The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1877-10-20
HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS.

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afforded me to crafty my curiosity to see
Hot Springs; place which geography in
formed me in early youth was situated fifty
five miles southwest of Little Rock. You
see | did not know but what the place
might be myth, like the Mountains Of
the Moon" which the aforesaid book rep
resented as stretching across Africa from
east to west in a locality now known to be
quite marshy; or the " Interior Sea" OF
Africa, whose bed has been traversed by
adventurous explorers; or the "Great Amer
lean Desert" a large part of which is now
in successful cultivation.
| l leave the above mentioned road at Nal.
vern, station forty-four miles south of
Little Rock, and there take the Hot Springs
railroad. This latter road was built fol-
the sole purpose of carrying passengers to
Hot Springs. 1t cost $500, 900, and COM
menced running early in 1876. 1t is twenty.
four miles in length and is narrow gauge.
The country through which it runs is a
semi wilderness-scarcely sign of civiliza-
ton to be seen except in the immediate
vicinity of the three or four solitary sta.
tions. The entire region is broken and
mountainous. We catch glimpses, here
aud there, of bright, limpd mountain
stream. The station where the road ends
is about mile south of the city of Hot
Springs. From the terminus of the road a
| line Of street ears rims nm RI tba o;tu ond
through it; the length of the line being
about two miles. This, as you will observe,
makes the city one mile in length. Its
width is about one street, it being built in
the narrow valley of Hot Springs creek
This valley is said to vary from 100 feet to
600 feet in width, but the greater part Of
it is so closely hemmed in by the "everlast
ing hills " that it admits of but one street,
with row of houses on each side.
The city las they call it, is the county.
seat of Garland county, was incorporated
in May, 1876, has increased very rapidly in
size, and has now a population of about
5000. The place is not supported by the
surrounding country, and has no manufac.
turing industries, but is built for the &C
commodation of, and is sustained by, visi
tors. 1t has seven drug stores, about eighty
physicians, some twenty hotels, and as
many boarding houses. Two of the hotels
can accommodate over two hundred guests
each. The Grand Central has accommoda.
tions for one hundred and twenty guests,
and is we'll kept house. The city is sup
piled with gas, has some good stores, and
has a rather lively and business like appear
ance, though most of the houses are very
cheaply constructed. This latter fact is
largely owing to the former unsettled state
of the land titles. The ownership of the
springs and the valley has been in dispute
for over thirty years. The contestants
were Ex-Gov. H. NJ. Rector, Col. John G.
Hale, Major VIM. H. Gaines, and the U. S.
Government. The case has been through
all the State and Federal Courts, and the
Supreme Court of the United States has
recently decided in favor of the Govern
ment. Now that the question of titles is
decided, improvement will probably 90 on
more rapidly than ever.
In regard to the springs, they are about
fifty in number, and issue from the western
slope of the Hot Springs Mountain "a spur
of Ozark Mountain, at an elevation OF
about 900 feet above the level of the sea
Most of them are from so to 100 feet above
the level of the valley, but few are near
the margin of the creek. Their tempera-
ture varies from 90 degrees to $50 degrees
Fahrenheit, and they make discharge OF
$50 gallons a mnute-a sufficient quantity
to afford daily bath to each of 10, 29G
persons. scientists have estimated from
the physical evidences everywhere to be
seen in the vicinity of the springs, that
they have been flowing for over twenty
three hundred years" They seem to have
been celebrated from very early period
for their curative powers, and they are now
referred to in some quarters as the "Second
Siloam,' the Modern Bethesda" the
"Baden- Baden of America" &c. The In
dians are said to have sent to them bands
of their sick to be cured of diseases that
were beyond the control of their Medicine
Men Tradition says they are the Fountain
of Youth for which Ponce De Leon searched
in vain throughout Florida and the South.
Three of the principal springs are known
as Raj Hole, Corn Hole, and Mud Bath.
Two of these are covered by shanties, and
are used by people who cannot afford to
pay for bathing. Most of the springs are
covered, and the water conveyed in pipes
to the numerous bath houses in the valley
below. The water is used principally for
bathing, but is also drank. 1t may be
drank without the feeling of nausea that
warm water generally creates. The water
is recommended for host of diseases, but
most strongly in cases of rheumatism, govt,
and skin diseases. Persons having con.
sumption or heart disease are not allowed
to battle. The baths are said to have a
most beneficial effect upon the complexion.
This probably accounts for the presence OF
a number of ladies who do not seem to lie
troubled with rheumatism.
| There are great number of sulphur,
iron, and other mineral springs in the vicin-
ity. The water of the iron spring is more
strongly impregnated with that mineral
than any other l ever tasted. All the
springs on the west side of the valley are
cold, and all on the east side are hot. 1t is
a matter of much conjecture why the water
of these springs is hot. | did not discover
the cause. If the interior of the earth be
mass of fire, as is supposed from the fact
that the temperature increases as we 60
below the surface, then it may be because
they have a deeper source than ordinary
springs. 1t is frequently asked, also, why
should more benefit be derived from the
use of these waters than from the use of
artificially heated waters. Prof Tyndall,
speaking on this subject, says: 81 am not
acquainted with any difference between
natural heat and artificial heat. am not
| acquainted with any thermo. electric condi-
tions that could cause any perceptible diff
ference between the therapeutic action of