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 AN 
 
 ANALYSIS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MINERAL WATERS 
 
 OF 
 
 SARATOGA AND BALLSTON, 
 
 WITH PRACTICAL REMARKS ON THEIR 
 
 MEDICAL PROPERTIES; 
 
 TOGETHER WITH A HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLE- 
 MENT OF THESE CELEBRATED 
 
 WATERING PLACES, 
 
 *ND OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SURROUNDING COUNTRY. 
 
 BY JOHN H. STEEL, M. D. 
 
 u The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth, and he 
 that is wise will not abhor them. — Bible. 
 
 AN ENTIRE NEW WORK. 
 
 Saratoga Sjmnss i 
 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY G. M. DAVISON. 
 
 183 1. 
 

 ^ 
 
 vtf* 
 
 Northern District of New-York, to wit: 
 
 BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the thirteenth 
 , day of June, Anno Domini, 1831, G. M. Davison, 
 : of the said District, hath deposited in this office the 
 " title of a book, the title of which is in the words 
 following, to wit : 
 An Analysis of the mineral waters of Saratoga and Ballston, 
 with practical remarks on their medical properties ; together 
 with a history of the discovery and settlement of these celebra- 
 ted watering places, and observations on the geology and min- 
 eralogy of the surrounding country. By John H. Steel, M. D. 
 " The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth, and he 
 that is wise will not abhor them." — Bible. 
 
 The right whereof he claims as proprietor, in conformity 
 with an act of Congress, entitled An act to amend the several 
 acts respecting copy-rights. 
 
 RUTGER B. MILLER, 
 Clerk of the Northern District of New-York. 
 
TO THE 
 
 NEW-YORK 
 
 HISTORICAL SOCIETY; 
 
 Formed for the express purpose of 
 eliciting and preserving whatever 
 may relate to the Physical History of 
 the state? this Analysis of some of the 
 most distinguished and celebrated 
 Mineral Waters which our country 
 any where affords? is respectfully in- 
 scribed? 
 
 By the 
 
 AUTHOR. 
 
 Saratoga Springs, July 1 3 1831. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In presenting to the public a new work 
 on the mineral waters of Saratoga, some 
 explanation may be deemed necessary. 
 
 These waters had been considerably 
 resorted to, and had become quite cele- 
 brated for their medicinal qualities, par- 
 ticularly about the country, long before 
 any thing more was known of their prop- 
 erties than what was gathered from the 
 effects which they produced, when taken 
 into the stomach. 
 
 Dr. Seaman, of the city of New-York, 
 who visited the place as early as 1793, 
 undertook, while on the spot, some chem- 
 ical experiments on the water, in order to 
 determine its real character; and to him 
 the public are indebted for the first scien- 
 tific effort ever made to elucidate its true 
 properties. His publication contained 
 much useful information on the subject, 
 but his experiments were limited to only 
 one of the fountains, and his deductions 
 were not always conclusive. Several other 
 
 a2 
 
M PREFACE. 
 
 scientific notices of the waters were sub- 
 sequently published by able chemists, but 
 they were not more successful in produ- 
 cing satisfactory results ; and, although 
 they went far to corroborate the opinions 
 and views of the Doctor, they afforded no 
 additional information to that which he 
 had previously acquired ; so that the dis- 
 creet physician, when called upon to di- 
 rect the use of the waters, was frequent- 
 ly at a loss, and for the want of proper in- 
 formation, unable to decide, in many ca- 
 ses, as to the propriety or impropriety of 
 prescribing their use. 
 
 In the summer of 1817, 1 first published 
 some observations on the mineral waters 
 of Saratoga and Ballston. At that time, I 
 had resided at the Springs something over 
 ten years, and having been, during that 
 period, often consulted in relation to the 
 qualities and uses of the waters in various 
 diseases, I felt compelled to engage in a 
 course of inquiries, which w r ould lead to a 
 better and more satisfactory understand- 
 ing of the general character and compar- 
 
PREFACE. YII 
 
 ative properties of the different fountains; 
 and if the little work, which resulted from 
 the undertaking at that time, was not suf- 
 ficiently minute and discriminating in its 
 details to satisfy the profound chemist, it 
 was thought, at least, to contain all that 
 was important for the instruction of the 
 physician, or the benefit of his invalid 
 patient. 
 
 Since that period, several analyses of 
 the most celebrated fountains have at dif- 
 ferent times appeared, under the sanction 
 of names calculated to inspire the fullest 
 confidence in their correctness; but the 
 glaring discrepancies manifested in the re- 
 sults, have tended greatly to lessen that 
 confidence, and to involve the subject 
 in uncertainty and doubt. 
 
 It therefore became necessary that a 
 more careful and accurate investigation 
 of the properties of these waters should 
 be made, in a way and manner calculated 
 to establish their real character, and, if 
 possible, to settle the public mind on the 
 subject. 
 
VIII PREFACE. 
 
 Having spent more than twenty years 
 of ray professional life on the spot, and 
 having been compelled to devote almost 
 the whole of my attention, particularly 
 during the drinking season, to the opera- 
 tion and effects of the waters, in the vari- 
 ous and complicated diseases which have, 
 at different times, presented themselves at 
 the Springs, I was impelled, by a sense of 
 duty which I owed to the public, as well 
 as to the very respectable individuals who 
 have heretofore honored me with their 
 attentions, to make the subject an object 
 of ray particular and minute investigation; 
 and for several years past, the examina- 
 tion has employed the whole of my leis- 
 ure hours. 
 
 Availing myself of all the sources of in- 
 formation which the present state of sci- 
 ence on this subject afforded, I commen- 
 ced the arduous undertaking, with a de- 
 termination that no labor, at least, should 
 deter me from arriving at as great a degree 
 of accuracy as the subject would permit; 
 and the result of a patient and laborious 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 investigation is now presented to the pub- 
 lic, under an impression that the accuracy 
 of the conclusions will not be controvert- 
 ed by those who have the means, and will 
 take the trouble to examine for them- 
 selves. 
 
 By comparing the present analysis of 
 the waters of the several springs, with that 
 which I formerly published, a considera- 
 ble difference in the results will be read- 
 ily discovered. This, however, must not 
 be imputed to any alteration or change 
 in the original properties of the waters, 
 but is accounted for, in a great measure, 
 by the different state or condition in which 
 the various saline ingredients, afforded by 
 the water, were, by the different process- 
 es, obtained. In my former analysis the 
 whole of the saline residuum was estima- 
 ted while in a state of crvstalization ; in 
 the present instance, the quantities are 
 calculated in a perfectly dry state. There 
 are other differences of a less important 
 character, which unquestionably arise 
 from errors committed in the former analy- 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 sis, which, I am now happy in the opportu- 
 nity to acknowledge, as well as to correct. 
 
 Under an impression that every thing 
 relating to the early history and settle- 
 ment of the springs, is becoming every day 
 more and more interesting, as the place 
 advances in importance, I have endeav- 
 ored to give as full and perfect an ac- 
 count of it as I have been able to collect. 
 For this, I am greatly indebted to a num- 
 ber of individuals ; particularly to John 
 K. Beekman, Esq. of New-York, who 
 kindly furnished me with several valuable 
 documents, in relation to the early history 
 of the celebrated patent Kayaderosseras. 
 
 I am likewise under particular obliga- 
 tions to Dr. Samuel Freeman, of Ballston 
 Spa, for the particulars in relation to the 
 history of that place, as well as for many 
 useful practical observations on the med- 
 ical properties of the waters. Dr. Free- 
 man has resided on the spot for a number 
 of years, and his knowledge and experi- 
 ence entitle his opinions to the fullest con- 
 fidence and respect. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 History of the Springs, - 13 
 
 Geological Remarks on the County of Saratoga,. ... 47 
 
 Examination of the Waters, 73 
 
 Description of the Springs, 77 
 
 Congress Spring, id 
 
 Preliminary Observations, * 82 
 
 Experiments with tests, 84 
 
 Inferences, • 89 
 
 Examination of the gaseous contents of the water, 92 
 
 Examination of the solid contents of the water, 99 
 
 Recapitulation, 112 
 
 Medical History, 117 
 
 Columbian Spring, 127 
 
 Washington Spring, . , 131 
 
 Hamilton Spring, 134 
 
 Flat Rock Spring, 138 
 
 High Rock Spring, 141 
 
 President Spring, 148 
 
 Red Spring, 149 
 
 Ten Springs, 151 
 
 Ellis' Spring, ^ 153 
 
 Quaker Springs, 156 
 
 Ballston Spa, 157 
 
 Sans Souci Spring, 169 
 
 Low's Spring, , 172 
 
 Park Spring, 173 
 
 Public Well, 174 
 
 New Washington Spring, 176 
 
 Sulphureous Waters, 178 
 
XII CONTENTS. 
 
 Practical Observations on the Medical properties of 
 
 the waters, • • 183 
 
 Bilious Complaints, 185 
 
 Dyspepsia, • 186 
 
 Calculous and Nephritic complaints, , 192 
 
 Chronic Rheumatism, . . . • 193 
 
 Anthritis, or Gout, id 
 
 Phagedenic, or ill-conditioned Ulcers, 194 
 
 Cutaneous Eruptions, id 
 
 Scrofula, 195 
 
 Dropsy, 199 
 
 Paralysis, 200 
 
 Chlorosis, id 
 
 Phthisis, 201 
 
 Season suitable for drinking the waters, . • id 
 
 Closing remarks,. • id 
 
ANALYSIS, 
 
 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. , 
 
 Saratoga is, in all probability, a corruption of 
 the Indian word, Sah-rah-ka, which is said to 
 mean " the side-hill," and was applied by the na- 
 tives more particularly to that part of the coun- 
 try which lies between the Lake and the Hudson, 
 where the application of the term is amply justified 
 in the appearance of the country. 
 
 The whale country which seems to have inherit- 
 ed the name is of much greater extent. It embra- 
 ces a tract of country which, commencing at the 
 mouth of the Mohawk river, stretches to the north 
 along the windings of the west bank of the Hud- 
 son for more than seventy miles, to the county of 
 Warren ; thence in a westerly direction to the east 
 bounds of the county of Hamilton, about fifteen 
 miles ; from this spot the line proceeds in a south- 
 erly direction along the whole extent of the east 
 
 B 
 
14 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 line of the county of Montgomery, about thirty 
 miles, to the north line of the county of Schenec- 
 tady ; thence along the line of Schenectady to the 
 Mohawk river, which separates it from the county 
 of Albany, and then along the course of the Mo- 
 hawk to the place of beginning, about twenty-five 
 miles. 
 
 These lines include an area of about eight hun- 
 dred square miles, and a population at this time of 
 about forty thousand souls. 
 
 The greater part of the lands included in this 
 tract were originally granted by the crown of Eng- 
 land to a company of thirteen proprietors, under 
 the title of the Patent of Kayadaroseros. 
 
 The Van. Schaick's Patent, so termed from the 
 name of the person to whom it was granted, was 
 of an earlier date, and included the present town 
 of Waterford and a considerable tract of country 
 adjoining. The Saratoga Patent was next in or- 
 der, and embraced an extent of six miles square 
 along the Hudson some miles above Van Schaick's 
 Patent. The Apple Patent was still later ; it was 
 granted to one William Apple, and was located on 
 the Mohawk, and extended " three miles back into 
 the woods" towards Ballston Lake. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 15 
 
 The history of these grants, their settlement and 
 the subsequent intercourse with the natives, would 
 form an interesting document in the history of the 
 country. Even at this late period, many important 
 facts, hitherto undisclosed, might be brought to 
 light from living witnesses, which a few more years 
 will place beyond the power of the historian to re- 
 cover. 
 
 The mineral waters which form the subject of 
 the ensuing treatise being situated principally in 
 the great Patent of Kayaderosseras, |it will not, I 
 trust, be deemed uninteresting by most readers to 
 be made acquainted with the history of that grant, 
 particularly as it may tend to disclose the true es- 
 timate which the native proprietors placed upon 
 these " health preserving fountains," if indeed they 
 were known to them at all. 
 
 The first grant, of which there is any record, of 
 land in what is now called the Patent of Kayade- 
 rosseras, in the county of Saratoga, was made by 
 two Indians, who, in the conveyance which they 
 gave, styled themselves " Maquaes Indians, own- 
 ers and native proprietors of the land." They are 
 thus described in the original indenture : " Joseph, 
 the Indian, by them called Te-jon-nin-ho-ge, and 
 
16 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 Hendrick,* by them called De-han-och-rak-has, 
 principal owners," &c. 
 
