314 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



in wanton cruelty. Not less than 300,000 birds 

 had been killed on this island alone. ^ 



"And was all this done to sell the feathers?" 

 asked Shan. 



*'A11 done in order that women might wear 

 birds' wings in their hats !" said the Feather Man, 

 in disgust. 



Nets, killing-clubs, and other implements were 

 lying in every direction. Hundreds of boxes to 

 be used in shipping the skins were packed in an 

 old building. It was evident that the plume-hunt- 

 ers intended to return and carry on the slaughter 

 until not a bird remained. And, while Albatrosses 

 were the chief objects of pursuit, the plume pirates 

 did not neglect other birds, and the list of slain in- 

 cluded: Sooty Tern, Gray-backed Tern, Noddy 

 Tern, Hawaiian Tern, White Tern, Bonin Island 

 Petrel, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Christmas Is- 

 land Shearwater, Red-tailed Tropic Bird, Blue- 

 Faced Booby, Red-footed Booby, Man-o'-war Bird 

 and the Bristle-thighed Curlew. Any bird whose 

 plumage might ''adorn" a shop-girl's head was 

 readily sacrificed. 



Of the millions of birds which used to nest on the 

 island, less than one-sixth was left. 



1 This massacre by plume-hunters occurred, in 1909. 



