The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-01-05
A CALIFORNIA CURIO.
Chemical Properties OF Spring
That Makes the Hair Grow.
The Strange Discovery OF u Bald-Headed
Old Man Whose Scalp Was Made to
Produce q Generous
Growth.

The spring is about thirteen miles
southeast Of San Diego, at the head of q
little valley branching from the Sweet
water Standing on the little mound out
of which the waters gush you can see
Mount San Miguel to the east, to the
southwark Sweetwater lake, and off in
the west range of low hills which
just shuts off the view of the Pacific
ocean. And if you follow the road n
little farther north you will find your
self among the olive and lemon groves
of the Swcetwater and Spring valleys.
The tiny valley is part of the old Span
ish "Jamacha" grant, and had passed
through many and romantic episodes
before it made known the powers of it's
little spring. Underlying it's soil and
but few inches below the surface
there is an immense cement deposit,
highly impregnatcd with iron, arsenic
sulphur and magncsia, and it is sup
posed that the waters get their chemical
qualities by percolating through this
cement bed and dissolving it's ingrcdi-
cntS.
The first person to discover the virtue
of these waters, says the Chicago Inter
Ocean, was an old man named JcpSen,
who in 1885 lived on an adjoining claim
and carried water for domestic pur-
poses from this spring. He was then
scventy-thrce years old, his head was
perfectly bad on the crown, and what
hair he had was thin and scattering. In
few weeks n thick growth of hair
started up all over his head, and his
son, who is now a merchant on X street
in San Diego, says that he had to cut
his fathers hair many times during
their residence on the ranch. At the
time they regarded this growth of hair
did not think of attributing it to the
waters of the spring until they learned
OF its effects upon other people.
At about the same time Charles Fitz-
allen, another bald man, nearly sixty
years old, was living on the ranch and
regularly using the spring water. In
about two months time he found a new
growth Of hair covering his head, which
he says is as soft and luxuriant as it
was in his youthful days.
DIR. p. c. Remondino, DR.. Thomas l..
Magcc and DR.. II. A. Davis, all prom
inent San Diego physicians and
members Of the board of health
of that city, have Investigate
cd the spring and it's cures and
have reported as follows to your cor
respondent: "The water is alkaline,
ferruginous, sulphurrctted, and arsen-
ical, and from the evidence brought be-
fore us we emust acknowledge that it has
made hair grow on scalps where it had
been entirely lost. OF this we have had
several examples on persons whom we
have known for a number Of years and
who, until the use of said waters, had
given up all hope of ever again having
q full head of hair"
Most of the people in San Diego who
known anything about this spring will
simply laugh and say, "Nonsense" il
you ask them about its hair raising
properties. Their scepticism, however,
is based solely on broad, general prin-
ciples, and no case was found in which
1T was due to personal knowledge. But
San Francisco chemist who analyZed
the water made this report: "If there
is anything in that water to make HAIR
grow liberal application Of apollinaris
to bald head ought to raise redwood
fOrpStn