Texas Fauna Project

Canvasback Duck

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Rob Sawyer is a geologist, hunter, historian and author. Here he tells about the evolution of market hunting from the early days of subsistence and local sales, to the boom years of 1880-1900, when refrigeration, gasoline engines, improved firearms, railroads and steamers allowed Texas waterfowl hunters to provide food (the canvasback duck being just one of many species taken for the trade), feathers, quills, and fat to the international markets.