Somewhere in the Mojave Desert’s El Paso range there is a strange tunnel that traverses 2,087 feet of solid rock up in Copper¹ Mountain. What’s strange is that it doesn’t lead to anywhere special. It simply emerges on the high ledge², in the middle of nowhere. The only reason it exists is because an eccentric man named William Henry ‘Burro’ Schmidt – a.k.a. the human mole³ – wanted it there.

莫哈韦沙漠厄尔巴索段（美国德克萨斯州）有一条穿越了岩石耸立的铜山、长达2087英尺的奇怪隧道。之所以说它奇怪，是因为它的终点并不是什么特别的地方，而是就这样突兀地出现在峭壁上。它存在的唯一原因就是，“鼹鼠人”威廉·亨利·布罗·施密特想在这凿一条隧道。

Although he spent 32 years of his life single-handedly digging a half-mile long tunnel through a solid granite⁴ mountain, he never talked much about it. When questioned about his bizarre project, he simply replied that it was a shortcut⁵. To where, no one really knows.

他花了32年的时间只身在坚硬的崖壁间挖出半英里长的隧道，但却从来缄口不提。当被问及这项工程时，他也只是扼要地回答这是条“近路”。然而究竟通向哪里却没人知道。

Schmidt first migrated to the California desert from Rhode Island in the late 19th century, in order to improve his health. He is believed to have started digging the tunnel in 1902. He carried out the excavation⁶ using picks, hammers, hand drills and explosives. At times, he even carried it out on his back. Eventually, he installed iron tracks and a mine car to transport debris⁷.

为了健康着想，施密特于19世纪末从罗德岛搬到加利福尼亚沙漠。据称，他在1902年开始挖掘隧道。挖掘工具包括鹤嘴锄、锤子、手摇钻和炸药。甚至有时他还自己往外背岩石。后来，他安装了铁轨和矿车来输送碎片。

Until this day, the Burro Schmidt tunnel is still a source of great mystery and awe⁸, and continues to rouse the curiosity of people who visit it. He had no formal training and picked up most of the skills required for the job while doing it, but the accuracy of his work is unmistakable. Still, the question remains⁹ – why would anyone want to build a tunnel to nowhere?

直至今日，布罗·施密特隧道仍旧是个谜团，始终困扰着来访的人们。施密特本人没有接受过任何正式培训，只是在开凿过程中习得的技能，然而他的工程却准确到分毫不差。然而，为什么会有人想要修筑这样一条不通往任何地方的隧道呢？

When a man religiously sticks to a ostensibly meaningless task, he naturally gives rise to a whole lot of questions. He lived a life so simple that the theory of hidden treasure simply doesn’t check out. Several people have explored Schmidt’s land and work in an attempt to find some answers to his life’s work, but he left no records of his motivation.

当一个人虔诚地投入到一项看似无意义的工作时，他自然地也不会问那么多问题。施密特一生节俭，关于隧道中有埋藏的宝藏一说也从未得到过证实。有人去探索过这片土地和隧道，试图找到他施工的理由，然而关于开凿动机却未留下只字片语。

It is speculated that Schmidt needed to create the shortcut to bring his gold ore from the mine to the market. But when the construction of a new road made his effort unnecessary, he still chose to continue the gruelling, backbreaking work for several years. In the lack of conclusive¹⁰ evidence, people have been forced to accept that he was probably just obsessed¹¹ with his strange project.

有人推测，施密特是要开辟一条近路来将矿藏中的金子运到市场上。然而，当新路修成，他的工作成了徒劳之后，施密特仍然选择继续挖掘。由于缺少证据，人们只好相信他真的是出于对此工作某种特殊的情感。

No one knows if he ever struck gold, but when he broke through to daylight on the other side in 1938, he simply walked away from his life’s work. Stooped and gnarled from 32 years of rigorous tunneling, he packed up and left Copper Mountain to live the last part of his life in a nearby town. Later, he took on a partner named Mike Lee, and together they gave visitors tours of the tunnel. He died in 1954, taking with him all the secrets of the burrow¹² he built.

没人知道施密特是否真的挖出来过金子，然而待到1938年隧道凿通，他只是从出口、从他毕生的工作中走了出去。结束了32年虔诚的挖掘，他收拾行装离开了铜山，在附近另一个城镇定居。后来和一位名叫迈克·李的人搭档，引领游客参观隧道。1954年，施密特逝世，也带走了他修建隧道的全部秘密。

If you visit the tunnel today, you could walk upright through its entire length in about 30 minutes. It is structurally¹³ sound and along the walls you might be able to identify exposed mineral veins¹⁴. And when you reach the ledge at the end of the tunnel, a spectacular view awaits you. Although located in a remote area, the Burro Schmidt tunnel is a huge tourist attraction.

如果你去隧道参观，不到30分钟就能走完全程。隧道坚固，沿着墙体还可以看见岩石的纹路。然而当你抵达隧道的另一端时，会有壮观的景色。尽管地处偏远，布罗·施密特隧道还是吸引了不少游客前来参观。