The Wrangell sentinel., 1922-11-16
How to Make A Success of
 Trapping
Author of This Article Tries to Make Trappers Realize
 How Much They Are Los ing by Not Taking Proper Care of Their Furs.
By WALTER E. SMITH

By WALTER E. SMITH
 To attain success in whatever you devote your time and thought to, is the goal of every person, I believe
 Success is the accomplishing of the result desired, and therefore what would mean success for one person
 would not be so considered by anoth- CT. It is all the way you look at things. To be a successful trapper, 1 I suppose the first thing to be consid- cred is the financial returns that are derived from it. And, of course, that | is a very important item. Almost every trapper wants to make trap ping pay, even if only all the expen- ses connected with it, and all above expenses that he can. A man just starting out to trap with little or no previous experience should be satis- 1 fled if he makes ends meet the first season or two, and is indeed lucky if he does that well. Trapping is one business that you cannot hope to achieve very great success at, and should not expect to, the first year, for the beginner. But as you keep on | from season to season you will soon begin to show a profit, and will be able to a certain degree, to figure out what your income will be in an ay- craze season, all other things being equal. Of course some seasons you will yon are fortunate enough to discover rare, good fur pockets, and some sea sons you will have a run of bad luck, such as floods, for instance, when you
 will not only lose lot of valuable time but maybe quite few traps be sides, or you may have a whole sea son of bad weather, deep snows, bliz. zards, etc, when your catch will run away below normal, but you will also have extra good seasons, too, so it about evens up in the end. You will also, of course, have to take into con sideration the market value of fur from season to season.
 But forgetting about the financial side of it, there are quite number of other things, or rather advantages connected with a trappers life that we must take into account. It is a healthy, outdoor life that will appeal to the naturalist that is in most men, although I must admit that there are a few men that only see the money side of it. You are out in the big open spaces on the lakes and streams and in the forests and that in itself is an education you can't get out of books. You learn self-reliance, and have perfect confidence in your own ability to take care of yourself, and that is worth a good bit to any man. It is also free and independent life; you are your own boss, although that often means that you will work hard CT than you did perhaps when you worked for someoue else.
 Trapping to be made a success means lots of hard work. You will come into camp many night, long after dark, so tired that you feel like tumbling into your bunk without waiting to cook and eat supper, but like everything else it has it's con- pensations, and more so than most other occupations.
 The question often comes up, which is likely to pay the best, spot trapping around the settled districts. or go into the wilderness and put out winters trap line? If you are an