 This conveyance was made " for and in consid- 
 eration of divers goods" to David Schuyler and 
 Robert Livingston, junior, yeomen of the city of 
 Albany, and is dated at Albany, the twenty-sixth 
 day of August, in the first year of her majesty's 
 reign, (Queen Anne,) Anno Domini, 1702. The 
 boundaries are thus described : 
 
 " Beginning on the west side of Hudson's river 
 above Sar-ogh-to-ge's Patent ; beginning opposite 
 the creek, called by the Indians, Ti-on-un-do-ga- 
 he, and running along said side of the river above 
 the second carrying place to a small island in said 
 river,f and westward into the woods as far as their 
 property belongs, together with all and singu- 
 lar " &c. 
 
 * This Hendrick is the same who distinguished himself in the 
 subsequent wars under General William Johnson, and was slain 
 with Colonel Williams, in 1755, in an attack on a body of French 
 and Indians near Bloody Pond, not far from the head of Lake 
 George, being then upwards of seventy years old. 
 
 t This spot is described in another place thus : " From the 
 north bounds of the said Sarogtoge's Patent to a place above 
 the falls that lieth in Hudson river above the Carrying Place that 
 goes over to the Wood Creek which leads the way to Canada." 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 17 
 
 In the spring following, Samson Shelton B rough- 
 ton, Esquire, attorney-general of the province, in 
 behalf of himself and company, obtained a licence 
 to purchase the " tract of vacant and unappropria- 
 ted land in the county of Albany, called or known 
 by the Indian name of Kayadoroseros, adjoining 
 to the north bounds of Schonectady on the east 
 side thereof, to the west bounds of Soroctoga on the 
 north side thereof, and to Albany river on the west 
 side thereof, of the native Indians and proprietors 
 thereof, for their cultivation and improvement" 
 
 This licence was granted by his excellency, Ed- 
 ward Viscount Congbury, captain-general and go- 
 vernor-in-chief of the province of New-York and 
 territories depending thereon in America, and 
 vice-admiral of the same. It is dated at Fort Ann, 
 in council, in the city of New-York, the twenty- 
 second day of April, A. D. 1703. 
 
 In pursuance of this licence a purchase was ef- 
 fected of the Indians, Joseph, Hendrick, Corne- 
 lis, Gideon and Amus, owners, proprietors and 
 Ci native Maquaes Indians and sachems, in be- 
 half of themselves and all their nation, for and in 
 consideration of the sum of sixty pounds ($150) 
 current money of the province of New-York, and 
 b2 
 
18 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 of sundry goods to them in hand paid," &e. "by 
 Samson Shelton Broughton, Esquire, attorney- 
 general of the province, Peter Fauconnier, Es- 
 quire, late commissioner of the customs, and Nan- 
 ing Hermanse Visher, of the city of Albany, mari- 
 ner, for themselves and company." The bounds 
 of the tract thus granted are summed up and reca- 
 pitulated in the original deed thus : 
 
 " The aforesaid tract of land being bounded be- 
 low the Jill-Place and Schonectady river on the 
 west by said river, then by the said township's 
 bounds round about to said river again, and still 
 westward above the said town by the said river 
 again for eight miles at least above Twek-to-non- 
 do-hill ; thence by a north and northeasterly line 
 to the headmost spring of the stream called Kaya- 
 daroseras river, and still northerly by a north line 
 continued to be run eight miles further up into the 
 woods, and yet still northerly by a north or north- 
 easterly line run from thence to Albany river above 
 Sar-og-to-ge, by the township of Sorogtoge, and 
 round the same to said river again ; thence by said 
 river to Anthony Van Schaick's northeasterly cor- 
 ner, and southerly by a line run from thence to the 
 northwesterly corner of Nestiguione (Niskayuna) 
 on Schonectady river, the place of beginning." 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 19 
 
 This deed is dated at Albany, the sixth day of 
 October, in the third year of her majesty's reign, A. 
 D. 1704, and is signed by all the sachems above 
 named, except Cornelis, whose name does not ap- 
 pear among the signatures. 
 
 Immediately after this, a relinquishment of the 
 claim of Schuyler and Livingston was procured by 
 Visher in behalf of the company, for which they 
 were to receive a certain portion of the lands when 
 the patent should be perfected, or in lieu thereof 
 the sum of jCIOO ($250) in money. On the back 
 of this agreement is endorsed a receipt signed by 
 Livingston and Schuyler, for £90 in full satisfac- 
 tion for the condition. 
 
 These preliminaries being adjusted, the patent 
 was sued for and finally obtained. It was granted 
 by Queen Anne in the seventh year of her reign, 
 and is dated the second day of November, A. D. 
 1708. The grant was to " her loving subjects, 
 Naning Hermanse, Johannes Beekman, Rip Van 
 Dam, Ann Bridges, May Bickley, Peter Faucon- 
 nier, Adrian Hogelandt, Johannes Fisher, John 
 Tuder, Joris Hogelandt, John Stevens, John Tat- 
 ham and Samson Broughton," and is " for all that 
 tract of land situated, lying and being in the coun- 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 ty of Albany, called Kayadoroses, alias Queensbo- 
 rough" 
 
 The bounds of this extensive tract of land which 
 has become so interesting to the present genera- 
 tion, are here copied verbatim from the original 
 patent : 
 
 " Beginning at a place on Schonectady river* 
 about three miles distant from the southwesterly 
 corner of the bounds of Nastiguione, the said place 
 being the southwesterly corner of the patent lately 
 granted to Naning Harmense, Peter Fauconnier 
 and others; thence along the said Schonectady 
 river, westerly to the southeasterly corner of a pat- 
 ent lately granted to William Apple ; thence along 
 the easterly, northerly and westerly line of the said 
 Apple's Patent down to the above said river ; 
 thence to the Schonectady bounds of the south- 
 easterly corner of the said patent, on the said riv- 
 er, so along the easterly, northerly and westerly 
 bounds thereof down to the said river again ; 
 thence along the said river up westerly to the south- 
 easterly bounds of a tract of land lately granted 
 to Ebenezer Wilson and John Abel, and so along 
 
 * This river in another place is styled " Schonectady, Mo- 
 haks, or Maqueas river." 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 21 
 
 the said patent round to the southwesterly corner 
 thereof on the said Schonectady river to a place or 
 hill called Twadononda, being five miles distant, or 
 thereabouts, from the said southwesterly corner of 
 the said Wilson's and Abel's Patent ; thence along 
 northerly to the northwestmost head of a creek 
 called Kayadoroses, about fourteen miles, more or 
 less ; thence eight miles more northerly ; thence 
 easterly or northeasterly to the thirds falls on Alba- 
 ny river, about twenty miles, more or less ; thence 
 along the said river down southerly to the north- 
 easterly bounds of Saroghtoge ; thence along the 
 said Saroghtoge's northerly, westerly and southerly 
 bounds on the said river ; thence to the northeast- 
 erly corner of Anthony Van Schaick's land on the 
 said river, so northerly and westerly along the said 
 Van Schaick's Patent to the northeast corner of the 
 above said patent granted to Naning Harmense, 
 Fauconnier and others ; thence along the norther- 
 ly and westerly bounds thereof down to the above 
 said river of Schonectady, being the place where it 
 first began." 
 
 The consideration for all the lands contained in 
 the foregoing limits, was merely £4 ($10) quit rent 
 to be paid, in current money of the state of New- 
 York, yearly forever, on the " Feast day of the an- 
 nonciation of our blessed Virgin Mary, (common- 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 ly called Lady Day,") to the collector or receiver- 
 general at the custom house, in the city of New- 
 York ; the crown reserving to itself all gold and 
 silver mines, and conditioning that one or more 
 settlement on some part thereof should be effected 
 within seven years from the date of the said patent. 
 
 This last stipulation was entirely neglected until 
 the seventeeth of October, 1715, when the compa- 
 ny becoming alarmed at the prospect of forfeiting 
 the patent from this neglect, the major part of 
 them entered into an agreement with Naning Her- 
 mense, of Albany, to effect a settlement on the said 
 lands, on or before the first day of May ensuing, 
 and he was to receive in consideration for his ser- 
 vices, one thousand acres of land over and above 
 his share, to be located any where in the patent, 
 excepting on the Kayaderosseras creek, where, it 
 seems, the lands v/ere held in much higher estima- 
 tion than in any other part of the tract. 
 
 It does not appear, from any documents which 
 I have the means of examining, where the first set- 
 tlement was made ; but it is highly probable, from 
 the frequent discomfitures among the remote set- 
 tlers occasioned by the incursions of hostile In- 
 dians in the vicinity, that the first settlers did not 
 remove very far into the interior ; doubtless they 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 23 
 
 were located in the vicinity of Schenectady or 
 along the north side of the Mohawk. 
 
 On the Hudson, settlements might have been 
 made much earlier, particularly on the patents of 
 Van Schaick and Saratoga ; but it does not ap- 
 pear that there were, at the period to which we al- 
 lude, (1715,) any settlements above the patent of 
 Saratoga, that is, north of the Fish creek, or what 
 is now called Schuylerville ; and there could have 
 been but a few scattering inhabitants between that 
 and the Mohawk. It was in the year 1747 that 
 the town of Saratoga was burnt by the Indians, and 
 the inhabitants, consisting of about thirty families, 
 were mostly massacred ;* and about the same 
 time the family of Kettles were murdered by the 
 savages. This latter circumstance forms the sub- 
 ject of a story, interestingly told by Mrs. Ten 
 Eyck. The place where the family resided was 
 but six miles above Waterford, immediately on the 
 bank of the Hudson, nearly opposite to what is 
 called the lower borough in Schaghticoke, and on 
 the farm lately owned by John Ten Broeck, and 
 
 * This settlement was at the mouth of Fish creek, where 
 Schuylerville now stands, and a gentleman by the name of John 
 Schuyler, one of the ancestors of the present proprietor cf that 
 village, was among the slain. 
 
24 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 more recently by one Strachan. The ruins of the 
 cellar were visible, and a few aged fruit trees, said 
 to have been planted by the family, were in blos- 
 som, when I last visited the place, a few years 
 since. 
 
 From the period above alluded to until the final 
 conquest and consequent subjection of the prov- 
 ince of Canada to the British government, the pro- 
 gress of emigration to this part of the country, 
 which was then an exposed frontier, was greatly 
 retarded. 
 
 During the summer of 1 755, the fort was com- 
 menced and completed at Fort Edward, which was 
 then called the " Great Carrying Place" and at 
 the same time a road was cut through the woods 
 to the head of Lake George, where the Fort Wil- 
 liam Henry was commenced and a small garrison 
 established at both places. This added greatly to 
 the security of the settlements to the south ; but it 
 was not until the arrival of General Amherst in 
 the year 1759, who passed up the Hudson and 
 through the lake to Canada, and completed the 
 subjugation of that province, that the incursions 
 of the hostile Indians were effectually checked, 
 and complete security restored to the frontier set- 
 tlers. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 25 
 
 From this period the country began to be more 
 rapidly, settled ; the settlements however were prin- 
 cipally confined, for several years, to the banks of 
 the Hudson or the Mohawk. The extreme fertil- 
 ity of the soil, the advantages of mill seats, and the 
 facility of cutting timber, gave to the neighborhood 
 of these and their tributary streams, an advantage 
 that was not to be overlooked by the adventurous 
 and enterprising emigrants. 
 
 At what precise period of time the mineral 
 springs, which have now become so important in 
 the history of the country, were discovered and 
 their properties first observed, cannot now, with 
 any degree of certainty, be ascertained. It is but 
 reasonable, however, to infer that the discove- 
 ry was sometime subsequent to the transfer of 
 the title by the natives, as that circumstance took 
 place without any intimation as to the fact of the 
 existence of such waters, which could hardly 
 be supposed to have happened had any import- 
 ance been attached to their properties, or had they, 
 indeed, been known to exist at all ; and it is equal- 
 ly probable that those to whom the transfer was 
 made were likewise ignorant on the subject, for 
 they made, some years afterwards, grants to indi- 
 viduals with the privilege to locate any where ex- 
 cept on the flats of the Kayaderosseras. 
 
26 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 The fame which this part of the country had 
 long sustained as a hunting ground must have at- 
 tracted the attention of those who occupied them- 
 selves in the labors of the chase at a very early pe- 
 riod, and it is highly probable that an object so 
 singular and conspicuous as the High Rock would 
 have presented itself to the attention of some of 
 these adventurers at a much earlier period than is 
 now generally known ; but whatever might have 
 been the knowledge of individuals, it is certain 
 that but little general information had been diffus- 
 ed on the subject until about the year 1767. 
 
