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 sectre 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 more 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 Corwin 
hovered about the island for hours. Living 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 the 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. 
