The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1903-09-25
USES OF THE BURRO.
Hardy Little Creature That Has
Done Much In the West.
Has Been an Important Factor In the
Development Of Mines, Railways
and Building EAtsr-
prises.

Carrying whisky on steep noun
tainsides from cabin to cabin, trans
porting lumber to points where rail-
ways are out of the question, trudg-
ing to the secluded mines laden with
picks and shovels-such is the life
of the mountain burro. A few of
them have dwelt under the shelter of
the stables of the wealthy, some of
them have had their lots cast with
a circus, others have gone into the
depts of Pennsylvania mines, alto
gether away from the sunlight, but
for the most part the burros are resi-
dents of the fast-developing west,
says She New York Times.
Just how much credit man is will
ing to grant the burro for the west
ern development depends somewhat
upon the man. The humble burro,
like the mule, has been accorded too
many kicks and cuffs and heavy loads
from time immemorial. In early
days the ass is given credit for more
intelligence than the horse, and it
has long been contended that the
mules intelligence has been much
deprecated, but in this mongrel-the
burro-his appreciated qualifications
consist wholly in surefootedness,
sturdiness, and the fact that he is
easy to keep. In Minnesota, Idoha,
California, Arizona, Washington, and
in Colorado, outside of Denver, bur-
ros are to be found in large numbers,
in fact, in all the western states
were mountains exist and mining is
carried on.
Although there Is little use for
the burro in the eastern part of the
country, it once became a fad in New
York for the children of rich parents
to own white burros ns pets. They
hitched them to carts and miniature
vehicles and for time the buPro be-
came very popular. Carloads of them
were shipped to the eastern markets
and sold for as much as $3.50 and $780,
Only white burros brought this
price, however. 1t wes not fashion
able TO own one of another color But
with Shetland PONIES available, this
fad could not last long. The ponies
presented a so much neater and pref
tier appearance that even the chill
dren tired of burros.
In the west the burro may be
bought as low as five dollars. The
majority of them bring not less than
$40 to SIS. In the localities where
they are extensively used one man
may be found with a hundred of
them att command. Burros vary
in color, ms they also do in weight.
They may be found weighing 1000
pounds. Again, they may weigh but
$50 pounds. A good-sized mule win
weigh 1900 pounds, thus, in compari-
son, being double the weight of the
burro.
The burro is slow creature, sell
dom covering more than four or five
miles an hour, and Is not to be hur-
ried. In some respects he may be
termed stubborn; in Others he is not.
When burro gets old he sometimes
is inclined to be ugly, but in the
main he il much gentler than q mule
When he does become ugly he uses
his teeth just as freely as his heels.
The burro wild live to be 30 years
of age, and still be of service as q
pack animal, which is better than can
be expected of horse There are
really few animals to which the bur
ro could be compared In hardness.
This has long been one Of the char
acteristics Of the species to which he
belongs. A burro team will carry
upon their backs q 1200-pound load
with apparent ease. Though they en-
gage in such hard work and are of
such great service to residents of the
mountainous regions OF the west,
they subsist on comparatively little.
Often they collect their own food by
brousing about the bushes upon the
sides OF the mountains. Like the
camel, which is also used as a pack
animal, they look lank and hony, It
Is difficult TO find n fat burro, The
uses TO which this sturdy animal is
put In the west are too many to
enumerate. The milk peddlers carries
his load TO his mountain customers
by means of his faithful burro. He
straps a keg securely to the beasts
back, together with his milk cans
and pint and quart measures.
The lumber which the burros trans
port is usually carried from the log
ging camps, in the cleared areas, up
tho mountains to the Mines and the
construction of many valuable mines
have thus been made possible, where.
under the circumstances, they would
have been practically impossible.
With bent heads. the burros climb the,
slopes with great piece of timber
on each side of their backs. These
timbers are often two and three times
as long as the burro that carries
them, and may be two or three inches
IN thickness. The rear ends of these
6ards drag upn the ground, while he
forward ends are in the air. Those
tibers hide from the view q goodly
part of eSch burro's body. Twenty
five OF these animals thus half laden
beneath the loads which they are
dragging, trudging up the mountain
sides, is one of the sights OF the en-
tire west.