 General William Johnson, who had retired from 
 his command in the army with the title of Baronet 
 conferred by his majesty as a special favor for his 
 brave defence of Fort William Henry, now resided 
 at Johnstown, about thirty miles west of the 
 Springs, in the capacity of Indian agent. Sir 
 William being indisposed* and finding little or no 
 benefit from the application of such limited means 
 as his situation enabled him to apply, was induced, 
 at the instigation of the Indians, with whom he was 
 
 * Sir William was wounded in the defence of the garrison of 
 Lake George, and the wound, although slight at first, continued 
 to trouble him the remainder of his days. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 27 
 
 always a great favorite, to undertake a journey to 
 the Springs, and in the month of June or July, he 
 set out on the expedition. They passed down the 
 Mohawk to Schenectady, from whence they trav- 
 elled through the woods to Ballston Lake ; here 
 they tarried over night at the hut of one Michael Mc- 
 Donald, a Scotch adventurer, who, with a young 
 family, had just commenced a settlement in the 
 midst of the wilderness.* 
 
 On the following day, accompanied by McDon- 
 ald and his Indian guides, Sir William arrived at the 
 High Rock Spring, then the only one known ; here 
 he remained a number of days, being well supplied 
 with provisions by the dexterity of his hunters, and 
 regaling themselves with large potations of the wa- 
 ter, of which the whole company soon became re- 
 markably fond. 
 
 At the termination of his residence here, Sir 
 William's health became perfectly reinstated, and 
 although he had been brought to the place the 
 greater part of the way on a litter borne on the 
 
 * McDonald continued to reside on the same spot, until a 
 few years since, when he died, being upwards of eighty years 
 old, leaving a fine well cultivated farm as a patrimony to a large 
 family. 
 
28 HISTORV OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 shoulders of the Indians, he was enabled to travel 
 back to Schenectady on foot 
 
 The fame of this extraordinary cure on a per- 
 sonage so distinguished as Sir William, soon spread 
 over the country, and from this period " the 
 Springs" began to be the resort of invalids. 
 
 In the year 1770 and '71 several families loca- 
 ted themselves on the highlands on the east side of 
 Saratoga Lake, a little to the southeast of Snake 
 Hill ; and about the same time John Laing, Ro- 
 land Perry and John Stiles settled at Palmertown, 
 (now Wilton,) about six miles northeast from the 
 Springs. From these settlements excursions were 
 frequently made to the High Rock through paths 
 that were only passable on foot. 
 
 In the year 1773, one Dirck Scowton, influen- 
 ced by a desire to trade with the Indians as well 
 as to afford accommodations to visitants, commen- 
 ced a settlement on the high bank a little west of 
 the High Rock on the spot where Bentley's tav- 
 ern now stands. Here he cut down a few trees, 
 and with the assistance of several persons who ac- 
 companied him for the purpose, they were rolled 
 up to form a hut ; but before he had time to ren- 
 der it sufficiently comfortable for a dwelling, ow- 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 29 
 
 ing, as it was said, to some misunderstanding with 
 the Indians, he was induced to abandon his pro- 
 ject, and it is believed that he never afterwards re- 
 turned. 
 
 During the following season one John Arnold ar- 
 rived from the state of Rhode-Island, with a young 
 family, at the east side of Saratoga Lake, and from 
 the representations made to him, he was induced 
 to try his fortunes at the Springs. Having provi- 
 ded himself with a few articles suitable for Indian 
 traffic, consisting mostly of spiritous liquors, he 
 embarked his little stock in trade, together with his 
 family and a few necessary articles of furniture, on 
 board of a canoe near Snake Hill, paddled across 
 the lake and up the Kayaderosseras creek abou^ 
 two miles ; here he landed, and taking their goods 
 upon their backs, they followed a foot path which 
 conducted them through the woods to the Springs. 
 
 On their arrival, Arnold took possession of the 
 house that had been built by Scowton, and having 
 improved it so as to render it comfortable for his 
 family, he opened a kind of rude tavern. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Arnold, a highly respectable far- 
 mer, is now living in the town of Stillwater, about 
 eight miles from the Springs. He is the son of 
 c2 
 
30 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 John Arnold, and accompanied the family during 
 their residence at the place, and although but nine 
 years old at the time, retains a perfect recollection 
 of the appearance of the country and the cir- 
 cumstances relating to his father's residence here. 
 
 The valley along the brook was covered by 
 large trees of hemlock, elm and maple ; and the 
 bank on the west side of the valley with a thick 
 growth of overgrown white pine, while the oppo- 
 site side was a perfect thicket of yellow and pitch 
 pine. 
 
 The High Rock and Flat Rock were the only 
 springs at that time known. The hole or open- 
 ing at the top of the High Rock was at times near- 
 ly filled with water, but this only happened in wet 
 seasons or during long periods of wet weather. The 
 water usually stood some inches below the top of 
 the hole where its surface was in a constant state 
 of agitatation. This agitation, when the hole was 
 nearly full of water, would, at times, cause it to 
 surge over and run down its sides, but this very 
 seldom happened. There was nothing like a con- 
 slant discharge from the top of the rock at any 
 time. The water, however, was at all times so 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 31 
 
 high as to be easily dipped with the hand.* There 
 were the remains of a small hut or cabin near the 
 rock, probably the one built by Sir William John- 
 son. 
 
 The Flat Rock covered a quantity of ground of 
 several rods in extent ; it was considerably eleva- 
 ted above the marsh or swamp which surrounded 
 it ; the surface was flat and hard, and was perfo- 
 rated in numerous places, where the water stood in 
 little pools, through the bottom of which it was 
 constantly bubbling up. The marsh and grounds 
 about the rock were much broken and trodden up 
 by the footsteps of wild animals which flocked 
 here in great numbers to drink of the water, of 
 which, there is every reason to believe, they were 
 voraciously fond. Deer and moose would, at times, 
 when in pursuit of this beverage, apparently loose 
 their wildness and suffer themselves to be closely 
 approached, and they were frequently shot by the 
 Indians, and other hunters, while regaling them- 
 at this fountain. 
 
 * This rising and falling of the water in the rock gave origin 
 to the opinion entertained by the first visitants, that it " ebbed 
 and flowed with the tide." The water, although now some feet, 
 below the top of the rock, still continues to rise and fall with 
 the state of the season, as any one may observe who will take 
 the trouble to measure it at the proper times. 
 
32 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 The woods abounded with wild game. Bears, 
 deer, wolves and moose were seen almost every 
 day ; and the small stream which runs through 
 the valley was the abode of beaver and great quan- 
 tities of salmon trout. 
 
 There were sixteen cabins occupied by differ- 
 ent families of Indians, all in sight of Arnold's 
 house. These Indians were principally employed 
 in hunting and fishing, and although frequently in- 
 toxicated, they were generally inoffensive and 
 friendly. 
 
 There was a small clearing on the top of the 
 hill south from where the Union Hall now stands. 
 This was probably the first cleared spot in the vi- 
 cinity of the Springs. It was said to have been 
 done by a man who went by the name of Indian 
 Joe, a half blood, who resided among the Indians 
 in the neighborhood. 
 
 On the approach of winter, Arnold shut up his 
 house and went over to the settlement on the east 
 side of the lake, but returned early in the spring 
 and resumed his business, which he continued, 
 however, till fall only, when he again left the 
 place. He was succeeded by one Samuel Nor- 
 ton? who had previously obtained a permission 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 33 
 
 from Isaac Low to occupy and improve a farm in 
 the vicinity of the " salt spring" at Saratoga, un- 
 der a stipulation to receive pay for his improve- 
 ments should he think proper at any time to re- 
 move. Low had acquired his title to the soil by 
 purchase from the heirs of Rip Van Dam, to whom, 
 on the general partition of the patent, this portion 
 of it devolved.* 
 
 Norton took possession of the house the same 
 season that Arnold left it, and continued to make 
 considerable improvements by clearing up the 
 land, &c. through the succeeding season. But 
 the war, which had already commenced, was now 
 becoming every day more and more serious, and 
 he began to be alarmed for the safety of his fami- 
 ly, and thought it prudent to remove them from a 
 situation where they were so much exposed to the 
 aggressions of the contending parties. He finally 
 joined the British army, where he soon after died, 
 and the Springs were again left without a single in- 
 habitant. 
 
 * In 1770 the patent was divided, and lot number twelve, 
 (which includes the mineral waters and a considerable portion 
 of the adjoining lands at Saratoga Springs,) in the sixteenth 
 general allotment, was sold by the representatives of Rip Van 
 Dam to Anthony Yan Dam, Jacob Walton and Isaac Low. 
 
34 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 Low absented himself from the county during 
 the war, and his lands were of course sold by the 
 commissioners of forfeitures ; those which he own- 
 ed at the Springs were sold to Henry Livingston 
 in 1786, for himself and brothers. 
 
 In the spring of 1783, a son of Norton resum- 
 ed the occupancy of the former possessions of his 
 father at the Springs, and continued to clear and 
 improve the land in the vicinity until the year 1787, 
 when he sold his possessions and improvements to 
 one Gideon Morgan, who the same year transfer- 
 red them to Alexander Bryant. Bryant must be 
 considered the first permanent settler here ; he built 
 a blacksmith's shop, and erected an additional log 
 house which he opened for the accommodation of 
 visitants ; and there are persons yet living who re- 
 collect with peculiar pleasure, the clean apart- 
 ments and comfortable accommodations afforded 
 by the proprietor of this humble mansion. 
 
 In the year 1783, General Philip Schuyler, who 
 had a farm and a number of mills at the mouth of 
 the Fish-creek, caused a road to be opened from 
 that place to the Springs, and having set up a large 
 wall tent near the High Rock, occupied it with his 
 family for the space of three or four weeks. They 
 were so well pleased with the result of this visit, 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 35 
 
 that the following season he caused a small frame 
 building to be erected on the high land a little 
 southwest from the High Rock, where he contin- 
 ued to reside five or six weeks every year during 
 the remainder of his life. This house was stand- 
 ing until a few years past; it consisted of two 
 rooms, with a stone fire place and chimney ; it 
 was enclosed and lined with rough boards, and 
 was ^he first framed house built in the place. 
 
 In the year 1789 a Dr. Blakesley and Gideon 
 Putnam commenced a settlement at the Springs. 
 Blakesley occupied the log building erected by 
 Scowton, and Putnam located on a new farm three 
 fourths of a mile westerly from the village. It is to 
 the enterprize of this latter gentleman that the vil- 
 lage is indebted for much of its early improvement, 
 and the public for the first elegant and commodi- 
 ous accommodations which the place afforded. 
 
 In the year following, (1790,) Benjamin Ris- 
 ley, Esquire, from Vermont, bought the house 
 which Scowton built, and having erected some ad- 
 ditions, opened it for the accommodation of visi- 
 tants. This, and the house kept by Bryant on 
 the opposite corner, and but a few rods distant, 
 continued to be rival establishments for a number 
 of years. Risley, a few years after, built the yellow 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 house near the upper end of the village, which has 
 been occupied as a tavern ever since. He like- 
 wise built a small house on the opposite side of the 
 street, nearly against the yellow tavern, which was 
 occupied for a time as a boarding house, but was, 
 some years since, burnt down. 
 
 About the year 1794, the Messrs. John and Zi- 
 ba Taylor opened a small store in one of the 
 rooms of Risley's house. They afterwards built a 
 small log house which they occupied for the same 
 purpose ; this stood on the high land, forty or fifty 
 rods north from the High Rock Spring, but every 
 vestige of it has long since disappeared. These 
 gentlemen subsequently erected mills, and contrib- 
 uted much to the clearing and improving the sur- 
 rounding country. 
 
 During the summer of 1792 the Congress Spring 
 was first discovered. Three gentlemen were board- 
 ing at Risley's who frequently amused themselves 
 by hunting for small game in the neighboring 
 woods. One of them by the name of Gillman, from 
 Exeter, New-Hampshire, who either was at the 
 time, or had been a member of congress, accident- 
 ally discovered a small stream of water issuing from 
 an aperture in the side of a rock the face of which 
 formed the border of the brook. An appearance so 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 37 
 
 singular attracted his attention, and on examining 
 it more attentively he found it to be a strong min- 
 eral water. He communicated the discovery to 
 his associates, and in the afternoon of the same 
 day he conducted his landlord, together with a 
 number of other persons, to the spot. It was situ- 
 ated a few feet further west and on the oppo- 
 site side of the brook from where the Congress 
 spring now is. The water issued from an aper- 
 ture which resembled a worm hole in one of those 
 large masses of siliceous lime rock which form 
 the upper stratum of the rock formation at this 
 place. Its taste and other sensible qualities satis- 
 fied the company that the discovery was an im- 
 portant one ; and the spring. was immediately dig- 
 nified by the consent of all the persons present, 
 with the name of the CONGRESS SPRING, out 
 of respect to the discoverer, and as a compliment 
 to the superior strength of its waters. 
 
