a long line

January 11, 2005 5:37 PM

Some stories are longer than others. In the early 1900s, Burro Schmidt spent 32 years (or 38, depending on your source) digging a 1/2-mile tunnel through a Mojave mountain. Why? Because it was easier than hauling his gold and his burros down the back road. "Solely, he labored long days.... The tunnel was solid granite, which needed no shoring, except at the entrance to the tunnel. Being at 4200 foot elevation there was a shortage of oxygen, making his labor even more difficult. He was trapped many times by falling rock and injured as many times." (But the story doesn't end with him. More >> )
posted by mudpuppie (11 comments total)

Burro lived for 16 years after his tunnel was completed in a shack near the entrance. After his death, it was eventually bought by Tonie Seger, who became a local eccentric in her own right. She died at 95, 18 months ago. She left behind this guy, who continues the legacy of misfits.

Burro's mine and his shack are now the subject of a property dispute, and their future is uncertain.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:37 PM on January 11, 2005

"His diet consisted of beans,rice,bacon,fish chowder, boiled onions, sardines and lots of whiskey."

damn it, I want that on my tombstone.
posted by Blake at 5:42 PM on January 11, 2005

Take that, `a hole' guy.
posted by NewBornHippy at 5:47 PM on January 11, 2005

Burro Schmidt occasionally cut his dynamite fuses too short [to save on mining cost]. This resulted in a fast blast, not giving him time to escape. He was trapped many times by falling rock and injured as many times. Making his way to a neighbor's cabin, wiping the dust and dirt and the blood he was heard to exclaim, again and again, "It almost got me this time"!

Great post, thanks.
posted by interrobang at 5:51 PM on January 11, 2005

Interesting story...funny that his name is 'Burro Schmidt' (schmidt being German for smith), so he was a 'burrow-smith' called 'Burro Smith'.
posted by cosmonik at 5:52 PM on January 11, 2005

From the article about the guy who owns it now:

"'She was my mother, my grandmother and my friend,' David Ayers said, sitting at a table overlooking the El Paso Mountains."

Oooh, it's like Chinatown. But with a cave, not water.

Cool story, thanks.
posted by billysumday at 5:53 PM on January 11, 2005

The Mojave is full of all kinds of beauty and strangeness.
posted by euphorb at 6:13 PM on January 11, 2005

Utterly fascinating. A true modern Ghost Town! Tales of eccentricity in the Southwest are not rare, however, such a treasure trove of weird artifacts is!
posted by snsranch at 6:59 PM on January 11, 2005

From the article about the guy who owns it now:

"'She was my mother, my grandmother and my friend,' David Ayers said, sitting at a table overlooking the El Paso Mountains."

Oooh, it's like Chinatown. But with a cave, not water.

Cool story, thanks.

Billysumday,
You, sir, are a genius.

BTW, with gold prices the way they are now would you think it would be profitable to hit out these old mines with new techinques?
posted by CCK at 7:05 PM on January 11, 2005

Excellrnt tale, thanks mudpuppie!
posted by carter at 8:34 PM on January 11, 2005

"'She was my mother, my grandmother and my friend,'

So... she sired David Ayers with a previous son of hers?

Ah, good ol' F1-P breeding.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 1:47 PM on January 12, 2005