The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-03-23
HUNTING FOR RADIUM
In France Many People Seek
the Priceless Metal
HAVE NERVINE QUALITIES
Water in Some Springs Shows
Evidence of Its Presence.

There were ehree in our party, and before
lunch time we had met nine other pros
pecting parties. The mass of them were
plain French farmers, though they had
among them professional men and city
men, in broken down health, staying IN
the neiShborhood OF the innumerable me-
dicinal springs Of these Vosges hills.
Now, We know why waters chemically
Gull like these have nevertheless such
precious nereine qualities They contain
radium matter All around the springs
in the sands washed down by them and
q in The rocks and dirt around Them ehere
is believed to exist the most fabulOusly
valuable Of metals, radrlum.
The hunt for radium is on through all
France. Wherever there are Jumps Of
rock to smash with a small hammer
there are eager prospectors, all gone mad
hunting for radium.
1t is easy to prospect; and easy to as
say. one Of the secrets of the craze IS
amateur photography. The amateur pho
tographer is everywhere in France. And
al you have to do to make a rough guam
titative assay of radioactive ores is to
employ sensitive plates and then develop
your negative.
There were three in our prospecting
party-Doctor F, Of Paris, The automobn-
list D. and myself
we have a real chance Of stumbling on
a fortune SAID Doctor F., "and what d
fortune. Do you know the value of pure
radiUm? Ninety thousand times as val
liable as pure gold. OF course, the thing
Is to find ores rich enough for working"
What are we going to do with these
rans?" asked D.
The man Of science explained thar the
cans, holding three quarts each, were in
reality glass jars covered with metal, and
this brings US at once to one of the most
interesting of up-to-date radium facts.
Have you any idea why we are lucky
to be prospecting for radium in this dis
trict Of innumerable mineral springs" in
quired the doctor eve are not going to
the Vittel Casino today. No; we shall
prospect around obscure little sources
bubbling from the hills in hidden spots.
The district is full of them Messieurs
we are in the land of Joan of Arc It is
g matter of record that in her trial by the
English the fact that one of the hot or
cold springs near her fathers cottage was
frequenteG by the sick who came to
drink and battle in its waters, was used
as a trap to catch her in some avowaI OF
sorcery.
: Were The people cured by your fathers
spring." asked the English inquisitor.
They were so well cured that they got
the habit of returning to be cured again
every year" replied the truthful maid.
and until the radioactive properties of
the waters were hit on. you might say
only last week, the jest has been contin-
uous through the centuries. Especially
in these days of chemical analysis the
chemists laughed down the possible med
zeal effects of waters so feeble in Their
naturalization that The doctors in at
tendance themselves had to call them
''indiferentes." And open minded phys
iologists, forced 10 admit their remarka-
bic nervous properties, could put the.c
finger on no tangible agent in solution
in them
Now we are beginning to know the Sc
cret of these 'indetermincees' springs
concluded the doctor They owe their
properties TO radiations brought UP from
fabulous depths in the unknown. mys-
ferrous crust of the earth. And note here
that remarkable provision of a friend Of
mine. Dr. J.. Fays of Beoulieu, near Nice !
who wrote as early as 1892 (Societe dIy- .
drologie Medicale de Paris and again in
1896 Congress d Hydrologic de CIermont- .
Ferrandl
1t is probable that these vibrat0ry
are different from those known /.
to Us under the names of heat. light. cleo /
tEcity or magnetism
AS TO the fact itself. there is now no 1
doubt Radium has been discovered In the .
waters Of Bath. in England. +.
and in the similar waters in Auversne I
and here in the Vosges. Note we are +
not prospecting the Casino said the doc /
tor we leave the strongly chemical
springs aside. Here we are!'
We bent down over a small warm-water .
spring The doctor filled a can. We .
labeled it and passed on over goat paths. F
over broken-down stone walls, which .
doubtless Joan climbed when she was .
practicing to wear male costume. through .
scrub and bits OF forest. Now and then
Ihe doctor picked up a bit of metallic
looking rock. Each time we took bear
ings and labeled the specimens TO find
the spot again if need be.
Here's another spring.
We filled another can, about three
quarts The sun mounted high and
started down the other side. Our cans
were filed with varied mineral waters.
There are shvee ways TO assay radium
ore. Being impatient we tried the rough
est. quickest method that very night with
{ J..
tern
'Ilerc are a lot Of absolutely tisht
boxes" said the doctr. Here are our
paclaecs Of extra rapid photograph
plates. And here are slips of black pauer
the same size or a trihe larger. The
boxes are tieht 70 prevent any possible
ray o[ sunlight altering into them"
The doctor opened a box. placed in il
sensitive plate and covered with slip OF
black paper. lie then placed q piec2 cf
ore 81 the middle Of the box on the slip
of black paper.
"Natc." he said. that the black paper
Is between the ore and the plate. Tbs is
10 make su-e that there shall be no direr;
chemical 6eaction. II there is any radiant
-2atter in the ore 4; will pass throush the
black paper without fail
We closed the box Theoretically. Then
re loaded and closed the Others. It was
midnight Nov" said the doctor. 1t
win take hours for the ray az there be
inyl in the Gre 10 penetrate the ores
themselves the black paper. and affect
he sensitive plate.
S. we waited through that night.
reaming Of q radiant future.
At O'Clock the next morning we de- :
elcped our photographic be explicit f.:
ur photographs The method Of develop