Wilmington journal., 1876-01-28
VOL. SO.
CORRE<POND
Hot SPRINGS, ARK, !
December 27. 1875. {

IhoC nave given Ldule 10 Lle mOunLal
and to the valley at it's foot, to tn
stream and to the city on its banks.
THE HOT SPRINGS OF ARKANSAS.
But first let it be said this place i
IN no sense public saIitarium, pubii
charity or public hospital of any sol
where man may enjoy Gods good gift
without money and without price. Th
hotels, bath houses aud drug store
are private property. separate and dis
tlnct from each other, and the residen
physicians are private practitioners jus
as Is the case Ill the city of Whining
ton. The patient, i'll the expressly,
slang of the day. pas his money aut
takes his choice Of doctors and o
hotels, but the doctor generally chooses
the bath house and drug store. rh,
| springs fifty seven III number, are prin
! cIpally on the slope Of the mOuDtaiI
overhanglng the eastern side of the
I valley and Judging from their temper
ature alone, one would say the wagner
WAS right who followed to his com
| parlons tc "hitch npand getaway from
there quick, that he!l was not mile
away from that place"
Eggs are cooked, and hogs and
chickens are scaidel IN the water lust
as 1t comes from the springs. Some
| OF the springs break out Ill the bed OF
, the creek which just here hugs the base
| OF the mountain. Others break out
just above the creek bank and others
and the prlnclpat group too break out
8'll higher up the mountain, some in
deed IS high as 300 feet above the level
OF the valley. The s1mmi. of the
mountain is variousiy estimated at
from 1000 to 21O0 feet above the tide
water, and fIom 500 10 1000 feet
above the level of the valley. All the
springs on the mountain east of the
valley are hot, while those on the
mountain on the west side are cold.
The statement that hot springs and cold
springs buret out side Ivy side is not
true. The principal springs are in a
group so to speak, not far separated from
each other on that part OF the moun-
tain side opposite to q point IN the val
ley somewhat above tie central pOr-
tion. These springs rauge IN tempera
tune from 93 to $50 degrees Fab
renheit and discharge about 500,-
600 gallons of water each day,
enough for near 20, 600 persons daily,
allowing as much as twenty-five gal
Ions for each Individual to bathe in.
For protection most of the springs are
covered with plank or stone, some few
of them being cemented, and the wa
ter is conveyed from them through
wood or iron pipes to large tanks IN
the rear of the bathing houses in the
valley below. From these tanks water
is carried into the tubs in the bathing
rooms as may be desired. OF these
bathing houses generally situated at
hn Of Of .tsaTK
creek bank. there is a sufficient num-
ber in different parts OF the valley to
supply the needs of all who come to
wash and be clean of their troubles,
the length of the pipes from the bath.
house to the springs not exceeding
300 feet III some cases. Precisely what
constitutes the virtue III these or any
any other hot sTrings neither ply ST.
clans nor scientists it seems have yet
been able to decide. Chemical analy-
sis of the waters shows nothing to ac-
count for their beneficial action. Be-
ing the most patent popularity, peo-
pie generally learned and unlearned
have fallen into the belief that it is the
heat that does the work. Some doc
tors there be who contend that the
heat Of these waters possesses prop
critics not possessed by any artificial
heat, designating heat created i'll the
earth as natural or thermal heat and
that created Oh the earth as artificial
heat, and thus account for the wonder
ful cures effected here. Others say
the waters are charged with electricity
and therein find a satisfactory solution
of the long disputed question. But
when doctors differ it cert talnly does
not become patient to decide nor i'm
deed do most patients care II uch about
the science involved provided only the
practical results are satisfactory.
THE WATERS AND THEIR USES.
The waters are delightful to bathe
in, very pleasant to drink and neither
smell badly nor taste badly, AID are
universally used for all purposes both
hot and cold. Some people like but
little water for drinking purposes at
any temperature but nearly everybody
despises it 4s a beverage when war n.
To the latter part of the soft lmpeach-
ment yOnr CORE spOLdent pleads guilty
His earliest and most disagreeable
recOlie ctiOns are oOnnected with drink
ing hot water, for in the day and the
generation of his youth no child dared
get sick lest old doctor B-be
sent for who was sure to prescribe
ipecac md warm water-an1 then
and then. Oh my Half the pleas-
ure # eating green piums and green
apples was destroyed by haunting vi
sions of ipecac and warm water.
How well [ remember that venerable
old man with his wbIte locks ard i'm
macuiate ruffled shirt, his walking
eaUc and his solemn air remember
him, aye that do. But drinking hot
water here is quite different thing
and pleasant enough too, pr the wa
ters contain a sufficient quantity of
C lrbUnic acid gas not only to destroy
all tendency to nausea Dut to act as
decided stimuiant-And by the way this
is most admirable pccu liarIty inas
mach al the very first instruction a
patient receives from his doctor Is to
let whiskey severely alone. Tobacco
too is under the ban, III d word no man
can stay here If he Obeys orders, with
ont leading a godly righteous and so
Der life the prayer-OOOk says
Ouce u day Is as often as patient Is
permitted to battle. indeed horrible
stories are told about strong men dy
ing almost if not quite Ill the ,ath
from the imprudeLt use of these wd-
teIs None however have died Thus
since my arrival bnt tor all that
these stories have good IF ct as they
tend to prevent too free use of the
oath which is beyond doubt Injurious
and then too they drive men TO the
doctors another result that [ agree
with the doctors in thinking is "a con-
summation most derOutly tn b.
wished No matter how mHc'I tn"v
mry dit1; r on ether p"ilt~, all NJ, DS
-
that health seekers at medicinal
springs should place themselves under
medical supervision.
THE BATHS.
A full bath as now given consists of
three PARTS, that is to say the INNER
sion, the vapor, and the pack. The
usual direction is six min Ites for the
immersion, two or three for the vapor
and six for the pack. The immersion
is nothing but the ordinary long tub
hafh with the tamparatt1ra Df tna wa =