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Libby Prison E3. a ;y :x s. c f fk a w now- f 10 .. :,ice' Jy ~ rw .K " F r v Jf :....low ... Agr .'-' ,P ,4 yi' "h 'Y {yi 4_ " .. )IK. ,V , Ln'','y.. fir. f' Ila .r~_" " .5 ' 1Y#"'r"+ T ' . s".#,..i ',1 . eP: 'r1#" - tS " * 1 'o " ,;, i.' f.'- .. M. _"S'"' t~'F"".!' " G z ':-4i' -£ V^ .fi r "" - _ 1., 9P' , avn Mx'" s4, ti ".fa".a: a c ', " fir, f e * ° 5C-Y - S- ,,. - " -a _"- ;. y ;' ,."s ^,;, ' r ;im .... ' , + ' . } Yw r r wMrM"s" " ;.s" ° a ys . °" w i , x 3 i w p n. x ,p i . g Director's Page Have you ever picked blackberries barefooted? Remember the last time you climbed a tree clear up to the dead limbs where the hoot owl has its little ones? The hours you spent fishing with worms on a bent pin probably add up. How long has it been since you tried spotting a meadowlark's nest in the open field without any landmarks to guide you? Have you thought about all the hours you spent trying to catch a young crow so you could make a pet of it? It probably has been a good while since you caught those minnows and put them in the horse tanks or raised a cloud of dust dragging your feet down the cow path. I could fill the next few pages with pleasant memories of past experiences and even then I couldn't begin to mention even a small portion of your individual memories. All these things that I have talked about are things that you have probably done, and perhaps the memories of them might actually be more pleasant than the real thing was. We might be prone to brush these memories aside as unimportant in terms of their monetary value . some people might even be able to prove that the hours spent in such pursuits constitute a considerable loss. No matter how you look at it, most of us would have to agree that there is a value in reliving youthful experiences, be it only in memory, or by actual re-enactment when that is possible. This leads me to the point I hope to make. Development of conservation programs on a strictly commercial basis is only a temporary answer. In fact, development along our present lines is often more difficult, but the long-range benefits are greater, though a monetary value is hard to establish. Man-made improvements seem to have a way of becoming unpopular and not lasting, and, although a dredged stream might look tremendous on completion, the unspoiled naturalness of a fishing pool under an overhanging tree might have far more lasting value. Biologically man is an animal whose lifespan extends beyond that of most wildlife and plants. Because of this longer life span, we often fail to realize that we are subject to the same laws of nature. But since we are, the faster we face that fact, the quicker will we be adjusted to the world about us. Our major role in conservation and resource management is to preserve and develop the settings that permit man to reflect on the past, enjoy the present and anticipate the future. DONALD E. FOLTZ, Director Indiana Department of Conservation OUTDOOR INDIANA INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION MATTHEW E. WELSH, Governor DONALD E. FOLTZ, Director Commission: Anton (Tony) Hulman, Jr., Chairman, Terr Haute John A. Hillenbranl II, Batesville The Hon. Paul D. Ewan, Lafayette Wilbur Yates, Vincennes DIVI1SION AND DIRECTORS Administrative Assistant-Robert Day Sorestry- pert D. Raisch Accounting-Harold B. Smith Geogica S rvey-John B. Patton Comptroller-Wm. Dean Lacy Oil and 00 Homer R. Brown Enforcement-Harold D. Raisor Public Information-Thomas B. March Engineering-Henry C. Prange Purchasing-Anthony E. Sheppard Entomology-John J. Favinger State Parks-Kenneth R. Cougill Fish and Game-Woodrow W. Fleming Water Resources-Charles H. Bechert Vol. VIII, No. 1 July, 1964 CONTENTS THE GREAT ESCAPE FROM LIBBY PRISON . 2 STATE FORESTS: RESERVOIRS OF RECREATION . 8 85 YEARS OF PROGRESS: EVANSVILLE MUSEUM . 12 SOUTHERN INDIANA "NORTHERNS" . 16 POISONOUS PLANTS AND NOXIOUS NIBBLERS . .. 22 LOOK MOM, NO WATER ... ........ 26 SAND GLASS - REVIVAL OF AN OLD INDUSTRY . 