Little is known of John Horrigan's life before he arrived in Ellis during the 1870's, but he had worked as an Army muleskinner and also spent some time working on the Mississippi. In Ellis, he supported himself as a stonemason until old age forced him to retire. Although people speculated then and later about why he prayed, he never revealed his reasons, while speaking freely about other subjects to those he knew. With clock-like regularity every day, regardless of the weather, he went to a spot along the railroad tracks and prayed three to four times a day, often for several hours. He always prayed bareheaded, with his long hair blown by the Kansas wind and his beardless face exposed to the summer sun and winter winds. Though some ridiculed his lengthy and frequent prayers, he spoke well of others and never uttered a cross word or cursed. For many years he prayed along the railroad tracks at the western edge of town, but after the arrival of the Kodak and his growing legendary status, curious onlookers flocked to photograph him, forcing him to leave his rail-side altar and seek seclusion near Cemetery Hill. After a two-week illness, he died on Monday evening, 22 May 1905. He is buried on Cemetery Hill near where he so often knelt in the prairie grasses, and a red cedar tree near the north wall of Mount Hope Cemetery shades his grave.