157 

 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AUDUBON SOCIETIES. 



The wholesale destruction of wild birds during the last few 

 decades of the last century had assumed such proportions that 

 it was foreseen that if tliis were allowed to continue unchecked, 

 it would be but a short time before the majority of the most 

 beautiful species of American birds would be extinct. A 

 writer, in "Forest and Stream," stated in 1884: "The destruc- 

 tion of American wild birds for millinery purposes has as- 

 sumed stupendous proportions. The unholy work gives em- 

 ployment to a vast army of men and women, and this army 

 wages its campaign of . destruction with a dreadful perfection 

 of system." Tlie editorial refers to details of the work pub- 

 lished in other columns of the paper, which furnish evidence 

 of the systematic character of the business. It was during 

 this year that the work of exterminating the Terns commenced 

 and the destruction was carried on from Florida to ]\Iassa- 

 chusetts, and liundreds of thousands of these beautiful and 

 graceful creatures were sacrihced on the altar of fashion. 

 Today the small remnant of the once countless throngs of 

 Terns, or Sea Swallows, are being carefully guarded by 

 wardens in the employ of the Audubon Society, who are paid 

 from the Thayer Fund. They now live in peace and happi- 

 ness, are permitted to breed in security, and, thanks to a 

 growing seniiment of kindness to all wild life, are rapidly in- 

 creasing in numbers. 



In the minutes of the second annual meeting of the Ameri- 

 can Ornithologists' Union, held at the American Museum^of 

 Natural History in New York, September 30, 1884, may be 

 found the following entry : "Mr. Brewster called attention to 

 the wholesale slaughter of birds, particularly Terns, along our 

 coast, for millinery purposes, giving some startling statistics 

 of this destruction, and moved the appointment of a commit- 

 tee for the Protection of North American birds and their eggs 

 against wanton and indiscriminate destruction, the commit- 

 tee to consist of six, with power to increase its number, and to 

 cooperate with other existing protecti\e associations having 

 similar objects in view. After earnest support of the motion 

 it was unanimously adopted." 



At this same meeting action w^as taken which proved far 



