The lone prospector with his burro has become a legendary symbol of mining in  the Old West.

Burro refers to a small donkey; the word burro is derived from the Spanish word borrico, meaning donkey.  Early prospectors relied heavily on burros as they trekked the long distances across the mountains and deserts in search of gold and silver.  Burros were used to haul ore in the mines, and as pack animals; they carried supplies, water and even machinery and mining equipment in the desolate mining camps.  In the barren, nearly waterless hills, the burro, having evolved in the deserts of North Africa, adapted well and became indispensable to the mining boom, which essentially lasted from the late 1850s through the 1880s, with a few operations enduring through the early 1900s.  Mines were shut down when the ore played out, and the mining camps were abandoned to turn slowly into ghost towns. The burros were no longer needed, and many wandered off or were turned loose, left to fend for themselves in the arid environment.  The burros survived, their hardiness helping them to thrive in the same harsh wildernesss conditions that had sometimes caused their owners to perish.

The solitary existence facing the prospector forged a true and special camaraderie between man and his little beast.  Many miners found they had a true ally they could talk and complain to, as well as rely on for survival.  The burro was amiable,
hard-working, and tough, and the reciprocity of the relationship between miner and burro often passed the bounds of simple friendship.  Miners became so attached to their burros that they frequently shared their flapjacks and biscuits with them, and in return the creatures obediently carried their owners' necessities from camp to camp, day after weary day.  The tenacious nature of burros, their appealing and lovable nature, their strength, loyalty and endurance, have given rise to countless heartwarming stories from the mining days of the 1800s and early 1900s, and even a few unbelievable ones.

Some have an element of truth, and actually may have happened, like the one about the burrow owner who had a problem getting his donkey to move while in its collar and traces.  Aware that burros would often chew a plug of tobacco if allowed the opportunity, he offered some to the balky animal.  After that, as long as the animal received its obligatory plug of a certain brand of tobacco, it would willingly work at tramming the muck out of the mine.

Some tales are a little more fanciful.  A newcomer to the mining camps noticed a burro with a wheelbarrow strapped to its back, the wheel pointing at the sky, and the box-shaped portion partially covering the burro's body.  Naively he questioned the prospector who owned the animal as to why it was tied to the wheelbarrow in such a fashion.  The prospector, mildly annoyed with the stupidity of the query, determined to have some sport at the newcomer's expense.  "Stranger," he replied, "this animal is my pet, and is too delicate to walk up the rough trails, so I wheel him up the hills, and at the top I just turn him over to make his own way down."

Another tale illustrates the legendary qualities often observed in burros - their obedience and loyalty.  While riding his burro one day in the rugged hills, a prospector was lulled to sleep by the easy rocking motion of the animal's steady pace.  He was suddenly awakened as the burro stumbled at the edge of the trail, stepping off into the abyss of a deep canyon.  As the pair fell through space, hurtling downward, the cool-headed prospector carefully calculated the space remaining between them and rapidly-approaching disaster, and just four feet above the canyon bottom, he hollered, "Whoa!"  at which the obliging burro stopped instantly.  The prospector hopped off safely, and then lowered the burro the remaining distance.  (The main flaw in this story, of course, is the fact that prospectors usually didn't ride their animals, but instead accompanied them while the animal toted all the supplies.)

A burro's carrying capacity, an important attribute in its usefulness, was considerable and often exaggerated.  One story has it that on a June day in 1873, a small crowd gathered in Georgetown to test how much weight a burro could handle.  When 650 pounds was loaded upon the animal's back, it was reported that it began to wink vigorously, and at 1100 pounds, it started to shed tears.  At one ton its tail ceased wagging, and at 3200 pounds the unfortunate animal exploded with a noise so loud that six men were knocked flat, and the town authorities, mistaking the sound of the blow-up as a probable source of fire, set all the town's bells ringing.

As early as the 1920s, concerns began to mount about the wild burros roaming the regions of Arizona, and control measures were initiated to control their rapidly increasing numbers.  Burros were at first haphazardly captured, ending up as pets or pet food.  This practice became illegal, and the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed in 1971, with the BLM acting as the managing agency responsible for protecting the wild burros and their habitat.  The first wild burro gather was conducted in Arizona in 1977, and since then more than 12,000 wild burros have been captured and removed from public rangelands in western Arizona.  A wild population of about 2,000 is maintained (a level that their desert habitat can support), and excess burros are rounded up and offered to the public responsibly through the Adopt-A-Burro program.

Fact and fiction are all enmeshed in the history of the burro, but one thing is certain--its important role in the mining days of the American West cannot be disputed, and the plucky and endearing character of the creature has ensured it an enduring place in the hearts of those who love animals and history.
 
 
 

Photo for article is at:
http://www.route66azlastingimpressions.com/burros.htm
(First photo - somewhat of a silhouette).

Caption:  Burros had their own unique character, making them an essential component of the early mining days of the American West.