of that class of
human pests known as "hotel runners," thick as bees, and more stingingly
annoying, for they especially abounded in low jests and ribald stories
which grate so harshly upon sensitive ears. It would certainly be an act
of philanthropy, both to the hotels and their patrons, to take some
measure for the suppression of this nuisance.

The approach to Hot Springs, and the first glimpse of the stream, smoking
as if its bed rested upon some subterranean fire, are in themselves
awe-inspiring. The valley is narrowed to the limits of three hundred feet,
and the road winds gracefully around the base of the mountain, upon whose
top the cold spring furnishes a better beverage than iced champagne; while
close by its side bubbles the boiling spring, in which eggs can be cooked
to perfection; and with a little seasoning of salt and pepper, the most
luscious soup can be improvized, while the boiling water _au naturale_ can
be drunk in copious, life-giving draughts.

The hotels are ranged upon either side of the road, and have all the
necessary bathing appointments. Among the many novelties to a stranger was
the process of dressing chicken, which was their staple article of food.
The hot stream was the only necessary cauldron for the scalding process,
while the feathers were thrown into the swift current, and rapidly carried
away by the natural sewerage, a decidedly labor-saving process, and
somewhat characteristic of the locality and its native cooks.

The various forms of treatment consist of hot, cold, vapor and mud baths,
and have been so often described that a repetition would be monotonous;
their efficacy being almost unfailing, except in cases of pulmonary
disease, in which they would soon prove fatal. One who has ever enjoyed
these baths will always long for the luxury years after leaving them
behind.

We reluctantly left this valley, teeming with rich quarries of valuable
stone and various ores, luscious fruits, and the trifling drawbacks of
rattlesnakes, centipedes and tarantulas, and went to Texaskana, which is
located at the junction of the three States of Texas, Arkansas and
Louisiana, hence its name.

It is a great railroad centre, and it is very curious to visit the depot
amid the rushing thousands who daily pass through this place on their way
to Texas. It is a wildly romantic place, built upon a clearing of forty
acres without any decided plan, streets running at random very much like
the old cowpath