THE SLAUGHTER OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 299 



life as that of the market-gunner who works six days a week, 

 from sunrise until sunset, hunting down and kiUing every 

 game bird that he can reach with a choke-bore gun. 



During the past five years several of the once-great killing- 

 grounds have been so thoroughly "shot out" that they have 



A MARKET-GUNNER AT WORK ON MARSH ISLAND. 



Killing Mallards for the New Orleans market. The purchase of this island by Mrs. Russell 

 Sage has now converted it into a bird sanctuary. 



ceased to hold their former rank. This is the case with the 

 Minnesota Lakes, the Sunk Lands of Arkansas, the Klamath 

 Lakes of Oregon, and I think it is also true of southern Cali- 

 fornia. The Klamath Lakes have been taken over by the 

 Government as a bird refuge. Currituck Sound, at the north- 

 eastern corner of North Carolina, has been so bottled up by 

 the Bayne law of New York state that Currituck's greatest 

 wild-fowl market has been cut oflf. Last year only one-half 

 the usual number of ducks and geese were killed; and already 