 About the year 1770 it is said that a Dr. Con- 
 stable, who resided at Schenectady, examined the 
 waters at Saratoga and Ballston, and pronounced 
 them highly medicinal ; and in 1783, Dr. Samuel 
 Tenney, a regimental surgeon stationed at Fish- 
 creek, visited the Springs, and made some inter- 
 esting and judicious remarks on their properties 
 and uses as a medicine. The result of his obser- 
 
38 HISTORY OP THE SPRINGS. 
 
 vations he addressed in a letter to Dr. Joshua Fish- 
 er, of Boston, which was subsequently published 
 in the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts 
 and Sciences, vol. II, part I, 1793. 
 
 The venerable Samuel L. Mitchill, LL. D. of 
 the city of New-York, records it as one of the re- 
 markable incidents of his life, that in the year 
 1787, he "visited the Springs at Saratoga while 
 surrounded by the forest, and ascertained experi- 
 mentally that the gas extricated from the water 
 was fixed air, with the power to extinguish flame 
 and destroy the life of breathing animals." 
 
 It does not appear, however, that there was any 
 attempt at a scientific examination of these wa- 
 ters until the year 1793, when Valentine Seaman, 
 M. D. then one of the surgeons of the New-York 
 Hospital, and an eminent physician of the city, 
 published "A Dissertation on the mineral waters of 
 Saratoga." His chemical experiments were prin- 
 cipally confined to the water of the High Rock 
 spring ; and to him very justly belongs the honor 
 of first developing the true character and qualities 
 of these interesting fountains. From the result of 
 his enquiries he inferred and published his views 
 on the " use and medical virtues of the waters." 
 In the year 1795, Dr. Vandervoort published the 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 39 
 
 result of his experiments on the waters of Ball- 
 ston. 
 
 These publications had the effect to produce a 
 more general knowledge of the properties of the 
 waters, and to confirm the good opinion which ma- 
 ny had already formed of their efficacy in many 
 complaints. The consequence was an increase of 
 company to such an extent as to evince the neces- 
 sity of more extensive and better arranged accom- 
 modations. Influenced by this consideration, Mr. 
 Putnam, whose enterprize was always active, was 
 induced to build a large and commodious house 
 near the Congress spring, around which, at the 
 time, the country was a perfect wilderness. He 
 commenced it in 1800, and in the spring of 1802 
 the Union Hall, then called Putnam's tavern, was 
 opened for company. It consisted of a large di- 
 ning room, two parlours and a commodious kitch- 
 en on the first floor, and the two upper stories 
 were divided into lodging rooms. 
 
 In 1808, Jotham Holmes, who had before kept 
 a house near the High Rock, commenced building 
 the Columbian Hotel near the Flat Rock, and the 
 following season it was opened for company. The 
 success which attended these first efforts induced 
 Mr. Putnam to extend the means of accommoda- 
 
40 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS* 
 
 tion still further. He added considerably to the di- 
 mensions of the Union Hall, and in 1812 com- 
 menced the Congress Hall on the opposite side of 
 the street ; but before it was completed, its worthy 
 and enterprizing proprietor died, and the com- 
 pletion of the building was consequently delayed 
 until the fall of 1814, when it was sold to Grau- 
 dus Van Schoonhoven, who finished it, and in the 
 spring of 1815 it was opened. 
 
 From this period, the character of the waters, 
 and the excellency of the accommodations afford- 
 ed to visitants, began to be more generally known 
 and more justly appreciated ; and the little village, 
 as it emerged from the surrounding wilderness, be- 
 gan to present the appearance of a place of fash- 
 ion and extravagance, and from being the mere 
 humble abode of the indigent and infirm, suddenly 
 became the resort of the most polite and polished 
 society. Such was the rapid increase of compa- 
 ny, that it became necessary that still further ac- 
 commodations should be provided ; and in 1819, 
 the Pavilion was opened by Mr. Lewis, and in 
 1824 the United States Hotel by Mr. Ford. All 
 these establishments have from time to time been 
 enlarged and improved, until they may be ranked 
 among the most spacious and imposing buildings of 
 the kind in the United States ; and for good fare 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 41 
 
 and polite attentions, will not suffer by a compar- 
 ison with those of any country. 
 
 The village was incorporated by an act of the 
 legislature in the spring of 1827. It contains 
 about two hundred dwelling houses, five meeting 
 houses or places for public worship, a printing of- 
 fice, reading-room and circulating library, togeth- 
 er with a number of stores, groceries and mechan- 
 ics' shops, and numbers about fifteen hundred in- 
 habitants. It possessesaio peculiar advantages ei- 
 ther for manufacturing or mercantile pursuits ; it 
 is therefore indebted alone to its character as a 
 watering place for the advances which it has here- 
 tofore made in improvement and population. 
 
 The village is situated at the termination of one 
 of the spurs of the immense pile of primitive 
 mountains which separate the waters of Lake 
 Champlain from those of the St. Lawrence. It is 
 twelve miles west from Schuylerville on the Hud- 
 son, and thirty east from Johnstown in the coun- 
 of Montgomery ; it is thirty four miles northerly 
 from Albany, and twenty seven southerly from 
 Lake George. Its principle street is one hundred 
 *and forty feet in width and nearly one mile in ex- 
 tent. The houses are well built, and the whole 
 village has an air of neatness and salubrity seldom 
 d2 
 
42 HISTORF OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 equalled in any country village. Formerly the in- 
 habitants were subject to attacks of intermittent 
 and remittent fevers, but for the last ten years 
 these diseases have entirely disappeared. This re- 
 markable exemption is imputed to the destruction of 
 a number of mill-dams in the surrounding country, 
 and the clearing and draining of the low marshy 
 grounds in the immediate vicinity of the place, which 
 must, during their existence, have afforded fruitful 
 sources for those exhalations, to which has always 
 been imputed the origin of these afflicting diseases. 
 Nor is the surrounding country less exempt from 
 those pestiferous exhalations which render a place 
 insalubrious and improper for even the tempora- 
 ry residence of invalids. The springs are situated 
 in an elevated district, and in the immediate vicin- 
 ity of any extensive range of mountainous coun- 
 try ; the atmosphere, therefore, is remarkably pure 
 and invigorating, affording to the diseased one of 
 the best selected spots that could be chosen for 
 the improvement of a broken or impaired consti- 
 tution. 
 
 But Saratoga is not only interesting on account 
 of the salubrity of its waters and the purity of its 
 air ; the name is associated with the great events 
 which gave birth to the empire ; her plains are dis- 
 tinguished in the history of freedom. It was here 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 43 
 
 our fathers fought and bled ! and here the sight of 
 their graves daily reminds us of their valor and their 
 patriotism. It was here, during the dark and gloomy 
 period of the revolution, that the light of liberty 
 first dawned upon our then benighted land, and 
 cheered the hearts of our desponding countrymen 
 with a full prospect of a great and glorious day ; 
 and although the bones of those who fell upon her 
 plains are now scarcely distinguishable from the 
 earth which covers them, yet the spot of their re- 
 pose will be sought after and remembered while 
 patriotism shall have a votary, or liberty a name. 
 The scene of the defeat and surrender of General 
 Burgoyne is but two hours ride from the Springs, 
 and is full of interest. 
 
 The falls of the Hudson are numerous, and 
 some of them highly interesting, particularly those 
 of Baker, Glen and Hadley ; they are situated about 
 eighteen miles from the Springs, and are well 
 worth the attention of the tourist. 
 
 Saratoga Lake is but four miles distant from the 
 Springs. It is a beautiful sheet of pure water, 
 nine miles in extent from north to south, and from 
 one to three in width. The scenery around it is 
 diversified and highly picturesque, while the lake 
 itself abounds with a variety of fish and its borders 
 
44 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 with abundance of small game, affording to the 
 sportsman and epicure a never failing source of 
 amusement and gratification. 
 
 Lake George, twenty seven miles distant, pre- 
 sents a scenery sublime, beautiful and romantic 
 beyond description. Here the invalid may not only 
 be exhilirated by the delightful prospects which 
 surround him, but will find himself invigorated by 
 inhaling the pure air of the mountains, and bathing 
 in the limpid and uncontaminated waters of the 
 Sacred Lake.* 
 
 The artist may here occupy his pencil in delin- 
 eating some of the grandest views which the Uni- 
 ted States any where present, and which fancy in 
 her wildest and most extravagant exertions can 
 never imitate or improve. Indeed, no being, en- 
 dowed with reason and common sense, can ever 
 visit this spot without receiving impressions calcu- 
 lated to elevate his views of the divinity of nature, 
 and the dignity and grandeur of her works. 
 
 The roads leading to all these places are tolera- 
 ably good, particularly where they pass over the 
 
 * The French, who first discovered the lake, gave it the 
 name of " Lake Sacrament," from the purity of its waters. 
 
HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 45 
 
 plain country ; as they are there not only level 
 and dry, but frequently hard and smooth in con- 
 sequence of the admixture of loam with sand. 
 The invalid may, therefore, select such route from 
 the Springs as may best suit the state of his health. 
 If feeble or afflicted with painful disease, he may 
 ride on the plains without fatigue : or if more vig- 
 orous and courting exercise, he may mount the 
 hills in Greenfield to the north, where, in a tour 
 of eight or ten miles, he may enjoy a mountain 
 scenery. 
 
 The establishment of a line of steam-boats and 
 stages from New-York to Montreal, by the way of 
 Lake George and Lake Champlain, places the 
 Springs in the great road between those two cit- 
 ies ; their importance, therefore, as a resting 
 place will be much enhanced, as travellers between 
 those great marts (from both which they are near- 
 ly equi-distant) may gratify their curiosity, with- 
 out deviating materially from their route, and en- 
 joy while there a constant and convenient inter- 
 course with either place. 
 
 [Since the foregoing was written, a company 
 has been chartered by an act of the legislature to 
 construct a rail-way from the city of Schenectady 
 to the village of Saratoga Springs^ the capital stock 
 
46 HISTORY OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 subscribed, and the work commenced. When 
 completed, (which will probably be in from 12 
 to 18 months) a direct communication, by steam, 
 will be opened from New-York to the Springs, a 
 passage between which places, it is believed, will 
 be effected in about 15 hours. With such a rapid, 
 easy, elegant and safe facility, it can hardly be 
 doubted that the number of strangers visiting the 
 Springs will be greatly augmented, and that the 
 period is not distant when these watering pla- 
 ces, selected by the wealthy for a country resi- 
 dence, will become as populous and in all respects 
 equal the most renowned and fashionable towns 
 of the kind in Europe. The advantage, too, of a 
 rail-road excursion, connected with the use of the 
 waters, must prove of incalculable benefit to inva- 
 lids, especially to the enfeebled, and will deter- 
 mine thousands, annually, in the selection of the 
 Springs as the most favored spot for the recovery 
 of health.] 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS 
 
 COUNTY OF SARATOGA. 
 
 The arrangement of the different geological for- 
 mations in this county is peculiarly interesting, and 
 affords one of the happiest opportunities for acquir- 
 ing a knowledge of the general outlines of the sci- 
 ence of geology. The primitive transition and sec- 
 ondary formations present themselves almost at one 
 view, and afford to the enquirer an opportunity 
 for studying the physical characters, positions and 
 arrangements with a facility that can scarcely be 
 surpassed at any other spot. But before I pro- 
 ceed to a description of its geological structure, 
 it will be necessary to say a few words on the ge- 
 ography of the county. 
 
 The county of Saratoga was set off from the 
 county of Albany in the year 1791. It is situated 
 between 42 deg. 46 min. and 43 deg. 23 min. north 
 latitude, and 26 min. east and 10 min. west long- 
 itude, from the city of New-York, and is divided 
 into twenty townships, the greater part of which 
 
48 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 are highly cultivated, and all of them in a state of 
 rapid improvement. The soil is generally good 
 and well adapted to either pasturage or culture. 
 
 Formerly the great quantity of fine timber, 
 which the land every where produced, its proxim- 
 ity to market, and the facilities afforded for erect- 
 ing mills on never failing streams of water, indu- 
 ced the earlier settlers to turn their attention to 
 the business of lumbering, to the almost entire neg- 
 lect of the land. But the disappearance of the 
 timber has now nearly put a stop to this kind of 
 traffic, and the farmer is beginning to consult his 
 better interest in the cultivation and improvement 
 of his farm ; and in a few more years this county 
 will rank among the first in the state both for the 
 quantity and quality of its productions. 
 
 The face of the country is undulating, and the 
 soil considerably diversified in its character. Along 
 the Hudson there are some tracts of alluvial bot- 
 toms extremely fertile ; but it is remarkable that 
 this river does not produce such extensive tracts 
 of alluvial lands as are usually found along streams 
 of its magnitude. Back from the river there are 
 extensive tracts of sandy soil intermixed with a 
 light loam. The soil of the mountainous districts 
 is of a gravelly consistence, intermixed with much 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 49 
 
 vegetable substance, while that which occupies 
 the space between the mountains and the sandy 
 plains is generally of a rich vegetable mould. 
 
