The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-07-02
Bailey Springs, Alabama.

Bailey Springs, Alabama.
, The attention of our readers is invite,
to the above named place as a resort 70
health or pleasure during the present sea
son. The water has, for years, been tt
J acknowledged peer of any on the continen
: for the cure of certain disorders, SO tina
cases of dropsy, scrofula, dyspepsia, dis
} eases of the urinary organs, and derange
) ments peculiar to women, resort to it will
certainly of benefit and hope of permanen
cure. Large quantities of the water arr
every month shipped to almost every Stat'
in the Union, and visitors from Canada Il
Mexico, from Virginia to California, CONF
every year to drink from some one of the
Bailey Springs.
Fifty years of unassailed reputation
i prove conclusively the healing power o.
the waters. During that time many othel
waters have sprung into sudden notoriety
There would be waving of newspaper
banners and a flourish of newspaper
trumpets for a year or two, and then the
bubble would burst. But Bailey Springs
has kept on the even tenor OF its way, de.
pending not upon newspaper advertise
ments, or influential friends, or personal
solicitations for its support, but upon the
medicinal virtues of the various waters
and the natural healthfulness and beauty
of the situation and surroundings.
j Such being the case a stranger might
suppose its visitors are all invalids. But
it is not so. During the summer of 1883
not more than ten per cent. of the visitors
were suffering with any disorder. The
rest of the merry crowd that thronged the
ball and dining-rooms were refugees from
heat, from malaria, from dust, from BUSH
ness, from the ennui of sultry summer
| DAYS in town, from the heated term in the
country. Nine out of ten had been here
repeatedly. Many of them had visited
| other noted resorts, in the North and East,
and returned to the social and informal
gaieties of Bailey as far more pleasant and
enjoyable.
| The Springs are seven in number, all
different in taste and properties. They
are named the Freestone, the Soda, the
Brick Tor Chalybeate), the Alum, the Rock
! Tor Mineral), the Iron, and the Sulphur.
They are in a little valley between the
sides of semi-circular hill. From this
valley to the "creek" the walk is pic
turesque, romantic and lovely. This is no
advertising exaggeration, but the verdict
of thousands who have frequented it, and
of artists who have admired its leafy
arcades, its PERCEPTIONS sides, its natural
cascades, and its rocky pools, deep, dark
and still. The lovely, messy banked, fern
| fringed little river called Shoal Creek is
source of perpetual pleasure to the lovers
of beautiful scenery, or to those fond OF
boating or fishing. 1t is no sluggish, tur
bid current, but volume OF crystal green
water that pours along in graceful ripples
over bed of solid rock, broken here and
there by projecting stones or beds of gravel,
and with occasional long reaches of deep
and motionless water, where the black
bass and the channel cat love to hide their
dainty forms.
Nature has done her part to render
Bailey Springs an unrivalled pleasure
and health resort, and art and capital have
added to the natural attractions with UNI
stinted hands.
The hotel buildings are situated on the
summit of a semi-circular range of hills
which curve grandly round the mineral
springs at their base, The houses are
three hundred feet above the level of
Shoal Creek, little over a quarter Of q
mile away. They are comfortable, old
fashioned structures, with large rooms and
an abundance of doors and windows and
yerandahs. No modern building with its
wings and many gables and little rooms
and staring show windows can compsre
with these for solid comfort in hot weather.
The extensive grounds are turfed vi b
natural grasses, and densely shaded with
forest trees of large growth and infinite
variety, among which graveled walks wind
in every direction. When in mid-season
the buildings are lighted with many lamps,
the walks and avenues are illuminated by
bright-coIored Chinese lanterns hung
among the trees, and the sound of music
and dancing, and soft laughter floats on
the night air, it is like scene from fairy
land. The rooms are furnished with q
view to comfort and convenience, and
experienced supervisors maintain the ut
most cleanliness. The ballroom Is
famous for its smooth floor and fine music.
The dining-room is large and commo-
dious, and insects are exel7ded by wire
rauze screens over the doors and windows.
It is served BY professional walters under
an experienced steward, and supplied with
the best of country fare, most Of which IL
from the extensive focks, herds, gardens,
orchards and vineyards belonging TO the
estate.
All the customary amusements are sup.
piled. Music, dancing, boating, bathing
archery, ten-pins, cards, chess, excursions,
barbecues and other pleasant entertain
ments are called into frequent use Tor the
pleasure Of the visitors.
Those who consider the above descrip-
ton extravagant or exaggerated, will con-
| fer favor on the proprietoFs by conaulting
some neighbor who has visited this resort.
There are such In almost every neighbor-
hood. and any recent visitor viii acknoWl-