The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1883-10-03
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS.

Ii newspaper correspondent was at
all inclined to be as fanciful Or captious
as travellers generally, he would probably
doubt the existence of the town at all
after hearing the long name, white
Sulphur Springs Such a name is not
consistent, as a rule, with money-making
and strict business principles, but rather
belongs by rights to some sleepy-eyed
little hamlet whose chief and only at
fractions are the post office and its GUS;
tomary mate in the vanguard Of immigra-
tion-the saloon. Or, from the newspaper
reports of the therapeutic qualities Of
the springs, one might imagine dismal
and forlorn country hotol, set out on the
barren prairie, peopled for the most part
by rheumatic cripples in every possible
stage of dilapidation. But il any such
libelous thoughts ever wandered through
his head during his long and lonely ride
from Neihart through the mountains to
the afo, esaid town, he was disabused of
any such ideas On coming in sight of his
destination.
This, unlike most of our western cities.
is pleasantly situated, clustered as it is
around the mineral springs which have
christened it, right between the two
forks of Smith river, whose Willow-mar-
gined banks and wide bottoms are dotted
thickly with ranches, checkered with
their wealth of green and gold, as the
artist might say; Of the fields of hay and
grain, in the language of the rancher.
This beautiful picture, set in a frame
like amphitheatre of mountains, capped
with rugged cliffs and forests Of pine,
makes scene which is charming in it's
novelty and loses none of its interest on
closer inspection. And then, to return
to the subject Of our story, the town it,
self, with it's neat residences, whose
white walls fairly glistening in the
strong Montana sunshine, make your
eyes ache to look at them, proclaiming
their recent construction the founda-
tons, with their adjoining stumbling
blocks to the benighted passer-by ; the
piles of brick and lumber and mortar
beds; the walls of other houses, rising
slowly brick by brick or board by board;
the rap of the carpenters hammer and
the grating of the mason's trowel; the
general chaotic condition of the streets,
which look as though an earthquake
had struck them, with the loads of clay
which the graders are filling up with,
and their not very ornamental fringe Of
building material of all descriptions
all this proclaims to the stranger that he
is in a thriving, growing town which
has aspirations cityward already, and
will not be many years in reaching
there if its present rate of progress is
kept up.
The association which has bought out
DR.. Parberry, the former owner of the
springs, is doing well for the town in
improving its property and erecting new
buildings as they are needed. Their
enterprise will no doubt be rewarded by
the increased value of the property they
represent. The Springs hotel is sub
stantial frame building, and though it
looks large for small town yet the reg
ular and transient boarders keep the
house well filled the year around. Dur
ing my sojourn there, which was court
week, a house twice as large would not
crowd oflawyers. clients and jurors who
literally swarmed there, to be sheltered
and fed. The springs proper are inclosed
eating ditch runs through the upper
side, making possible the ornamental
ton of the park with trees. A beginning
has been made this season in the plant
ing of trees, and if followed up will in a
few wears make this a beautiful spot.
The new brick bath house now under
construction is 4Ox44 feet, and will have
when finished two plunge baths and
four single ones for gents and two for
ladies. This will be a great improve
ment over the unsightly old log cabins
which are at present used for bath rooms
and will no doubt increase the already
large business the baths are doing. The
springs themselves are quite curiosity,
varying as they do in size, temperature
and chemical properties. Some are as
warm as 1902, making it rather uncom-
Portable to put your hand in them, and
running down from that to 7Oo The
warm water makes a delightful bath.
and as s'cleanliness is next to godlinessu
a liberal application frequently repeated,
even if it does not 'wash all their sins
away ought to make. a Model COM
The most noticeable thing in
the drinking of these waters is the odor
of the sulphuretted hydrogen gas which
keeps up q. continuous bubbling as it
escapes from the water in the spring.
The water is not an unpleasant beverage,
as a great many seem to prefer it to the,
best of drinking water. The mineral
deposit made by one of the Warmest
springs is almost white, principally
sulphur, but in most of them this pre-.
cipitate at the bottom and sides of the.
water is beautifully colo1ed with all
shades of red from the iron held in so
luton. An exact quantitative analysis
of these waters is now being made. am
informed. though qualitative analysis
by Prof. Vaughn, of the university of