 The northern part of the county is mountain- 
 ous. It consists of two elevated ridges, the first of 
 which is styled the Palmertown mountains. It is 
 a continuation or spur of the immense pile of prim- 
 itive mountains which occupy the space between 
 the waters of Lake Champlain and those of the 
 St. Lawrence. They enter the county a few 
 miles west of Glen's Falls, on the Hudson, in the 
 town of Moreau, from whence this ridge, pursuing a 
 southwesterly course, gradually sinks to the level of 
 the plain lands in the vicinity of the mineral waters 
 at Saratoga Springs. It presents an abrupt front, 
 in many places precipitous, and rises in some parts 
 to the height of several hundred feet above the lev- 
 el of the plains which lie to the east and south of 
 it. From the top of. ^is range the land gradually 
 declines to the west for the distance of six or sev- 
 en miles, when it is again abruptly thrown into an- 
 other ridge called the Kayaderosseras mountains. 
 This, like the Palmertown ridge, is a spur from the 
 same group of primitive mountains to the north. 
 It sinks to the general level of the country. In the 
 town of Galway it presents an appearance very 
 similar to that of the Palmertown mountains, and 
 
50 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 like that declines gradually to the west until it 
 comes in contact with another spur from the same 
 source, called the Sa^anadaga or Sacandaga moun- 
 tains, which terminate at or near the Little Falls 
 on the Mohawk ; this range is in the county of 
 Montgomery. 
 
 The waters of the Sacandaga river, one of the 
 principal branches of the Hudson, have their 
 source in this latter range of mountains, and col- 
 lecting their scattered branches, they pursue an 
 easterly course, and passing through the Kayade- 
 rosseras mountains unite with the Hudson. These 
 waters now pursue a southerly course for a few 
 miles only, when they again strike off to the east, 
 and continuing the course, pass through the Palm- 
 ertown mountains, and in the vicinity of Glen's 
 Falls again take a southerly direction, and pur- 
 sue it with but little variation to the city of New- 
 York. # . 
 
 In the passage of these waters through the 
 mountains, they form numerous rapids, cascades 
 and cataracts, which present some of the most 
 wild, romantic and picturesque scenery of which 
 the country can boast. 
 
 These mountains comprise the primitive region 
 in this county. The rock formations which com- 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 51 
 
 pose the regular constituent parts of these eleva- 
 ted ridges consist of the following : 
 
 Granite. 
 
 Sienite. 
 
 Gneiss. 
 
 Mica Slate. 
 
 Steatite. 
 
 Granular Lime Stone. 
 
 Granite 
 Discovers itself in a number of places along 
 the whole extent of the Palmertown range. It 
 rises to the top of some of the highest peaks of 
 the mountain near where the Hudson crosses it, 
 and is again met with in some of the vallies. At 
 the southern termination of this mountainous 
 range, in the immediate vicinity of the transition 
 formation, and within a mile of the mineral waters 
 at Saratoga Springs, there is an extensive mass of 
 granite considerably elevated and lying across the 
 course of the mountain nearly east and west. The 
 surface of this range of granite is exposed for the 
 distance of more than a mile, and it is the last of 
 the primitive rocks which make their appearance 
 in this direction until we reach the Highlands be- 
 low Newburgh, a distance of more than one 
 
52 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS, 
 
 hundred miles, where they again occur, and the 
 appearance seems to justify the opinion that they 
 constitute a part of the same range. Such is the 
 situation of the valley or basin between these two 
 distant points, that the Highlands may be distinct- 
 ly seen over it, on a clear day, from almost any 
 point on the last mentioned range of granite at 
 Saratoga Springs. 
 
 On the west side of the mountain, where the 
 land slopes off towards the Kayaderosseras, gran- 
 ite frequently presents itself in extensive ridges, 
 sometimes exhibiting its own well defined surface, 
 and sometimes supporting masses of sienite or 
 gneiss, which run into each other ; and in this 
 manner it likewise combines with mica slate, and 
 although each rock is distinctly marked, yet they 
 are so intimately combined at their union as to 
 render it difficult to determine the exact line of 
 their meeting. 
 
 On the Kayaderosseras mountains the granite 
 discovers itself towards their southern termination 
 and along their highest ridges. It is very conspicu- 
 ous along the slope of the mountains on their 
 western sides in the town of Providence. It like- 
 wise breaks through the gneiss, or rises above it in 
 several places in the precipitous parts of the moun- 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 53 
 
 tains on their eastern aspect in the towns of Green- 
 field, Corinth and Hadley. 
 
 In the town of Concord, on the north side of 
 the Sacandaga river, and not far from the road 
 leading through the mountain along the valley 
 of the river from Hadley to Edinburgh, there is 
 an extensive range of beautiful flesh coloured 
 granite. It rises through the gneiss which lies on 
 both sides of it, and occupying a direction nearly 
 southwest and northeast, may be traced a distance 
 of some miles. It consists almost entirely of feld- 
 spar in a highly crystalline state, and contains some 
 nodules of quartz and rarely some small speci- 
 mens of mica. 
 
 Most of the granite which occurs in this region 
 is of a coarse granular structure, having its usual 
 constituents variously combined. Sometimes it 
 consists almost entirely of feldspar and quartz. 
 In some specimens the mica is in excess, and in 
 others the mica and quartz are scarcely discovera- 
 ble, and frequently all three are so intimately 
 combined as to make it difficult to determine which 
 is in excess. 
 
 Sometimes the granite occurs in veins passing 
 through gneiss, in which case it is highly crystal- 
 
54 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 line, and its constituent parts may be easily sepa- 
 rated, often with a single blow of the hammer. 
 
 Gneiss. 
 This constitutes by far the greater proportion of 
 the primitive rocks in this region. It composes 
 almost the whole of the eastern face of the Palm- 
 ertown mountains, except being occasionally in- 
 terrupted by the granite. It extends to the west 
 along the slope of those mountains to within a 
 mile of the Kayaderosseras ; and these last moun- 
 tains are almost entirely composed of it. Where 
 the Sacandaga river crosses this range, the moun- 
 tains, which are several hundred feet in height, 
 particularly on the north side, approach it in fright- 
 ful precipices, which are entirely composed of this 
 rock; 
 
 It is usually found resting on granite ; but in 
 some places it is observed to alternate with sien- 
 ite, but more frequently with mica slate. It differs 
 much in its composition ; being in some instances 
 composed almost entirely of mica and quartz, and 
 in others of mica, quartz, feldspar and hornblend. 
 Sometimes the feldspar is wanting altogether, and 
 sometimes the mica is deficient. They are all in 
 fine particles and much diffused in the mass. 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 55 
 
 Sienite, or Hornblend Rock, 
 Occurs in several places along the western 
 declivity of the Palmertown mountains, and along 
 the southern termination of the Kayaderosseras 
 mountains in the town of Providence. It is ob- 
 served in other places combined with gneiss or 
 alternating with mica slate. It does not, how- 
 ever, appear to occupy a very extensive space in 
 the formation of this region. 
 
 Mica Slate. 
 This rock occurs near and along the southern 
 termination of the primitive region in the town of 
 Greenfield. A little below Fitch's mills it forms a 
 distinct stratification, and along the mountains to 
 the north and northeast it rests on the gneiss, and 
 is observed to form veins or seams in several pla- 
 ces in the granite. It exhibits fragments of an 
 extensive stratification both on the Palmertown 
 and Kayaderosseras mountains. 
 
 Steatite j Soap- Stone, or Talcose Rock, 
 Occurs at or near the foot of the Palmer- 
 town mountains in the town of Moreau ; it oc- 
 curs likewise near the top of the mountain in 
 the town of Corinth, and again in the town of 
 Greenfield. They all appear to be of the same 
 description, and evidently belong to the variety 
 
58 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 termed pot-stone. The locality in Moreau appears 
 to be extensive. It is covered by granular lime- 
 stone, through a fissure of which, the specimens 
 which I have were procured. 1 have several oth- 
 er specimens which I strongly suspect came from 
 one of the above localities, although they were 
 represented to me as coming from another quarter, 
 They were procured by some infatuated money dig- 
 gers, and were exhibited under a pretence or be- 
 lief that they contained the precious metals. 
 
 Granular Limestone. 
 This occurs in the immediate vicinity of the fore- 
 going formation, and appears to rest upon it. It 
 enters largely into the formation of the Palmer- 
 town mountain at a place about two miles north 
 from its southern termination. All which 1 have 
 examined is of a coarse granular structure, and 
 in its general character and appearance strongly 
 resembles the Bennington and Shaftsbury mar- 
 bles. It is easily worked, and when pure receives 
 a fine polish. Most of the specimens, however, 
 contain crystals of feldspar diffused throughout 
 the mass in such abundance as to render it in a 
 great measure unfit for the operations of the chis- 
 sel. It is probable, nevertheless, that when those 
 localities come to be properly explored, specimens 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS, 57 
 
 sufficiently pure may be procured for all the use- 
 ful purposes to which marble is applied. 
 
 Every thing conspires to induce the belief that 
 these primitive regions have undergone great and 
 important changes since the period of their forma- 
 tion. Fragments of these rocks, exactly corres- 
 ponding with those in place, are strewed in im- 
 mense quantities all over the county in the form 
 of sand, water-worn pebbles, rounded stones and 
 bowlders, specimens of which, weighing many 
 tons, are found at the distance of some miles from 
 their parent rock resting on earth which covers 
 secondary limestone. 
 
 The minerals which have been observed con- 
 nected with the primitive formation of this region, 
 are tourmaline, garnets, beryl, sulphuret of mo- 
 lybdena, graphite, spodumene, iron in the form of 
 magnetic hematite and sulphuret, ehrysoberyl,* 
 prismatic and laminated mica, coccolite, &c. 
 
 * This rare mineral occurs in veins of granite running 
 through gneiss in two or three places, from which some beau- 
 tiful specimens have been obtained. 
 
58 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 TRANSITION FORMATION, 
 
 The rocks which are distinctly marked as be- 
 longing to this class in this region are — 
 
 Pudding Stone, or Conglomerate. 
 Quartzose, or Coarse Siliceous Sand Stone. 
 Metalliferous, or Mountain Lime Stone. 
 Argillaceous Slate. 
 Gray Wacke and Gray Wacke Slate. 
 Siliceous and Calcareous Sand Stone. 
 
 Pudding Stone.* 
 This formation occurs in the town of Green- 
 field, not far from its south line, on the southeast 
 side of the Kayaclerosseras mountain, distinctly 
 resting on the primitive rocks. It consists princi- 
 pally of rounded pebbles of quartz, from the size 
 of a small shot to that of a man's head, and larger, 
 united into one common mass by a kind of coarse 
 ferruginous sand. The rounded masses which 
 
 * This formation, with the succeeding one, answers well to 
 the description given by Eaton, of the miilstone-grit of the 
 canal district ; but its situation here peremptorily forbids its 
 being placed among the secondary rocks. 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 59 
 
 characterize this formation are much the largest 
 at its commencement, or where it unites with the 
 primitive rocks, and they regularly decrease in 
 size as we climb up the series, until it passes into 
 a uniform quartzose, or coarse siliceous sand 
 stene, which overlays or alternates with it over a 
 considerable extent of this part of the county. 
 Broken rounded fragments of this formation are 
 found all over the county, and in great abundance 
 along the valley between the Palmertown and 
 Kayaderosseras mountains. 
 
 Quartzose or Coarse Siliceous Sand Stone. 
 This formation occupies an extensive space 
 along the valley between the Palmerton and Kay- 
 aderosseras mountains, and is found along the eas- 
 tern declivity of the latter mountain, near its south- 
 ern termination, in thin and horizontal strata, in 
 some places alternating with conglomerate or 
 passing into it. Near the foot of the mountain it 
 inclines a little to the southeast, and disappears 
 beneath more recent formations. 
 
 This formation is generally of a reddish brown 
 color, particularly where the surface has been 
 exposed to the weather. It is, however, frequently 
 white or greyish white ; and at or near the falls on 
 the Hudson at Hadley, it passes into and alter- 
 
60 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 nates with a kind of rubblestone of a blueish cast, 
 which slightly effervesces with acids, and some- 
 times contains calcareous spar.* 
 
 Metalliferous, or Mountain Lime Rock. 
 This formation occurs in the town of Green- 
 field, on an elevated ridge of land in the valley be- 
 tween the Palmertown and Kayaderosseras moun- 
 tains, and evidently reposes on the foregoing satid 
 stone. This locality is not very extensive, and 
 1 am not aware of its occurring at any other place, 
 although it very probably may, along the course of 
 the same valley which occupies the space between 
 those primitive spurs for nearly twenty miles. 
 
