Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 May 1891 — BUBBLES TO CURE ALL. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BUBBLES TO CURE ALL.

THE HEALING WATER OF ARKANSAS HOT SPRINGS. America's Fountain of Life, with Many Drawbacks In tbo Wav <>r Dishonest Treatment, Visited by Thousands ol Fallen ts in Search of Health.

X a low, rocky spur of the 'O/ark Mountains, fiftynine miles southwest of Little I’ock, and at an altitude of 700 feet above .the sea, bubble the famous Lot springs of Ar--1 ansas. liow long their curative propei ties have been .known to .r

mankind is a mattur of conjecture, for Ponce de Leon’s idea of the “fountain of youth” was undoubtedly gained from Indian stories. Although it was before the days of Cutler’s Guide and before the Diamond Jo line had bean established. the old discoverer was headed in in the right direction, and would undoubtedly have come upon the object of 'hissearch had not death put him past the influence of any fountain of youth. This group of springs, which has proved such a valuable ally to medical science, comprises seventy-one distinct outlets,

■tketotal daily output of which is 482,•000 gallons having a temperature ranging from 92 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

' These outlets issue from the west side of Hot Springs Mountain from twenty-live •to seveuty-hve feet above the level of the valley, and form a beautiful, clear ; stream of water twenty or thirty feet in ’width. A peculiarity in regard to the grouping of these springs is the fact that all flowing fiom the mountain on the east side of the creek, with one exception, are hot, while ; the group flowing from the valley on the west side and only a few feet away are cold, with one exception. This exception sends fortli water which, besides having other mineral qualities, is highly impregnated with alum, and is •extremely efficacious in catarrhal troubles and for sore eyes. The only requisites to a course of bathing arc a pair of course heavy town's and a bath prescription, which is given the patient after a thorough examination of the heart and lungs. It is considered dangerous for persons afflicted in these organs to use the waters for bathing purposes. Plain and vapor baths, most

io rogue there, are administered much ■fa the same manner as in ail ordinary 'hatlilug establishments, the Vapor used

being that from tho hot spring wato* which Bows under the slab floor of the vapor -room. After going

through the tub and vapor the patient is put into the sweat-room and made to gorge himself with hot water.

A remarkable fact in regard to the water is that during a single bath a person can drink from six to nine pints without any unpleasant effect. The fa'luro of the water to act as an emetic when taken in such quantifies and at such a high temperature isjsaid to be due to the great • uantity of; free carbonic acid with which tho ’ ’ater is charged. After the patient has partaken freely of the fyot water and the heat of the room ha» causod he a* y | orspiration, lie is passed through a system of cooling rooms in order to tho •oughly but slowly stop tho

How of perspiration before ho dresses and passes out into tlie open air. During ail this time the operation, usua ly requiring from one to three hours, the

wants of the patient are carefully looked after by an attendant, who, by a recent act of Congress, is allowed $1 per week for his services. Although he receives no other income he manages to earn, in perquisites,'from $35 to SSO a week daring the busjr>eason. The government reservation, a tract of 800 aerqs. occupying all of Hot Springs Mountain and adi&cent territory, upon which are variable springs, wps created by an act of Congress in order to prevent the monopolization of the spririgs by prii vate individuals and the pooling of bath- | housb owners. A law is enforced placing an auaual rental of $35 ou each tub. lim-

king the number of tubs » forty foi each bath-house, and fixing the maximum rate per bath at thirty Cents. For th* successful enforcement of thb law's provisions the government ha 9 placed an officer in charge. He is known as tht reservation superintendent. l r o is s mild-mannered Individual, smokos bud cigars, wears a d a rk ; blue'braid-bedecked uniform, and is a terror to bath-Lous* managers. ■> Besides the licspita!', the 'government recently completed an institution whieffi is accomplishing a greater good It i{ the free bath house fof’iho’poor. Bhforc its comp etiun tho lattar wore compcljed to bathe in a barnliko structure, which was as forlprn, in,aspect as tho.-b'Vhc frequented it. The bath tub. which was common to all, was a water-tight box constructed of rough pine boards. For chairs thero was a single bench, constructed of the same coarse material. The regulation Arkansas stove was there to drive out the cold, which came in gusts through great cracks in the walls and floor. Clothes hooks were not known. The oujy other piece of furniture in the male department was a large twine string, passing from one side of tho room to the other, upon which to hang towels. In the woman’s department the cracks in the wall were stopped up, and in addition to the towel string the room was further embellished with screens and a looking glass, through half of which the back was plainly visible. In the new bath house, a solidly constructed building of brick and stone, the

poor can enjoy as much comfort in bathing. as their more fortunate brethren. Projecting rocks upon the sunny sides of the mountains and wrecked cooling tanks in the rear of the bath-houses furnish shelter to many who are not so fortunate as to have a place to work for lodging. For meals they depend upon scraps which are furnished them by hotels and charitable boarding-house keepers. The beggars of Paris are wealthy in comparison with tho cripp;ed beggars of Hot Springs. Their schemes for locomotion are only equaled by tho maiiuei

of their solicitations for charity. A great many persons arrive in Hot Springs with money enough to last them only a few days. From this state of things there is developed a very ob noxious class of persons. Doctors who such perfection that the patient is left with hardly anything after the “doctor” has collected his fee, which is invariably in advance. Of all Hot Springs “pluggers,” the one who travels for a boarding house is the most zealous in his search for"victims He travels as far as Little Rock and are unable to hold any sort of practice legitimately employ them to drum up custom. They are banded together so comp etely and work their schemes with Texarkana to meet incoming trains, in order to tind persons who have made on previous airangcmonts. Fortunately for visitors, only a few of the 501) hotels and boarding houses employ .them, With all its drawbacks thousands of sufferers continue to go to the greatest health resort of this country.

HOTEL EASTMAN AND HOT SPRINGS CREEK, THE STREAM FORMED BY THE FLOW FROM THE SPRINGS.

Enjoy Being Cheated.

IT WAS NOT DOWN ON PONCE'S MAP.

SPRINGS AND WATER PIPES.

ARMY AND NAVY HOSPITAL, HOT SPRINGS MOUNTAIN IN THE DISTANCE.

THE RESERVATION SUPERINTENDENT.