The California Mur re 
upon to furnish the market some twelve million dozen fresh eggs, were not 
able, in spite of protection, to cope with new foes nor to stand up under the 
onslaughts of an ancient enemy, the sea gull, himself a notable beneficiary 
of protection. 
When I visited the Southeast Farallon in 1911, for two weeks, I 
found about twenty thousand California Murres terrorized by about four 
thousand Western Gulls. Perhaps the gidl has his uses, and he is a beauty; 
but so far as restoring the ancient prestige of the Murres is concerned- 
why, I would as soon undertake to raise chickens and skunks in the same 
enclosure. The case would not be so bad on an uninhabited island, for 
Murres en masse are proof against the assaults of gulls even. But the 
Southeast Farallon supports an increasing population of government 
employees, lighthouse keepers, weather men, wireless operators, etc., 
Taken on the S. E. Farallon 
A DIFFICULT PASSAGE 
Photo by the Author 
and these poor exiles have to stretch their legs once in a while. At the 
approach of a human the apprehensive Murres edge away, and the gulls 
swoop down to glean the uncovered eggs and to urge the Murres to further 
flight. 
1503 
