to those who have read the preceding volumes in this series, "the boy scouts of woodcraft camp," "the boy scouts on swift river," and "the boy scouts on lost trail," some of the characters in the present volume will be familiar. to me they are old friends in whose struggles and adventures i have taken the keenest personal interest.

in this, the fourth and concluding volume, i have endeavored to portray in some small measure the life of the trapper who in solitude and loneliness pits his skill against the cunning of the fur-bearers, and his courage and fortitude against the forces of nature in her harshest and most relentless mood; to bring to my young readers a sense of the mystery of the great life eternal that broods over the wilderness to an even greater degree when its waters are fettered in ice, and its waste places wrapped in snow than when it rejoices in its summer verdure; to show that the standards a man or a boy sets for himself are as binding upon him in remote places where none may see as in the midst of his fellow men; and lastly to demonstrate what a powerful factor in the development of character and true manhood are the oath and law of the boy scouts of america when subscribed to in sincerity and conscientiously observed.

man or boy is never so true to himself as when in intimate contact with nature. adventures such as herein described may not fall to your lot, oh, boy reader, but be assured that whenever you heed the call of the red gods and hit the long trail you will find adventure of a degree awaiting you, and you will return stronger physically and mentally for having come in closer contact with the elemental forces which we term nature.

the author.