Crate Digging, Don't Do It! [more inside]
posted by hydrophonic on Oct 14, 2008 - 48 comments

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 on Jan 11, 2005 - 11 comments