The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-07-04
HoT sPrNGs.
JtjNE 2Sth 1873.

elapsed since my departure from the
good town Of Milan. Whist an eter-
nifty this seems to life 50 devoid Of in
cident and monotonous as mine, where
to stub my toe isan event, and twenty
four hours is an epoch.
Iwil give you an idea Of the organ
lied system of fraud and humbug exs
listing in Hot Springs, not that the
public Cor that DISQUALIFICATION of the
public contemplating a trip to this
place. shall profit by my disclosure,
for l have no such philanthropic in
tentions. My only motive being the
qualification Of a debilitated constitu-
lion. The fraudulent process COM
mences as soon as you leave Memphis;
YOU have paid $500 for the sake Of
riding,in a Pullman car from Memphis
to Malvern, so as to obtain a few hours
sleep before four o'clock the next NOR
ring, at which time you take the nar>
row gauge railroad from Malvern to
Hot Springs. You are an invalid and
feel justified in considerable expence
for little luxury, buteven with these
extravagant notions, you have spent
SOME tine debating whether it would
not be quite as pleasant to sit up all
night, and save two dollars, as to be
rousted out at 50 unchristian an hour
in the morning. Having decided 10
the negative you retire early, and
charge the porter upon his conscience
to let you sleep till the last minute. You
can hardly realise that you have clos
ed your eyes before vigorous poke in
the ribs from the porter brings you to
sitting posture and stunning thump
Of your head on the upper berth reii>
ders you more fit subject for hot wa
ter. The porter tells youin breathless
haste that yoe change cars at Mall
vern, fact with which you are suffi-
GENTLY irhpressedI but does not inform
you how long before said change is to
be affected. Leaving it thus to your
imaginations you at once conceive
Malvern to be but short distance
ahead, and bound into your clothes
with little neatness and much despatch.
You take cut.yUur watch and look at
it mechanically. Gracious! only three
o'clock you see that besotted son Of
Ham mas beat you out of two hours
good sleep: You now brood over the
matter and find you have ample tins
to take off your coat and turn il. right
side out, and ditto your vestj TO tie
your cravat under your chin instead
of your ear and 10 correct a few other
eccentricities in the matter Of dress.
But here we areiat Malvern; the por-
ter is now all consideration and kind
ness. He seiges your numerous lug
gage and starts with you to the depot.
This misunderstanding needs reward
ing' you delicately press silver piece
into his hand and start on ahead that
you may not witness the embarrass-
ment incident upon its acceptance;
you happen to look around only to see
this perfdiods porter transferring your
luggage to another porter whose palm
has not been tickled with the silver
peice; your turn round looking for the
ticket office, and at once disco ger your
luggage sitting alone and unproteced
in the middle Of the platformj with a
sigh for your premature charity you
assume the burden YOURSELF Being
early in the morning and finding it
rather difficult to secure a ticket, we
repair at once to the little train of cars
bound for Hot Springs, getting your
self seated, the conductor soon makes
his appearance; "tickets." "Fare to
Hot Springs, how much?" you enquire.
He replies very emphatically $3.50"
you reluctantly pay him, muttering to
yourself, great Heavens it may be
narrow gauge railroad but a very
broad gauge, two dollars and fifty cents
fortwenty miles ride. After consider
iaguoothcr way ofconveyance, frank
ly acknowledge that | too would
charge all ] could get, if l owned the
road. We lire now at the great foun-
tain head of health. I being in CON-
pany with a commercial tourist from
St Louis, who had visited the springs |
before, he carried me to the Gains
cottage for board, at the reduced price |
of s1z.o0 per. week, He insisted that |
it was cheap enough, so we had break
fast, and took stroll over the town,
which Is said 10 consist of Eve thus
sand inhabitants, we find the town
built entirely on the squatter gova
eminent plan, no regularity about it,
one street for several miles through |
the valley. Next morning we took a
stroll up 30 the observatory on the
east side of the valley, on the nouns
tain from under which all the hot wa
ter comes. This mountain is said 10 be
seven hundred feet above the level of |
the valley, upon the top of which is an
observatory enc hundred feet high,
which we assembled, the eye could then
reach out through the trackless space
of immensely, and with the aid of a
large telescope, could see towns some
twenty miles distant. Lonkingdown
at thepicturesquetownin the valley, one
imagines himself upon the wall oflJu-
rusalem beholding the rains Of the
city. Yours &C., G. w. S.
z. S. To getthe MTLAY EXCHANGE
out here makes me feel ike shaking
hands with an old friend.