188 BULLETIN 107, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM, 



or, unaided, the bird gives up the attempt. The cave colonies are the only 

 ones where the murres are secure from persecution by these bird pirates. 



Mr. Bryant (1888) mentions two other enemies of the murres on 

 Farallones, as follows: 



The young sea lions have a great fondness for murre's eggs, and as soon 

 as they are large enough to know what an egg is, and once get the taste of 

 them, they become another factor in the destruction of eggs. Mr. Emerson 

 has seen young sea lions with their muzzles slobbered with egg. The old sea 

 lions do not trouble the rookeries, but spend their time ashore basking about 

 the water's edge. The island mule has also found that eggs make an agreeable 

 variation to his diet. He hunts nests very assiduously, growing fat and sleek 

 in the breeding season. 



The chief cause of egg destruction on the Farallones has been the 

 depredations of the professional eggers ; the results of their work in 

 the past have been astounding, but fortunately for the murres this 

 has long ago been stopped. Mr. Bryant (1888) says: 



Between 1850 and 1856 there was reported to have been brought to San 

 Francisco between three and four millions of eggs. For the last few years the 

 number of eggs marketed has averaged from 180,000 to 228,000. In 1886 two 

 men who were left on Sugar Loaf collected 108,000 eggs. 



The eggs were considered a delicacy and sold in the markets at 

 from 12 to 20 cents a dozen. The wholesale destruction of eggs re- 

 duced the numbers of the murres to such an extent that the atten- 

 tion of the Lighthouse Board was called to the matter in 1897, and 

 they put a stop to the traffic, leaving the murres to contend with only 

 their natural enemies. The methods employed by the eggers have 

 been fully described by Mr. Bryant (1888) from which I quote the 

 following : 



Before proceeding further it will be well to notice closely the men who 

 engage in this nest robbing extraordinary, and the methods they employ. The 

 eggers are Italians and Greeks, usually those who have been engaged in fishing 

 about the islands. The first party to take possession each year manages to 

 hold their position against all comers and to even defy the United States 

 authorities to remove them. Being trespassers, they have, on luore than one 

 occasion, been taken away, but only to return the following year. This season 

 the party secreted themselves in Murre Cave while the revenue cutter Conoin 

 hovered about the island for hours. Liviijg in caves or tents improvised from 

 old sails and spars their requirements of life are few. A cotton flour sack 

 (100-pound size) is made into an egg shirt by cutting out a hole in the bottom 

 for the head and one on each side for arm holes ; a gathering string is passed 

 around the mouth of the sack which, when it is put on. is drawn tightly about 

 the waist ; a slit down the front of the shirt from the neck makes an opening 

 for stowing tlie eggs, while a padding of Farallon weed inside on the bottom 

 forms a cushion for them. 



When sending the eggs to San Francisco they are simply tumbled into the 

 fishing boat ; many are thereby dented or slightly cracked, but they are seldom 

 broken enough to injure their market value. At San Francisco they are boxed 

 and taken to market. 



