The daily morning Alaskan., 1903-02-01
DANGER or OVER DOING
LEADING sKAGwAY BUSINESS MAN
 GIVES VIEWS.

nANAo NAEMos
 "Butn says a prominent Skagway business man and highly respected sx- mayor:
 'fBut. my dear man, this hsh-trap business might be over-done and our 6sh supply exhausted" !"
 Dear Mir. Ex-mAyor, you are O con- servAtlve and successful business man, So are the members of the Wrangell chamber of commerce. You are not fishermen and have not seen the Indian fishermen slAughtering salmon by the thousands in their fresh water spawn ing grOunds-before they could spdt0R This is where the sa. mon shortage is. Fish traps only extend a short distance out from shore and therefore cannot interefcre with the m in run of fish passing their location Many instances have been known wherein traps have been built % heavy expense and lid not pay for the building. Fish can nevar be relied upon 70 run two seasons alike. Salmon may be plentiful around Q trap location and scarce the next. 4 case in point, Is the experience of the Hans Yonsen brothers, near Anacortes. Several years ago these men built a large trap in this locality. The fret season brought a phenOminal run of salmon. Thousands of dollars poured into the pockets of the YOnsens. The biz trap yeilded cargo after cargo of choice red salmon and the big trap was one of the wonders oi the Sound fish cries during that season. One Of the packing companies offered the owners a good price for their location and the thrifty Yonsens sold the trap. Every- body said the Swedes were victims of a bunko game. The Yonsens built Q salmon cannery with their money and the buyers of the trap never caught enough fish 70 get back the money in- vested. The fish never ran that way again.
 Fish traps arc built by driving long line of piles from the high water line on the beach, out 70 Q point in the bay or inlet, where the water Is approxi- mAtely 75 ieet at nigh tide. At this point the piles are driven to form a square or circular "pot.m The "pot" is made complete by enclosing the same with tarred netting, from top to bottom. The line of piles to sho Q is then hung with ing-tOp to bottom and the snare Is then complete.
 The salmon is one of the gamest and speediest fish that sWims One peculiar trait of the rascal is that ho always goes ahead in a direct course when sWiming. Nothing can Induce him to turn around and go bach. when once started going It is this trait that made the fish trap possible. When the salmon strikes the nettlng of the shore line of piles, the plucky little brute is too stubborn to turn about and escape. He tries t0 find a way through the obstacle and blindly follows up the netting until he finds the runway that leads Into the ''pOL" Re is still in the pot" when it is lifted" At low tide.
 Traps cannot be built in deep water. Everybody knows that che Alaskan coast is rocky and steep. Deep water nearly everywhere and for this reason | practicable trAp locations are scarce. How thenY Why? Please tell ua aeAr Mir. Ex-MAyor, how is it possible 10 over do the hsh-trap business on a coast ike this2
 WILL EMPLOY ALASKANs
 The building of each trap requires the cutting, 'bark-peeling and delivery Of about 4o,oOo llneal feet of piling Piles are short lived in these water and must be renewed At regular periods Each trap costs complete about Slo, 900 The building of every trap means the operation of Q logging camp near each location, employing Alaskan labor and buying camp supplYs of Alaskan mer' chants.
 ItisA matter of record and of history that many fish traps built in poor