The Republican journal., 1898-06-23

/ uaiv otl1e1 WAYS. would recommend all at
flicted women to try Dr.. PierCe's valuable medi-
| cines and thus become well and stron.
-
out OF the wretched place, the better; so
you re- hire the dilapidated volante, whose
owner stands waiting, knowing from pre-
yious experience that no foreigner is going
to stay long in Sante Fe. Now he has
three mules harnessed tandem, and flour
ishing his whip over their heads, with
many prolonged ''mulas- all h h. h. he
rattles you over the dusty road at pace
which threatens to disjoint yourself as
well as the vehicle. Finally the low, green
| hills are reached whose steep and quilted
byways make such rapid transit imposs-
BILE; you cross queer little bridge, beneath
which ascending steam betokens some OF
the warm springs, and suddenly you see,
standing before YOU several stately struc-
lures built of stone, surrounded by beau
tifully kept grounds, and many we'll
dressed people lettering under trees or
lolling in hammocks on the wide veran-
das. The transformation scene between
this and santa Fe is indeed surprising.
These stone and marble casas are the spa
hotels, and at the best Of them, the san
ia Rita" you may lind large cool rooms,
an obiging proprietor and some Of the
comforts of life. \ great deal is lacking,
however, which "mne host" under
present circumstances, cannot supply. BY
aud by. when the war is ended and pros
pemty restored to long suffering Cuba,
some Northern bonifaces will come down
here with sufficient capital and make Of it
an ideal resort. The climate is as near
absolute perfection as can be found this
side of Heaven-the dry, pure air cooled
by breezes from the nearby ocean and
odors OF the pine forests At present only
one OF the springs, that called "Templa-
do" (temperate) is used as bath. \
house has been erected over it. divided
into compartments for ladies and gentle
men, each bathing pool being l. feet by
s, with t inches of water on a floor of
solid stone. The temperature Of the water
is s. degrees Fahr, and it is very strongly
impregnated with oxygen, carbonic acid
gasses, chloride of sodium, sulphate Of
lime, nitrate of lime. iron, magnesia
Slick, chloride OF calcium. and nobody
knows what other constituents. making
about the nastiest drink imaginable Be-
side it, the SAVIOR of added eggs, common
to most mineral springs, is as ambrosa,
and even the smell of it generally acts as
a lively emetic on new corners. The reg
ulation cure here, as prescribed by the
Cuban doctors for almost every disease
known to materia medica, is four glasses
a day of the water and two baths; but it
is probable that the pine odors, the warm
pure air and simple diet, and, above
all, faith, have much to do with it.
At any rate, great many surprising
cures have been effected, particularly of
bronchial, rheumatic and scrofulous com
plants. 1nvalids have been brought from
the steamers on litters, apparently Just
ready to give up the ghost, who in a
weeks time have been riding over the
hills on horseback and in a month have
gone home ''good as new and well as
anybody. If the springs were managed
by some sensible, wide awake, judicious
Anglo Saxon, they would soon become the
sanitarium of the continent, besides which
I
phur in Virginia, Saratoga, and other of
our Spas would hide their diminished
heads. AS it is, life here is not unendur-
able, though lacking many of the ''crea-
ture comforts" to which Northerners are
accustomed. Mere pleasure seekers had
better stay away; but one whose health
is at stake can afford to fight abounding
vermin and put up with ''short commons
for season. Fleas, reaches, spiders, a
| thousand wriggling, crawling, singing
creatures, beset you continually on the
Isle of Pines. You find the pests between
| the sheets and in the food. They precinct
your shoes at night, and the garments
you are wearing by day; and if they do
1t take bodily possession of you, whole
colonies of them settling down comfort
ably in your hair and ears and nostrils
while you are catching ''forty winks'' of
troubled slumber in the intervals of war
fare, you are exceptionally fortunate.
Even Eden had it's serpents, you know;
and doubtless a more advanced stage of
civilization here will evolve some means
of diminishing the plague of vermin.
Expenses at this Spa are very moderate.
The best hotel charges 1925 per diem,
American money, for its choicest accom-
modations, including baths. Saddle
horses may be hired for $15O per day,
and carriages at proportionate rates.
There are many charming walks and