The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-11-22
STRAY BURROS
rom the Chicago Tribune.


An old Indian, known TO prospectors
as ''Figtree JOHN has for many years
lived alone beside large spring in the
Colorado desert in San Diego county.
His home is one Of the most desolate
and inaccessible spots on the earth
surface. and the last place one would
expect to find human being living in
contentment. 1t is close to the Mex
lean line and about fifty miles east of
the hills that form the western bound
airy to the waste of white sand.
At all seasons of the year the heat is
intolerable, and the awful hot wind
blows day and night. Five yards from
the spring in any direction there is
not living green thing in sight-only
the binding glare of the sandy plain
stretching for miles on all sides until
it joins the foothills in shimmering
purple haze.
Figtree Johns place, however, IS
tiny oasis of about two hundred square
feet. The spring is a large one and
the water pure and fresh when it bub-
bles from the earth. But it evaporates
during the day almost as fast as it
comes from the ground, so that the
surface is only moistened for small
extent. On the edges of the spring
grasses and weeds grow. and one large
fig tree spreads Its branches over the
whole spot
The tree bears fruit almost the year
around and also serves as shelter for
John. Blankets are spread on the
ground and camp utensils scattered
around. But there are always plenty
of things to eat and drink that have
been brought from the markets of civil
ization, and the way John obtained
these was puzzle to prospectors for
long time. He never did any work and
thing to sell anywhere near his place.
But it seems Johns money has always
come to him without an effort. He
simply lay down and waited.
1t is horrible to think about, but he
waited for the pack burros Of pros
spectors who had been overcome by
thirst and died in the desert. Johns
place is several miles off the trail of
prospectors going to and from the gold
country, and hundreds Of bleaching
bones have been found in the vicinity
Most of these men have several bur-
ros and good outfits when they start,
but somehow they lose the trail or are
overtaken by sandstorms All share
the same fate-a few days of horrible
suffering and then death.
The burros, being more hardy than
the men, are more able to stand the
'lardships, and when their masters lie
down and die in ths burning sand they
find water BY instinct. Since old John
has been at the spring large number
have come to his place crazy for water.
OF course he takes care of them and
makes search for their owners, or
holds them for Identification.
Sometimes they have expensive out
cts, showing the owner to have been a
tenderfoot that expected TO find
mountain of gold. The provisions in
the packs John has always appropri-
hted after certain time, and the
burros he has sold 10 people in the
foothills to whom he makes periodical
trips. On one occasion whole train
of burros came TO his place, and the
owners were never found, so that John
cleared several hundred dollars just By
waiting under his fig tree
Old John is perfectly happy in his
desert home. and IS well pleased to
have prospectors die in the desert. 50
long as their burros come 10 his spring
he takes good care of the animals and
becomes very friendly with them He
never sells any of them or the contents
OF their packs for at least year, but
keeps them in case anyone calls 20 re-
claim them But nobody ever calls TO
claim stray burros that are driven by