 •Argillaceous Slate. 
 This formation appears to underlay the greater 
 part of the county that is not included in the prim- 
 itive region. It forms the bed of the Hudson to 
 a little above Baker's Falls, opposite Moreau, and 
 
 * professor Eaton/has described this formation as being prim- 
 itive, and mentions the occurrence of an intervening stratum of 
 pudding stone as a remarkable circumstance. 1 once entertain- 
 ed the same opinion, but a more careful investigation has put 
 it beyond a doubt that this is a transition formation, occupying 
 the bottom of a basin formed by the surrounding primitive 
 mountains. 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 61 
 
 that of the Mohawk to above Schenectady. It is 
 likewise observable in the interior of the county, 
 at the bottom and along the shores of the lakes, 
 both at Saratoga and Ballston ; and it forms the 
 shores or banks of most of the streams that pass 
 to the southward of the secondary formation, but 
 it has not yet been observed to make its appear- 
 ance between this last and the primitive rocks. 
 
 The layers of this rock are much curved, par- 
 ticularly along the southern parts of the county, 
 and possess a considerable elevation to the north- 
 west ; but as it approaches towards the seconda- 
 ry rock, to the north, its layers become straight, 
 are evidently less inclined, and separate into thin 
 plates, some of which appear suitable for roof 
 slate. The seams and fissures of these layers are 
 frequently filled with calcareous spar; and at 
 Baker's Falls large masses of this substance are 
 imbedded in the rock. It is extremely liable to 
 disintegration where the surface is exposed ; and 
 in many places it breaks into regular rhombick 
 tables, whose fracture is always parallel to their 
 sides, evincing a crystalline character, 
 
 Some specimens of this rock are glazed with 
 black lead, which when handled soils the fingers ; 
 and from this circumstance, some inexperienced 
 
OX GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 geologists have mistaken it for bituminous shale, 
 a substance which probably will not be found in 
 this district. 
 
 Large masses of chlorite, milky quartz, and 
 sometimes red jasper, are likewise found, either 
 imbedded in this formation or passing through it 
 in the form of veins ; and the sulphuret of iron, in 
 beautiful golden colored crystals of various forms, 
 occurs in great abundance, either in seams or im- 
 bedded in its substance. The decomposition of this 
 latter substance probably gives origin to the sul- 
 phurous waters which are found in this region, 
 and likewise to the efflorescence so often met with 
 on the sides and walls of this rock. This efflores- 
 cence is either the sulphate of iron, lime or alu- 
 mine, and sometimes consists of all three. 
 
 Siliceous slate appears to be imbedded in the 
 argillite, rather than forming a separate stratum. 
 It is of a black flint like appearance, possessing a 
 concoidal fracture, and has a dark shining aspect. 
 It occurs in large irregular masses in the argilla- 
 ceous slate on the east side of Saratoga lake, and 
 likewise along the southern parts of the county. 
 
 Gray- Wacke. 
 Wherever this rock is found in this region, it 
 rests on the argillaceous slate, and in some places 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 63 
 
 is observed to alternate with it. It forms the sum- 
 mit of most of the insolated elevations throughout 
 the southern parts of the county. It occupies a 
 considerable space along the highlands which run 
 parallel to the Hudson through the towns of Sar- 
 atoga and Stillwater, and enters largely into the 
 composition of Bemus' Heights. It is observable 
 again along the southern parts of Ballston and 
 Charlton, where it runs into, and alternates with 
 gray-wackjp slate. This last differs but little from 
 the former, excepting it is more slaty in its 
 structure. Along the east side of Saratoga 
 Lake, and at several other places, they have a 
 considerable declination to the southeast ; but in 
 Charlton their position is nearly horizontal. In 
 some places the strata of this formation are cu- 
 riously contorted and bent, furnishing interesting 
 views for the speculations of the scientific geolo- 
 gist. 
 
 Siliceous and Calcareous Sand Stone. 
 These rocks occur all along the eastern and 
 southern termination of the primitive region, with 
 which in many places they appear to come nearly 
 in contact. They appear in the banks of the 
 Hudson a little below Glen's Falls, and they are 
 very conspicuous along the south part of the town 
 of Greenfield at the foot of the Kayaderosseras, 
 
©4 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 when they pursue the course of that primitive 
 tract to its southern termination in the town of 
 Galway. They then take a western course into the 
 county of Montgomery. In Greenfield and Co- 
 rinth this formation occupies a narrow space along 
 the eastern foot of the Kayaderosseras mountain 
 for the distance of several miles ; and the same 
 formation occurs again on its opposite side, along 
 the foot of the Sacandaga mountains, and it is of 
 this stone that the piers of the elegant state bridge 
 over the Sacandaga river near the Fish House are 
 constructed. Indeed, some of the rocks at this 
 place approach very nearly to compact lime-stone 5 
 and contain organic remains. 
 
 Horn Stone is found in great abundance im- 
 bedded in the calcareous sand stone ; and calca- , 
 reous spar, beautifully crystallized and possessing 
 a variety of colours, occurs in both. Some of 
 these rocks contain in their fissures and cavities 
 beautiful and very perfect six sided crystals of 
 quartz. These occur in great abundance among 
 the calcareous sand stones in the vicinity of the 
 mineral springs at Saratoga, and are presented to 
 the curious under the appellation of diamonds. 
 Some small specimens of these crystals have been 
 found in the loose earth about these rocks, having 
 regular sides, with both terminations entire, and 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 65 
 
 possessing a brilliancy but little inferior to the dia- 
 mond itself. 
 
 The siliceous sand stone in some places seems 
 to pass into a kind of amygdaloidal rock, which 
 effervesces but slightly with acids. Its cavities, 
 which are numerous, are lined with chalcedony. 
 This frequently occupies the whole space, but 
 sometimes forms geodes, the insides of which are 
 studded with small brilliant crystals of quartz, or 
 a variety of crystallized spar. The walls of these 
 geodes not unfrequently pass into agate, exhibiting 
 its zigzag parallel lines very distinctly. 
 
 Most of the calcareous and siliceous sand stone 
 of this region are easily wrought, and they bear 
 the effects of a high temperature well ; they are 
 therefore used in Galway for the backs and jambs 
 to chimneys. They have been likewise extensively 
 quarried in Greenfield for the construction of the 
 locks on the northern canal; and* at Saratoga 
 Springs they are used altogether for the founda- 
 tions of buildings. 
 
 F 2 
 
60 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 SECONDARY FORMATION. 
 
 The rocks which compose the regular series of 
 this formation are — 
 
 Compact Lime-stone, 
 Shell Lime-stone, and 
 Oolite. 
 
 This lime-stone formation passes into the coun- 
 ty at Glen's Falls, and pursuing a south westerly 
 direction, occupies a narrow space along the 
 course of the primitive region, and not far from it 
 through the towns of Moreau, Wilton, Saratoga 
 Springs, Milton, Galway, and so into the county 
 of Montgomery. 
 
 The connection of this formation with the tran- 
 sition rocks is very obvious at a little distance be- 
 low Glen's Falls, where it is first observed to alter- 
 nate with calcareous and siliceous sand stone, and 
 following the stream still further down, these last 
 rocks alternate with gray-wacke and gray-wacke 
 slate, which finally rest on the argillaceous slate, 
 not far above Baker's Falls, in the town of Mo- 
 reau. 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS- 67 
 
 Both the compact and shell lime-stone occur 
 in the same series of strata, constituting distinct 
 layers, which overlay each other at irregular inter- 
 vals. They are of a dark blue colour, and the 
 compact is susceptible of a fine polish, and is used 
 for ornamental work of various kinds. Both, 
 when properly burned, form a very pure lime, 
 giving out when first heated, a strong sulphurous 
 odour. 
 
 The shell lime-stone differs very materially from 
 the compact, being more loose in its texture, and 
 consisting nearly altogether of organic remains, 
 the forms of which are perfect and entire ; among 
 which have been recognized celleporites, pecte- 
 nites, orthoceratites, amonites, cardites, gryphites, 
 corallinites, terebratulites, ostryatites, and belem- 
 nites. 
 
 Oolite. 
 This formation had not been known as consti- 
 tuting a part of the regular series of rocks in the 
 United States until it was discovered in this coun- 
 ty. It occurs at a place about two miles north 
 west from the village of Saratoga Springs, and 
 within half a mile of the ridge of granite rocks 
 which terminate the southernmost point of the 
 Palmertown mountains. From this spot it stretches 
 
68 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS, 
 
 across the valley which separates the Palmertown 
 from the Kayaderosseras mountains, and prob- 
 ably may yet be traced around the termination of 
 the latter mountains to those of the Sacandaga, and 
 possibly along the whole extent of these primitive 
 spurs of what professor Eaton has termed " the 
 M'Comb Mountains." 
 
 The calcareous concretions which characterize 
 and identify this formation, are for the most part 
 arranged in successive layers throughout the strata 
 in which they appear. They are globular, of the 
 size of mustard seed, possess a shining black col- 
 our, and are evidently composed of concentric lay- 
 ers. They are united in the mass by a calcareous 
 cement, more or less granular, combined with fine 
 siliceous sand. 
 
 More than one half of the whole mass of some 
 of the strata which constitute the series of this for- 
 mation, consist of these globular concretions ; in 
 others they are more sparingly diffused, and some 
 of the strata appear to be composed altogether of 
 a calcareo-siliceous sand, without the intervention 
 of a single globule. They are mostly of a dark 
 gray colour, but they are in many places rendered 
 brown by the intervention of ferruginous particles. 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 69 
 
 From a cursory examination, at the time this 
 formation was first observed, I was induced to be- 
 lieve that it rested on the transition rocks ; but a 
 more careful investigation has satisfied me that it 
 rests on secondary or shell lime-stone. This lime- 
 stone differs somewhat from that which I have be- 
 fore described ; it is of a lighter colour, less com- 
 pact in its structure, the organic remains are more 
 equally diffused throughout the strata, which are 
 thinner, and are frequently separated by thin lay- 
 ers of aluminous slate, which, in some places, is 
 nearly identified with the lime-stone. Can this be 
 the lias of the European geologists ? and is this 
 shale the lias clay which in England is known to 
 be impregnated with muriate of soda and other 
 salts ? and the same in which the mineral springs 
 at Cheltenham and Gloucester are said to rise 1 
 If it should be so, we shall find but little difficulty 
 in accounting for the origin of some of the saline 
 ingredients found in the mineral waters at Sarato- 
 ga ; but it must be left to further investigation to 
 determine this subject, 
 
70 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 DILUVIAL AND ALLUVIAL FORMATIONS. 
 
 Diluvial and alluvial deposits cover a great pro- 
 portion of the secondary and transition rocks 
 throughout the county, in the form of thick beds 
 of sand and clay and fragments of rocks more or 
 less rounded by attrition. 
 
 The diluvial includes generally all those lands 
 that are usually termed pine plains, extending from 
 the northern to the southern limits of the county, 
 forming a part of .a range which follows the course 
 of the Hudson for more than four hundred miles 
 between the primitive mountains. 
 
 But little is as yet known of t^e depth or interi- 
 or properties of this immense body of earth. It 
 has seldom been opened to any extent but for the 
 purposes of obtaining water, which is usually found 
 at a depth of from ten to twenty-five feet, in a 
 coarse loose sand resting on aluminous marl, or 
 between this first stratum and another at no great 
 distance beneath. When water is found to occur 
 over the marl, it is usually very pure, combines 
 readily with soap, and is what, in common lan- 
 guage, is termed soft ; but when it occurs between 
 the strata of marl 5 it possesses properties which 
 
GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 71 
 
 give it the appellation of hard ; it decomposes 
 soap without forming a pure suds, and contains 
 lime, magnesia, &c. usually combined with sul- 
 phuric or muriatic acid. 
 
 Wherever this formation has been exposed to 
 any considerable depth, it presents a stratified 
 structure consisting of regular and well defined 
 strata of different coloured sand or earth, or coarse 
 and fine gravel regularly arranged. Sometimes 
 these strata are separated by thin layers of marl or 
 clay, and sometimes by the argillaceous oxide of 
 iron. They are horizontal, inclined or undulating 
 at different places. 
 
 Marl appears to underlay or form a constituent 
 part of almost the whole of the diluvial deposits of 
 this county ; it is mostly argillaceous, but some 
 specimens contain from forty to sixty per cent, of 
 lime, and are evidently calcareous. 
 
 Argillaceous oxide of iron (bog ore) occurs in 
 a number of places, imbeded in the sandy diluvial. 
 On the plains between Saratoga and Ballston Spa, 
 it was formerly found in sufficient quantities to 
 supply a forge for a number of years, which pro- 
 duced from fifty to seventy tons of wrought or bar 
 iron annually. 
 
