Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-05-27

, o'uies HI tHese neailng fountains.
, , Within the past few years the Gov.
i, ernment has had the Reservation To-
Gated and defined and retains for il.
self 100 acres on the east side of the
valley, embracing within its limits all,
) save two, of the Hot Springs of what.
,, soever name or property. but permits
persons to build bath houses which re-
) ceive their supplies from the Springs
by means of iron pipes laid for the pur-
pose; these houses paying n royalty OF
$500 per tub per annum to the Gov
ernment; and judging by the number
OF bath houses In full blast, (ten I
think, ain safe in saying that the
Government derives a yearly income
of $4,000 to $1,000, for the use of this
hot water. These houses charge from
81 to $3.50 per course of 81 baths, the
bather paying the rubber" $500 per
course for his or her services. These
houses are generally crowded from Q
A. NJ. TOD P. NJ. with eager, anxious
bathers.
Your humble fellow citizen thought
to take part in what seemed to he the
ali'aosorhing and important occupa.
ton Of visitors, and without hesitatio,
entered the "Ozark"- house and calle,,
Tor 50 course of bath tickets; after re-
ceiving which, I was without further
remo::y ushered into the torid zone
where the thermometer stood pIace,lly
at 9S~ in the shade. My "rubbern was
promptly on hand aud before 7 could
wipe the great drops Of Precipitation
from my heated brow. he had your
humble and frightened citizen prepar-
Ell for the plunge. Ugh! did you ever
go swimming in a saw mill boiler
when steam is up? that wouli be cool
10 comparison, and yet the peculiarity
OF this water is, that although it comes
out of the ground with from 1909 to
1907 of heat il does not really scald,
and one can drink it with remarkable
relish. The bath, however, is reduced
in temperature as low as 1O4- to 90. as
is preferred by the bather, and ten to
fifteen minutes time by the minute
glass in which t. enjoy its invigorating
effects. Time was called on me, how
ever, and found myself confronted by
my ethiopian combatant, armed with
rough looking turkish implement of
warfare, and nothing was left me but
to stand my ground, or water, as tho
case may be, and for fully ten rounds
IN dill q fItoIi,for
school deport himself with more he
role courage than did your humble cit
izen. But the battle was drawn and
was left to enjoy that delightful con-
tentment that invariably succeeds
each bath.
Politics in this city to some extent
resemble the noted "confedrte roads''
whiskey: they are mixed. BY consid-
erable trailing at last election a Repub-
lican mayor was elected for the first
time. The same trading electeia n ne.
gro for police judge as well rs two out
OF eight aldermen; the remainder of
town officers and thee -fourths of the
police are democrats. The city as well
as the county, on a State or national
ticket, gives a handsome Democratic
There are some very sub
stantial brick business houses in the
city, and the general character of the
dwellings,, which are frame, will COM
pare favorably with other towns of
Arkansas and Missouri.
Two well edited and newsy daifies
find substantial support here; II we'll
equipped line of street railroad runs
the entire length of the town; two
banks receive a fair remuneration for
their invested capital; a fine opera
house proves good investment; five
first and all equal number of second
class hotels are crowded almost con-
tinually with guests. and boarding
houses innumerable vie with each 9TH
ar in their efforts to accommodate and
fitch the unwary and unfortunate Wis.,
tor. But aside from their almost ex-
;usable propensities to over-charge,
and if possible get your last dollar
hey are most sociablc and law ahid-
rs pSoP'S' ~ nos ICSu NY SoOu Iois
une to spend two Sundays in the city
and h We not seen a store, saloon or
barber shop opened to the public, nor
nave l seen at any time an intoxicated
nan or man under arrest, and with
,ut wishing to make invidious distinc-
ions / will account for this happy
state of affairs in this way: the resi-
lent population is almost entirely
with small per cent. of
good, substantial foreign horn, but
now naturalized citizens.
The church-going element among
he colored people largely predomi-
mates, thus exerting a very salutary
influence upon the minority.
Nor are the whites at all careless or
Indifferent as regards the teaching of
he doctrines of the Prince of Peace"
as is SO clearly evinced by the splendid
churches erected by the Presbyterians,
Baptists, Methodists
md Catholics.
The streets, hotels ard business
,ouses are lighted with gas and elec-
ricity, while numerous fountains Of
resh running hot waters are free to all
yho may wish to drink, and were it
necessary to do SO, thousands of Won
lerful and miraculous cures could be
lamed to attest their healing virtues.