The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1877-09-13
Correspondence Of the News.
Letter from Hot Springs,
Arkansas.

Arkansas.
HoT SPRINGS, Ark, Sept. 3, 1877.
]. L. BoARDMAN, ESQ Il can
scarcely realize that I am now writ
ing a letter for the ''News" from this
celebrated watering place of the
, South. Our object in coming here
: was not for pleasure, but for health,
and any information I can give to
any of your numerous readers and to
my friends at home, that may be Of
benefit to them, will amply repay me
for any effort I may make in writing
you.
First I will speak of the route and
expense. At Cincinnati buy a re-
turn ticket via st. Louis, either by
the Ohio & Mississippi or Yandalia
route, and the Iron Mountain R. R.,
which will cost S51 If the Ohio
was up, I would go by river to Mem
phis, by R. R. to Little Rock, where
you intersect the Iron Mountain &
Hot Springs road.
After you leave st. Louis the road
follows the river for about 80 miles,
then strikes out into a country thin
ly settled, mountainous and poor
land, with a dense growth of timber,
which is small. You pass Iron
Mountain, and then through the
great Iron region, arrive at Poplar
Bluff about dark, and shortly after
enter Arkansas. I did not see any |
of the country till I reached Malvern,
25 miles from the Springs passed !
through Little Rock after night.
The weather during our trip from
Hillsboro here was excessively hot
and dusty, but Saturday evening we
had a fine shower and the tempera-
ture has been pleasant ever since.
This is a wonderful place. The
town is the county seat of Garland
county, and has a population Of
about 1000. There are about 1000
visitors here at this time. At all 9th
er' watering places about one half 60
for pleasure, but here almost every
one comes for health. The town is
situated in a narrow glen, between
two bold spurs of the Ozark noun
tains It is said that "the early voy-
ayers who landed on our Southern
coast we're told by the natives of
these wonderful life-giving Springs,
and the adventurous Ponce de Leon
searched for them, believing they
were the fountains ofeternal youth.
In 1920 the first permanent settle
ment was made by white men, who
erected a few cabins, and the histo {
tory of the Springs as an American
resort dates from that time. Orig
inaIly the visitors bathed in the =
springs, without covering, or medi- '
cal advice of any kind, Then came I
the bath tubs, followed out of the {
trunks Of the huge pines and poplars, !
and in time these were enclosed with t
log cabins. L
The Hot Springs are ffty-nine in /
and issue from the west .
side of the southern spur of the Hot +
Springs mountain, the highest t
spring being one hundred and eighty a
one feet above the level of the creek. Il
The water is clear, tasteless and in =
OdorOus. The highest temperature 3
is 153 degrees Fahrenheit The es- a
timated quantity of water discharg- 0
ed daily is about five hundred thou g
sand gallons. The diseases said to =
be cured or benefited by their use h
are, Rheumatism, Gout, Scrofula, s
Paralysis, Neuralgia, Catarrh, Sore C
Asthma, Gravel, Diseases of e
the Kidneys, Coronic Ulcers, Ring i
worms, Sick Headache, &c. -
Since 1865 the averge number of 0
visitors at the Springs has been ten
thousand seven hundred per year y
and of these about seyenty-1ige per b
rent hare been cured p
The first thing you do on arrival o
here, after selecting your bath house,
is to consult a physician. If on ez- q
the physician discovers d
The heart or lungs to be diseased, n
The invalid is not allowed to bathe,
IS hot baths in such cases prove dis '
lstrous. The usual directions are,
from six to nine minutes in water at L
DO to 100 degrees Fahrenheit The
mode of bathing differs with differ ell
snt diseases. In cases of Rheuma- it
Hsm and Paralysis, the dOuche is in in
used with satisfactory re- pc
suits. It enables the bather to have p,
4 stream of water to fall on any dis til
9ased part of the body or limbs, and ~
he is often Immediately relieved of ra
pain. u, ~
The baths are very much enjoyed a:
bv all. The electric influence of the u
water is so quickly felt throughout fc
The whole system, that any one can ci