72 GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. 
 
 The alluvial formation is found along the banks 
 of streams and at the bottoms of vallies ; it con- 
 sists of beds of clay or marl, interrupted at inter- 
 vals by layers of quicksand, and sometimes by that 
 of vegetable remains. 
 
 Every thing in this extensive region of diluvial 
 and alluvial deposits conspire to induce the belief 
 that it once formed the bottom of an immense 
 fresh water lake, which must have existed subse- 
 quent to the retiring of the oceanic waters, in which 
 were deposited the lime and other secondary rocks 
 which contain the remains of marine animals in 
 such abundance ; but as the discussion of this 
 subject is not necessarily connected with the ob- 
 ject of the work before us, it is deemed inexpedi- 
 ent to pursue it any further at this time. 
 
 Having thus given a concise account of the dis- 
 covery and settlement of the springs, and a gene- 
 ral view of the geological features of the country 
 in which they are situated, (preliminaries interest- 
 ing and important,) I shall now proceed to an 
 examination into the character and properties of 
 the waters. 
 
I 
 
 EXAMINATION 
 
 MINERAL WATERS- 
 
 Such is the solvent power of water, that it is 
 seldom, if ever, found perfectly pure or free 
 from foreign ingredients. Rain and snow wal er ? 
 when collected in the open country, remote from 
 towns or villages, and immediately after their de- 
 scent, are the most pure of any used for domestic 
 purposes ; but even these are not entirely free 
 from impurities. 
 
 The waters of springs, wells, rivers, lakes and 
 ponds are still more impure, owing to their con- 
 taining a larger proportion of foreign substances 
 in solution or in a state of suspension ; but it is sel- 
 dom that these contain sufficient quantities to ren- 
 der them altogether unfit for domestic uses ; when 
 this does happen, they are styled mineral wa- 
 ters. 
 
 Mineral waters, are those which contain so large 
 a proportion of foreign matter as to render them 
 
 G 
 
74 EXAMINATION OF THE WATERS. 
 
 unfit for culinary or other domestic uses. They 
 possess a distinguishing flavor, and when taken in- 
 to the stomach produce distinct medicinal effects. 
 They have been, for the conveniency of description, 
 divided into distinct classes, each class receiving an 
 appropriate name from the prominent character 
 given to the water by the articles held in solution. 
 Hence we have 
 
 Acidul ous waters, those which contain so large 
 a proportion of carbonic acid as to give them a 
 distinguishing character ; 
 
 Chalybeate waters, containing iron in some of 
 its soluble combinations ; 
 
 Saline waters, those which contain one or more 
 of the saline purging salts ; 
 
 Sulphureous waters, those which contain sul- 
 phuretted hydrogen either in a combined or un- 
 combined state. 
 
 It not unfrequently happens that the same foun- 
 tain contains all the foregoing distinguishing in- 
 gredients, particularly the three first, in which case 
 it is styled an acidulous saline chalybeate 
 
EXAMINATION OF THE WATERS. 75 
 
 water. To this class belong the famous mineral 
 waters of Saratoga. 
 
 These celebrated waters occur along the south- 
 ern termination of the secondary, and in the im- 
 mediate vicinity of the transition formation. They 
 are scattered along a line running nearly east and 
 west, for the distance of about twenty miles. At 
 Ballston Spa there are a number of these springs, 
 some of which make their appearance at the sur- 
 face through alluvial deposits of plastic clay, or 
 marl and sand, while others have been obtained by 
 boring to a considerable depth in the transition 
 slate which here forms the basis on which rests the 
 alluvial deposits. Between this place and the vil- 
 lage of Saratoga Springs there are several of these 
 fountains of less note situated both in the transition 
 and secondary formations. At Saratoga Springs 
 they are more numerous, and diversified in their 
 sensible qualities, than at any other place. They 
 discover themselves, in great numbers, for the dis- 
 tance of more than a mile along the valley, in 
 marl, which rests on secondary limestone. They 
 occur again in the southeast part of the old town 
 of Saratoga, at a place called the Quaker Springs. 
 The rock formation at this place is transition slate. 
 
76 EXAMINATION OF THE WATERS. 
 
 All the waters of these numerous fountains ap- 
 pear to possess the same or nearly the same qual- 
 ities, differing in their medicinal properties only, in 
 the quantities of the articles which are held in so- 
 lution. 
 
 I shall now proceed to a separate and distinct 
 examination of all those fountains which have ex- 
 cited attention either from their notoriety, or their 
 sensible qualities ; and I commence with the Con- 
 gress Spring. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 This truly celebrated fountain is situated on 
 the west side of a narrow strip of low marshy 
 ground, close to the foot of a beautiful little cas- 
 cade, formed by a small limped stream which 
 bursts from the earth but about fifty rods wester- 
 ly from the spot. The spring was first discovered, 
 as heretofore stated, during the summer of 1792.* 
 At that time the water made its appearance 
 through a small aperture in the side of a calcare- 
 ous rock, whose margin formed the border of the 
 brook. Here it was caught in tumblers as it is- 
 sued from the rock in a small stream, and this 
 formed the only resource for obtaining the water 
 for several years after its discovery ; but the 
 quantity afforded was found altogether insufficient, 
 even at that early period of its use, to satisfy the 
 
 * John Taylor Gillman, who has since been governor of the 
 state of New-Hampshire, and a brother of his, were in compa- 
 ny when this spring was first noticed, but it is not now cer- 
 tainly known which of the two first discovered it. 
 
 g2 
 
78 DESCRIPTION OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 demands of its visitants ; it therefore became desi- 
 rable to obtain a larger quantity, and with a view 
 to effect this object, some efforts were made which 
 unfortunately resulted in completely obstructing 
 the passage of the water, and for a time the spring 
 was supposed to be irretrievably lost. 
 
 Not long after this accident, Mr. Putnam, a gen- 
 tleman whose name I have already had occasion 
 to mention, who then resided near the spot, and 
 who ranked among the most enterprizing of the 
 early settlers, observed bubbles of gas breaking 
 through the water in the middle of the brook, a 
 few feet south and east from the site of the former 
 fountain. Governed by the hope of being able to 
 recover the original fountain, he turned the stream 
 from its course, and having excavated the earth to 
 the depth of about eight feet, discovered a strong 
 mineral water rising in various places through a 
 very hard and compact stratum of indurated marl 
 imbedded with rounded pebbles and coarse gravel. 
 He prepared a square tube made of strong plank, 
 about ten inches in diameter, and of sufficient 
 length to reach from the bottom of the excavation 
 to a little above the surface ; this he placed upright 
 in the well, and having adjusted the lower end so 
 as to include a number of these separate little 
 fountains^ replaced the earth firmly around it, and 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SPRINGS. 79 
 
 thus secured to posterity the possession of a mine- 
 ral water which, for its peculiar medicinal proper- 
 ties, stands unrivalled. 
 
 In this curb, which is perfectly tight, the water 
 rises to a few inches above the surface of the 
 brook, which still passes close to the spring, and 
 here it becomes stationary. A little below this 
 point, however, it is suffered to escape through a 
 small aperture made in the side of the curb for the 
 purpose. At this aperture, when the spring is not 
 disturbed, the water issues at the rate of some- 
 thing less than a gallon per minute. The quanti- 
 ty of water however which the fountain affords 
 seems to be inexhaustible, for when the pressure 
 has been removed by lessening the column of wa- 
 ter in the curb, as when it has been rapidly dip- 
 ped out, it rushes in with such rapidity that it be- 
 comes difficult, if not impossible, to remove the 
 whole contents of the well. 
 
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE WATER. 
 
 The surface of the well is constantly agitated 
 by the escape of gas in fine bubbles, giving the ap- 
 pearance of simmering, not unlike that which wa- 
 ter exhibits just before the process of violent ebul- 
 lition takes place. 
 
80 DESCRIPTION OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 When first dipped, the water is remarkably lim- 
 ped and sparkling, and were it not for the constant 
 escape of gas in innumerable fine points, it would 
 be perfectly transparent. It however becomes tur- 
 bid after standing a short time exposed to the air ; 
 a delicate white pellicle forms on its surface, which 
 terminates in a reddish brown sediment. This 
 sediment is likewise observable in the well, being 
 incrustated on the walls of the curb and along the 
 surface, over which the water makes its egress to 
 the adjoining brook. 
 
 Transparent glasses and bottles which have 
 been much used in the water, or in which the wa- 
 ter has been suffered to stand for any length of 
 time, become tarnished, and though carefully 
 washed, retain a strong iridescent stain. 
 
 Its saline and gaseous properties are very per- 
 ceptible to the palate, and to most persons not of- 
 fensive. When swallowed, its effects depend in a 
 great measure upon the state of the stomach at the 
 time of receiving it, and upon the quantity drank. 
 When taken, however, in a moderate draught, by 
 a person in tolerable health, the sensation is sel- 
 dom, if ever, unpleasant ; and to those who are in 
 the habitual use of it, particularly in the hot sea- 
 son, it is a delightful beverage. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SPRINGS, 81 
 
 Its most obvious effect, when taken into the 
 stomach as a medicine, is that of an cathartic and 
 diuretic. In most habits this effect is produced 
 by drinking from four to six half pints in the morn- 
 ing before eating. Soon after taking it, the per- 
 son feels a sense of fulness about the stomach and 
 bowels, attended with frequent eructations of fixed 
 air, a slight giddiness of the head, and a sensation 
 bordering on a disposition to sleep. These feel- 
 ings, however, are soon removed by the copious 
 discharges that almost immediately follow, leaving 
 the stomach with an increased appetite for food, 
 and a disposition for exercise unattended with Ian- 
 guor. 
 
 The respiration of all breathing animals is im- 
 mediately affected by coming in close contact with 
 the surface of this fountain. The gas which is- 
 sues from it is immediately fatal to the lives of ani- 
 mals which happen to be immersed in it, and even 
 fishes and frogs survive but a short time when pla- 
 ced in the water. 
 
 Flour, when made into a paste or dough with 
 the water fresh from the spring, and immediately 
 baked, forms a tolerably light bread while warm ; 
 but when cold, it becomes clammy and heavy like 
 unleavened bread. The water is much used by 
 
82 DESCRIPTION OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 the country people for making " hot cakes." The 
 flour is mixed with the water and a quantity of sour 
 cream, and is ready for baking as soon as the in- 
 gredients are sufficiently kneeded together. It 
 forms a very palatable hot cake, and recommends 
 itself on account of the expedition with which it is 
 prepared. 
 
 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 The temperature of the water of this spring, as 
 shown by Fahrenheit's thermometer when immers- 
 ed in the bottom of the well, is 50 deg., and it does 
 not appear to suffer any sensible variation either 
 during the summer or winter months. At a time 
 when the thermometer in the open air stood at 
 14 deg. below zero, and at another, when it was 
 90 deg. above, the water at the bottom of the well 
 was still at 50 deg. 
 
 The specific gravity of the water at the tempe- 
 rature of 60 deg., the barometer ranging at 29.5 
 inches, is 1009.7, pure water being 1000. Exces- 
 sive wet, or long seasons of dry weather, seem to 
 produce a slight variation from this result ; but re- 
 peated experiments, made at different periods and 
 under various circumstances of season, &c. for the 
 space of more than twenty years, have in no in- 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SPRINGS. 83 
 
 stance produced a deviation of more than the 0.5 
 of a grain. 
 
 A thin, transparent glass flask was filled with 
 the water fresh from the spring, a thermometer 
 was immersed in it, and the whole placed in a sand 
 bath, to which the heat was gradually applied. 
 
 At the temperature of 65 deg. there was a per- 
 ceptible increase of air bubbles formed at the bot- 
 tom of the flask, and passing up in rapid succes- 
 sion through the water. 
 
 At 80 deg. the water became much agitated by 
 the rapid disengagement of the gas, and its trans- 
 parency slightly affected by a faint milky appear- 
 ance. 
 
 At 100 deg. the commotion in the water, from 
 the abundant escape of gas, continued to increase 
 as the temperature advanced, and the milkiness be- 
 came more conspicuous. 
 
 At 150 deg. the profusion of air bubbles contin- 
 ued, and there appeared a very delicate white pel- 
 licle forming on the surface of the water, and the 
 turbidness assumed a brownish shade. 
 
84 DESCRIPTION OF THE SPRINGS. 
 
 At 180 deg. the air bubbles still continued to 
 escape in great abundance, and the pellicle ap- 
 peared broken and began to be deposited, together 
 with a light flaky powder, which accumulated at 
 the bottom of the flask. 
 
