BURRO SCHMIDT TUNNEL and Cabin | Kern County, California скачать в хорошем качестве

BURRO SCHMIDT TUNNEL and Cabin | Kern County, California

Within the El Paso Mountains of California sits a half-mile tunnel dug by hand by one man, William "Burro" Schmidt. Was it to find ore and strike it rich? Was it a shortcut to a smelter? Was it simply obsession? Today we explore this tunnel to try and uncover the mystery. Born in 1871, William Schmidt moved to the California desert from Providence, Rhode Island. Having come from a family where six of his siblings died of tuberculosis he sought out the desert for health reasons much as many did in those days. After arriving, Schmidt staked out a mining claim and began construction nearby on his tunnel in 1902. Schmidt was a frugal man, eating simple meals, mostly burning candles rather than using kerosene, and on occasion used dynamite to blast his tunnel but with the wick cut short to save money which often led to injuries. His small cabin was covered inside by newspaper clippings, boxes, and food wrappers on the interior walls, likely for insulation. For the majority of years, he dug using mostly hand tools, a pickax, 4 lb hammer & hand drill to tunnel his way 2087 feet through the granite hillside. First, he carried rock out on his back in a bag, then a wheelbarrow, and eventually installed rails for an ore cart. It has been said that because of all this manual labor his abdominal muscles became so rigid that he had trouble standing upright. His nickname was original “Jackass” Schmidt as he kept several burros. It changed later to “Burro” Schmidt. Schmidt funded his tunnel by working summers as a ranch hand; in fall he would take his two burros (Jack & Jenny) and head back to continue work on the tunnel. Schmidt lived alone, never married, and completed his tunnel in 1940. He claimed that the tunnel was meant to be a shortcut to haul ore to a smelter but that doesn’t add up as the end of the tunnel is just a ledge 4000 feet above sea level that looks out onto the Mojave Desert. It is said that during excavation of the tunnel that Schmidt found veins of precious metals but simply left them to be. In fact, it is said that he never hauled any ore through the tunnel ever. Once he struck daylight at the end of the tunnel, he quit and deeded the tunnel/mine to another miner. VIDEO FILMED: 11/12/2021 ▬▬ L O C A T I O N I N F O ▬▬ ⚪ Burro Schmidt Tunnel - https://www.visitcalifornia.com/exper... ⚪ Directions to Burro Schmidt Tunnel - https://goo.gl/maps/RbtsqvNu5o2VtLLc7 ▬▬ T I M E S T A M P S ▬▬ 00:00 William "Burro" H. Schmidt 01:05 Burro Schmidt's Cabin & the Caretaker House 05:20 The Burro Schmidt Tunnel 14:45 The Burro Schmidt Tunnel Lookout 15:56 Mystery on the Return Trip ▬▬ L I N K S ▬▬ ⚪ Gear we use - https://www.amazon.com/shop/thecactus... ⚪ See where we've been - https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mi... ⚪ Music from Epidemic Sound - https://www.epidemicsound.com/referra... (As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.) _____________________________________________________________ ✅ Find us on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook - @cactusatlas. ✅ Check out our website - https://cactusatlas.com Welcome to the Cactus Atlas! We are Glenn and Amy and invite you to join us as we visit all sorts of locations across the American West. We tour both natural and man-made attractions. Our base of operations is in the Phoenix, AZ area. We do a lot of hiking and day trips as well as campground reviews, and hope that we will be a great resource if you are planning a trip to the American West. We also hope to delight you with our exciting adventures!