninety-four or ninety
five, and Bob over ninety. Bob suspected Andy
had borrowed a few squirrels of hunter who
was shooting near by. and, guess, proved it on
him. Anyhow they saved my corn"
Mr.. Pitts continued: "There was no end of
fish in the streams about here in those days. I
went up to McCormck's dam, four miles above
town the river, one day, and sat down at
chute that had broken out, and where the fish
were running through. There were wagon
loads of fish, and threw out with my hands
eighty seven bass ranging in size from one
pound up to five. Ny hands were badly Jagged
but got the fish. The boys used to shoot fish
then, Indian fashion, with bow and arrow, the
arrow being secured with string so that it
wouldn't be lost"