28 Regardless of time, place or trappings, there's a little of Huck Finn in every boy. Cover photograph by Philip Van Blaricum. THOMAS B. MARCH, Editor Published monthly by the Indiana Department of Conservation, 6th BETTY BENNETT, Associate Editor Floor, State Office Building, Indianapolis, Indiana-46209. Second class mail privileges authorized at Indianapolis, Indiana. Out-of-state MAC HEATON, Art Director subscription rate $2.00. Change of address should be reported promptly. PHILIP VAN BLARICUM, Photographer Permission to reprint any material in this publication may be granted GENEVA CAHILL, Circulation Manager to responsible parties upon written application to the editor. THE GREAT ESCAPE FROM LIBBY PRISON by T HE LARGEST prison break of the ARVILLE L. FUNK Civil War took place on the night of house prison contained only Union February 9, 1864. On that night, one officers and at the time of the great hundred and nine Union Army offi- escape, over 1200 prisoners were con- cers escaped from the notorious Libby fined on the two upper floors. Prison at Richmond, Virginia. On May 16, 1863, a large number Before the war, Libby Prison had of officers from the ill-fated "Streight been a large, spacious tobacco ware- Raid" arrived at Libby. Most of the house owned by the firm of Libby & new prisoners, including the raid Sons. It was located near the James commander, Brig. General Abel River and the old Lynchburg Canal, Streight, were Hoosiers. General and was situated between Carey Streight, a native of Indianapolis, had Street on the north and Canal Street attempted to destroy the South's rail- on the south. roads at Rome, Georgia, but had been The large tobacco warehouse was a forced to surrender his entire com- strongly built three story structure with large basement cellars under it. The Union prisoners were lodged in the upper two stories which had been ..... divided into large bare rooms, com- ... pletely without furniture. All prison- ers sat and slept on the bare, rough ' floor with their ragged army blankets as their only beds. On the first floor were the quarters for the Confederate prison officers and commandant, a small prison hos- pital, and the large kitchen or dining room where the inmates' food was prepared. In the west portion of the basement cellars was a storage area, a carpenters' shop in the middle por- tion and the unused east cellar was known as "Rat-Hell" by the prison- ers because of the great quantity of rats down there. The large old ware- The famous old Libby Prison as it appeared in 1865. The large tobacco warehouse held over 1200 prisoners at the time of the escape in February 1864. Page 2 * OUTDOOR INDIANA mand near Gaylesville in north- mauga Rooms," where the prisoners eastern Alabama. slept, down to the prison dining room. Soon after Streight and his officers Since the dining room was used only arrived at Libby Prison they began to during the day, the plan was to dig make plans for tunneling out of the through the dining room wall at night huge structure. A command group into the east cellar and then tunnel known as the "Secret Council of Five" under the vacant lot on the east side was appointed to regulate the escape of the prison into Kerr's Stable, a plans. Although Colonel Thomas small shed structure that opened onto Rose of the 77th Penna. Regt. and Canal Street. Major A. G. Hamilton of the 12th On their first night, the plotters Kentucky Cavalry Regt. are usually found that an old fireplace in the east given the credit for the construction end of the dining room was just above of the escape tunnel, General Streight, the west end of the rat cellar. By who was the commander of the Coun- working in several shifts, the prison- cil, probably had as much to do with ers succeeded in removing enough the formation of the escape plans and bricks from the fireplace to be able to the tunnel as any other prisoner. dig into the wall separating the dining After much investigation of the in- room from the cellar. They then had terior and the foundation of the old to construct an "S" curve tunnel that warehouse prison, the Secret Council finally opened into the east cellar. decided that the best route of escape Once in the cellar, they began their was through the "Rat Hell" east cel- hardest task, that of tunneling lar. There was an old stairway that through the foundation wall and con- led from the upper stories of "Chicka- structing a fifty foot tunnel under the July, 1964 OUTDOOR INDIANA * Page 3 ,- CANAL .-. -A 06.. / , a APMR~ PQAW/NGtJ FRO0/ .A110W APVZtflMtN *41AYP2/6011 AECAP OF 7/T Cft'/ WAR' vacant lot that lay between the prison later. During the early morning hours and Kerr's Stable. of February 8th, the digging crew The prisoners found that the foun- broke through into the little stable dation wall of the east cellar was shed in the Kerr warehouse property. made of heavy timbers, and it took Since it was then too late to escape several nights to dig through these because of the coming of daylight, the timbers using their pocket knives, Council decided that the big escape sharpened spoons and other crude would be made the following night. tools. They tried three different por- At approximately nine o'clock p.m.
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