New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-07-10
ARKANSAS REVISITED.
A VISIT TOHOT SPRINGS.

tFRoM 4 sPECIAJ CORRESPONDENT oF THE TRTnUNEI
Hot SPRINGS Avk.-Thjs is I'm no sense pleasure
resort Imaginary iuvaids do not come here to l"ie
away a few weeks of the summer and swallow
daily modicum of mineral water in the belief that
they are toniuc up their systems The visitors are
peoplc with real and often cXcruciating ailments
who come with faith, or at least nope
that the waters are as healing as they ale
hot IL is not place 10 which sehsl-
BILE person in possession of q moderate amount
of health would resort for enjoyment. \ cash IN
the Ozark Mountains, into which the sun pours It's
fcrvid rays in summer and through which the
Winter wind sucks with chilliugvelocity, is notpar
ticulary attractive when in fun possession Of its
natural beauties. hut when it has been cleared out
of its forests. and filed from side to side with a
dirty street. bordercd bv mean little wooden
structures it becomes particularly repulSve.
The street resembles nothing so much as the main
thorough fares in Colorado mining towns. 1t con-
tains. however only moderate number Of saloons,
but in the wav Of doctors offices II is immense.
There are sand to be eighty physicians making a
living here nv telling patients how often they ought
TO battle ard how hot they should have the water.
The rivalry between them Is so great that
they employ runners 70 bring in patients. The
ragged, shabby street | have spoken Of,
squeezed in for mile between steep mountain
sides, energies at either end into broader
valleys. At the upper end there are few good bo-
tells and boarding-houses; at the lower, rambling
suburb stretches ont for half a mile 10 the railway
station. and ends in a singular group of sbanties,
called KcllcvtowD, inhabited by hundreds ofmi>cr-
nhle creatures who have managed to get here,
Heaven knows how, and while waiting the curative
action OF the waters, live on broken yictualS from
the hotel tables. bath has been scooped out
in the rock for their use, and water Is
conveyed TO IL from the springs. General Kelley,
the Government Superintendent. who has provided
the cabins and the bath, and who looks after this
dolefu collection of outcasts, says that in spite OF
the mis-, rab'e way in which thew i've and the hard
ships they suffer from want of sufficient clothes and
bedding 80 per cent Of them are cured of their dis
eascs-a remarkable evidence Of the efficacy OF the
waters.
AN AMERICAN 4" KCRORT.'
Hot Springs. then, is essentially what the Ger
mans call a kyort-a place where people resort to
be cured. The waters come the nearest 10 being
specific for certain diseases Of any mineral waters
in the world. and the town owes its whole mpOr-
lance and notoriety to the fact that thousands of
people have come TO II sick with chronic complaints
Of the most serious character and have gone away
well The complaints for which the baths work the
best results are rheumatism. paralysis, neuralgia,
govt female troubles. and all diseases resulting
from viulcnt blood-poisOning. Some OF the
cures related TO me-not by the doctors and
clkecpCrs interested in attracting visitors, but
by the United states Commissioners, who are here
TO settle titles and sell the Government lands-bor-
der on the miraculous. Men and women whose
lives seemed hopeIcssy marred and made wretchcd
by diseases Inherited OF contracted by their own I'M
prudence. 90 away rejoicing in the possession Of
perfect health leaving their CutcheS and bandageS
behind them. The whole curative process consists
in taking one bath a day one every other
day, and the singular fact about it is
That there is really nothing remarkable
found in the water when analyzed-nothing in its
ingredient, that accounts scientifically for its
derful effects II is not strongly impregnated with
minerals, and those It contains have no eXtraOrdi-
nary remedial properties. Oflate the doctors have
got to atributng the beneficial powers Of the water
10 magnetism. which they say is developed rs soon
a. il comes in contact with the air. Below the sur
face the Instruments employed for tests show
magnetic action, but when the springs send forth
their boiling streams it is quite apparent.
There are Gfty-Scveu springs all within the space
OF a few hundred wards, all in the side OF steep
mount fiD, which they have made more PERCEPTIONS
peratu5c ranges from $50 to 1902 and they pour
into the Grtle creek that runs through the valley
about 100000 gallons every twenty-tour hours
BATHING n THE HEALING WATERS.
tuIes straddhng the stream, and are neither
inviting externally nor clean internally.
Each contains an office where the propre-
for sit, az the receipt of fees, two sitting
rooms Tor bathers Of the two sexes, and two long
windows from which the bathrooms open. These
rooms are little boxes, uncOmfortaby warm from
the effect Of the hot water. Each furnished with
a tub of zinc or painted wood chair and a few
clOthc5-hoOks. There is a hot water spiggot and
cold water spggot, and the custom Is to begin with
the water at about 90 aud heat il up gradually to
1902 Ten minutes is the usual time al
lowed for q soak. stalwart negro then
enters stands you up in tub, soaps
you ali over. washes you as if you were baby,
gives you a vigorous rubbing, and after wiping you
dry leaves you to dress. AS you go ont YOU find
him at the door TO take the ticket for which you
have paid quarter and an additional fifteen cents
as a fee for his services, and for the use of the
towels. There is no smell to the water, and one
must have sensitive palate TO detect any peculiar
taste.
The whole Hot Springs settlement. containing
s6out 1000 permanent inhabitants, stands upon
land belonging TO the United States, and the
people are therefore merely squatters, although
they were in the habit of buying and selling the
lots as ii they had good title to them, until the
Government a few years ago took measures TO as
sert lis rights. The people took care. however, not
to erect valuable improvements on Land which
they knew only private property by sutfrance.
Now the Government has a commission here with
full power to survey the valley, lay out roads aud
sell the lots. The commissioners are eX-
Senator Crann, of New-Hampshire, ex-
Congressman Coburn. of Indiana, aud ex-
Governor Stearns of Florida They have
reserved the whole Of the mountain side where the
springs are and have established system OF alter
rents and ground rents Tor the lighthouses All the