XV

THE HEALING WATERS

HOT SPRINGS RESERVATION, ARKANSAS. PLATT NATIONAL PARK, OKLAHOMA

I

From a hillside on the edge of the Ozark Mountains in central Arkansas
issue springs of hot water which are effective in the alleviation of
rheumatic and kindred ills. Although chemical analysis fails to explain
the reason, the practice of many years has abundantly proved their
worth. Before the coming of the white man they were known to the
Indians, who are said to have proclaimed them neutral territory in time
of war. Perhaps it was rumor of their fame upon which Ponce de Leon
founded his dream of a Fountain of Youth.

In the early years of the last century hundreds of settlers toiled many
miles over forest trails to camp beside them and bathe daily in their
waters. The bent and suffering were carried there on stretchers. So many
and so striking were the cures that the fame of these springs spread
throughout the young nation, and in 1832, to prevent their falling into
hands outstretched to seize and exploit them for private gain, Congress
created them a national reservation. The Hot Springs Reservation was our
first national park.

Previous to this a couple of log houses built by visitors served for
shelter for the pilgrims at the shrine of health. Soon after, other
buildings quite as primitive were erected. A road was constructed
through the forests from the settled portions of the State, and many
drove laboriously in with tents and camping outfits. I have seen a copy
of a photograph which was taken when photographs were new, showing
several men and women in the odd conventional costume of that period
sitting solemnly upon the banks of a steaming spring, their clothes
drawn up, their bare legs calf deep in the hot water.

Once started, Hot Springs grew rapidly. Unfortunately, this first act of
national conservation failed to foresee the great future of these
springs, and the reservation line was drawn so that it barely enclosed
the brook of steaming vapors which was their outlet. To-day, when the
nation contemplates spending millions to beautify the national spa, it
finds the city built solidly opposite.

Railroads soon pushed their way through the Ozark foothills and landed
thousands yearly beside the healing waters. Hotels became larger and
more numerous. The government built a public bathhouse into which the
waters were piped for the free treatment of the people. Concessioners
built more elaborate structures