The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-06
MRS. LOFTS SAD TALE
DUPLICATED IN COLORADO
Man and Burro Turned to Salt in the
Heart of Desert.

George II. Tucker, a mining pros
pector who has just returned from a
trip through the Mojave and Colorado
deserts, tells a remarkable story of the
discovery of petrified man and burro
in one Of the large salt fields that
abound there. He told the story as
follows to Pittsburg Gazette CORE
spondent:
"One of the most desolate places in
the Colorado desert is SO miles south
east of Dandy. Here is large deposit
of rock salt fifteen miles in length and
from one and one-half to three miles
in width. There is not spear. of grass
or any vegetation. In many places
the rock salt crops out of the earth.
and anywhere in this section rock salt
can be obtained by digging ten or
twelve inches. No one knows how
deep the salt goes. A number of pros
pect holes have been sunk, but the
great amount of water encountered at
a depth of twenty-five or thirty feet
makes further mining impossible with
out pumping apparatus.
"Some ten years ago an effort was
made to bring this immense deposit of
salt into commercial use. Two rail-
roads were built to connect the rock
quarries with the Santa Fe. 1t was
found necessary to build a house in
the middle of the deposit, and for this
purpose enough blocks Of rock salt
were cut to build a shanty fourteen by
thirty feet in dimensions. A flooring
and roof composed of the peculiar kind
of earth that exists in that vicinity
completed the building. This salt
house, or, as the Mexicans called it,
La Casa del SAL was used for the
purpose for which it was erected. But
in a short time the salt miningo opera
lions were abandoned to the coyote
and desert owl.
"For at least seven years before we
visited this building, about a month
ago, it had not been inhabited and
probably very seldom seen by any
one. During the summer months in
this locality fine saline dust Is blown
in great clouds through the desert.
The heat is almost unbearable. What
water is found is undrinkable, and
woe to the prospector who finds him.
self in this section with an empty can
teen. A peculiar feature of the climate
is that, no matter how hot the day,
the night is invariably cool, even cold
enough for forming ice.
During the summer of 1900 a
Swede named Johnson, who had been
prospecting in the vicinity, started to
cross this dry lake of salt to Old
Woman's springs. When nearly half
way across a terrible sandstone blew
up. He trudged on until he came to
the salt house, where he and his burro
sought shelter.
Under the caves Of the house he
found a number Of galvanized tanks,
partly filed with rain water. He con-
sidered this lucky find. for his can
teen was almost empty. He drank his
fill Of the water he discovered and
permitted his burro to do the same.
1.-THE night was cold and the storm
continued. He determined to camp in
the hut over night. The dead embers
of the fire were still to be seen when
we visited the place, evidencing the
unusual severity of the weather.
when we opened the door Of this des-
olate shack we were Mortified at seeing
what seemed to be marble statue lying
whiteness, the hair and whiskers having
fallen away. The body was outlined un-
der a thin blanket.
1.-THE sight was so uncanny that we
finally mustered enough courage to do
so. The body had undergone singular
transformation. being nothing less than
a complete petrification. The substance
and pure white In color. The outline Of
the body was perfect.
''The darkness of the interior at first
prevented US from seeing the burro,
which was standing in one corner. One
of our party advanced and laid his
hand on the animal when it fell over
against him. The burro had undergone
the same transformation as it's master.
The body of the man was given decent
burial near the house, and the burro will
be sent to the Smithsonian institution.
The explanation Of this strange phe-
nomenon is to be found in the kind of
water that was drunk by the man and
the burro and in the kind Of earth that
composed the roof and floor of the salt
habitation., The water is heavily charg-
ed with chloride of sodium. The earth
that had been used for the roofing con-
tanned chemicals which were taken in
solution by the rain water as it dripped
through into the galvanized tanks.
after drinking freely of this water
the man and the beast had evidently
frozen to death and were gradually pet
rified."