 At 200 degrees the water became less turbid, 
 and the escape of gas had nearly ceased. It was 
 then suffered to boil for the space of half an hour, 
 and then removed from the sand bath ; and when 
 cold, it became nearly clear and exhibited an 
 abundance of a reddish brown sediment. It had 
 lost its pungent acid flavor, but was decidedly more 
 saline. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS WITH TESTS. 
 
 Exp. 1. Lime water, added in considerable 
 quantity, produced a milky turbidness, which ter- 
 minated in a pulverulent white precipitate. This 
 effect is not produced on water that has been pre- 
 viously boiled. 
 
 Exp. 2. Tincture of litmus produced a light 
 red colour, when added to water just dipped from 
 the well. Litmus paper was likewise redened by 
 plunging it into the water and retaining it there a 
 few minutes ; the blue colour of the litmus paper 
 
EXPERIMENTS WITH TESTS. 85 
 
 was, however, restored on exposing it for a few 
 minutes to the air, or on drying it by the fire. The 
 water, after being boiled, had no effect on the col- 
 our of litmus paper ; but strips of this paper, red- 
 dened with distilled vinegar and then dipped into 
 the water, had its blue colour restored. 
 
 Exp. 3. Tincture of red cabbage produced a 
 beautiful green colour, and this was effected as 
 readily after the water had been boiled as before ; 
 the effect, however, was best displayed on water 
 that had been considerably concentrated by evap- 
 oration. 
 
 Exp. 4. Tincture of turmeric was converted 
 into an orange colour when added to a quantity of 
 the water, and when the water had been much 
 concentrated by boiling, it was immediately con- 
 verted into a brick red. 
 
 Exp. 5. Tincture of nutgalls, dropped into the 
 water when taken recently from the spring, in- 
 stantly produced a light purple tinge, which be- 
 came much deeper after standing some time ex- 
 posed to the air. No such effect was produced 
 on water that had been previously boiled. 
 
86 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 Exp. 6. Prussiate of potash produced a slight 
 green tinge, which, after standing some time, be- 
 came azure. This experiment succeeded best 
 when the water had been previously saturated with 
 sulphuric or muriatic acid ; it then terminated in 
 producing a precipitate of Prussian blue. On wa- 
 ter that had been boiled, or suffered to stand for 
 some time exposed to the air, the prussiate of pot- 
 ash had no sensible effect. 
 
 Exp. 7. Muriate of barytes, after standing some 
 minutes mixed with the water fresh from the foun- 
 tain, produced a slight cloudiness, which termina- 
 ted in a white precipitate, which was entirely dis- 
 solved with effervescence in muriatic acid. When 
 the water had been considerably concentrated, the 
 precipitate was formed much more rapidly. 
 
 Exp. 8. Barytic water, when mixed with the 
 water considerably concentrated by boiling, pro- 
 duced a white precipitate, which, like that in Exp. 
 7, was entirely dissolved with effervescence in mu- 
 riatic acid. 
 
 Exp. 9. Oxalic acid produced an immediate 
 active effervescence, which was succeeded by a 
 dense white precipitate. 
 
EXPERIMENTS WITH TESTS. 87 
 
 Exp. 10. Oxalate of ammonia produced an 
 immediate turbidness, which terminated in a copi- 
 ous white precipitate ; when applied to water that 
 had been boiled for some time, a slight change in 
 its transparency only was produced. 
 
 Exp. 11. Carbonate of ammonia, when added 
 in considerable quantities, produced a faint milky 
 turbidness ; but, on the addition of the phosphate 
 of soda, a copious white granular precipitate was 
 immediately formed. 
 
 Exp. 12. Pure ammonia produced an immedi- 
 ate change in the transparency of the water, which 
 was followed by a copious precipitate. 
 
 Exp. 13. Pure potash produced nearly the 
 same effect. 
 
 Exp. 14. Sulphuric acid produced an instan- 
 taneous and very rapid effervescence, which re- 
 sulted in an abundant white precipitate. 
 
 Exp. 15. Nitric and muriatic acid produced a 
 similar disengagement of gas, but their effect was 
 not followed by a precipitate of any kind. 
 
88 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 Exp. 16. Nitrate of silver produced a thick 
 cloud, which immediately collected into flakes and 
 fell to the bottom of the vessel in great abundance. 
 This effect was the same on water that had been 
 boiled as on that which had not. The precipitate 
 was of a white curdy appearance when first pro- 
 duced, but soon became of a darl! muddy colour. 
 This change of colour, however, did not take place 
 when the vessel containing the mixture was kept 
 excluded from the rays of light. 
 
 Exp. 17. Muriate of platina produced no effect, 
 either on water fresh from the fountain, or on that 
 which had been previously boiled ; but by evapo- 
 rating two gallons of the water by a slow heat, until 
 cubic crystals began to form, filtering the remain- 
 ing liquor and again evaporating until its bulk was 
 much reduced by the crystallization of its saline in- 
 gredients, and then adding a small quantity of this 
 test to the remaining solution, a very minute quan- 
 tity of a bright yellow precipitate was produced, 
 
 Exp. 18. Chlorine gas. To a portion of the so- 
 lution obtained from four gallons of water, in the 
 manner related in the foregoing experiment, a 
 quantity of chlorine gas was transmitted, which 
 immediately converted the liquid into a reddish yel- 
 low colour. A small quantity of pure sulphuric 
 
INFERENCES. 89 
 
 ether dissolved the coloring substance of the solu- 
 tion, becoming itself of a hyacinth red tint ; and 
 this was again rendered colourless, by the addition 
 of a drop or two of costic potash. 
 
 Exf. 19. A solution of starch was added to a 
 portion of the water, containing the soluble salts, 
 evaporated until crystallization commenced ; to 
 this solution a few drops of dilute sulphuric acid 
 was added, which gave to the whole solution a 
 deep violet colour, which was destroyed by the in- 
 troduction of a stream of chlorine. 
 
 INFERENCES, 
 
 Drawn from the foregoing observations and ex- 
 periments, 
 
 1st. That this fountain has its source at a great 
 depth in the earth, as is evinced from the regular- 
 ity of its temperature at various and extreme states 
 of the atmosphere, and from the circumstance 
 of its being but slightly affected by wet and dry 
 weather. 
 
 2d. That the water of this fountain retains its 
 original properties, or its medicinal qualities, the 
 same at least as they were twenty years ago, as is 
 h 2 
 
90 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 evinced by the uniformity of its specific gravity 
 during that period. 
 
 3d. That it contains a large proportion of a gas- 
 eous material in a free and in a combined state, as 
 is made evident by the effects produced by the ap- 
 plication of heat. 
 
 4th. That the gas so copiously evolved from the 
 water is the carbonic acid or fixed air, as is infer- 
 red from Exp. 1 and 2. 
 
 5th. That the water contains a carbonated al- 
 kali, agreeably to Exp* 3 and 4. 
 
 6th. That oxide of iron forms one of the con- 
 stituent properties of the water, and that it is held 
 in solution by an excess of carbonic acid, agreea- 
 bly to Exp. 5 and 6. 
 
 7th. That it does not contain sulphuric acid un- 
 der any form or combination, as is evinced from 
 the action of muriate of barytes and barytic water ; 
 the effect which these tests produce being referi- 
 ble to their union with a carbonated alkali. See 
 Exp. 7 and 8. 
 
INFERENCES. 91 
 
 8th. That it contains carbonate of lime in abun- 
 dance, agreeably to Exp. 9 and 10. 
 
 9th. That it contains a large proportion of car- 
 bonate of magnesia, agreeably to Exp. 11. 
 
 10th. That the carbonates contained in the wa- 
 ter form a large proportion of the ingredients held 
 in solution, agreeably to Exp. 12, 13, 14 and 15. 
 
 11th. That it contains a large proportion of a 
 muriatic salt, agreeably to Exp. 16. 
 
 12th. That the carbonated alkali, evinced by 
 Exp. 3 and 4, is the carbonate of soda, as is made 
 evident by Exp. 17. This experiment, likewise, 
 indicates the presence of a minute quantity of the 
 vegetable alkali or potassa. 
 
 13th. That the water contains the newly dis- 
 covered elementary substance termed brome or 
 bromine, is made abundantly evident by Exp. 18. 
 
 14th. That iodine forms another of the constit- 
 uent properties of this interesting and truly distin- 
 guished water, is satisfactorily demonstrated by 
 Exp. 19. 
 
92 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 Thus, then, we have certain indications, as far 
 as tests can be relied on, that the water of this 
 fountain holds the following substances in solu- 
 tion, viz. 
 
 Carbonic Acid, 
 
 Muriatic Acid, 
 
 Soda, 
 
 Potassa or Potash, 
 
 Iron, 
 
 Bromine, and 
 
 Lime, 
 
 Iodin'e. 
 
 Magnesia, 
 
 
 It remains to investigate the manner in which 
 these substances are combined, and to determine 
 the proportions in which they enter into the com- 
 position of the water. 
 
 EXAMINATION OF THE GASEOUS CONTENTS 
 OF THE WATER. 
 
 A quantity of the gas was procured in the fol- 
 lowing manner : A large bladder was prepared, 
 and to its mouth was secured a stopcock, to the 
 end of which was fitted the small aperture of a 
 large glass funnel, The funnel was inverted in 
 the spring, and as soon as it became filled with gas, 
 the stopcock attached to the bladder was applied, 
 and the bladder, which was dry and had been pre- 
 viously emptied by rolling, was now suffered to fill 
 
GASEOUS CONTENTS. 93 
 
 with the gas as it escaped from the water. In this 
 way a sufficient quantity of the gas, for all the pur- 
 poses of experimenting, may readily be obtained 
 at any time. 
 
 A quantity of this gas was pressed from the 
 bladder into a tumbler, in which was immersed a 
 lighted taper, which was immediately extinguished. 
 
 A sprightly live mouse was confined in the bot- 
 tom of a glass which was filled with the gas, and 
 it expired in less than a minute. 
 
 It was emptied from one glass to another, and 
 continued to occupy its station in the glasses for 
 some minutes, evincing its presence by continuing 
 to extinguish flame, &c. 
 
 A small quantity of the gas was pressed from 
 the bladder into a glass vessel containing a quan- 
 tity of pure transparent lime-water. It immedi- 
 ately became milky, and threw down a white pre- 
 cipitate, which dissolved in dilute muriatic acid with 
 a strong effervescence. 
 
 Litmus paper, a little moistened and immersed 
 in a glass containing the gas was immediately col- 
 oured red, but retained its florid colour no longer 
 than it retained its moisture. 
 
94 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 A quantity of the gas was passed up from the 
 bladder into a graduated glass jar, filled with and 
 inverted in a solution of caustic potash. A large 
 proportion of the gas was almost immediately ab- 
 sorbed by the solution, while a very small quantity 
 remained in the top of the jar apparently unaffect- 
 ed by it. Gas was continued to be added to the 
 contents of the jar until its graduated sides indica- 
 ted a quantity of ten inches, which remained and 
 continued undissolved by the caustic solution. To 
 test the properties of the remaining ten inches, a 
 piece of phosphorus was secured to the end of a 
 wire and passed up into the gas a and being brought 
 close to the side of this jar, was ignited by the cau- 
 tious application of a heated iron to the outside. 
 It burned for a moment with its usual brilliancy, 
 but soon became dim and went out. It was again 
 lit, by the re-application of the hot iron, but was 
 extinguished in the same breath, and could not 
 again be rekindled, although it was slightly fused 
 by the application of the iron. The gas in the jar 
 was at first a little dilated, but after being cooled 
 to its former temperature, it was found to have 
 sustained a diminution of bulk to the amount of 
 about two inches, or one fifth of the whole ; thus 
 demonstrating that the gas, remaining unaffected 
 by the operation of the solution of caustic potash, 
 was pure atmospheric air. 
 
GASEOUS CONTENTS. 95 
 
 From the results of these experiments, then, we 
 are bound to infer that the gas which escapes in 
 such profusion from this spring consists simply of 
 the carbonic acid, with a small proportion of at- 
 mospheric air. To ascertain the proportions of 
 each, and the amount contained in a given quan- 
 tity of the water, the following method was adop- 
 ted : 
 
 A tin bottle or jar, of the capacity of two quarts 
 or 115.5 cubic inches, was procured, and its mouth 
 secured and rendered perfectly tight by the appli- 
 cation of a well adjusted stopcock ; to this was 
 nicely fitted one end of a small flexible leaden 
 tube, about two feet in length, at the other end of 
 which was attached a capacious and well prepared 
 bladder. This jar was filled with the water to be 
 examined, at the spring, and the stopcock imme- 
 diately applied and secured. It was then placed 
 in a water bath, and the bladder connected with 
 the flexible tube being previously well emptied, 
 was suspended in a large glass vessel fitted for the 
 purpose, and filled with pure water of the tempe- 
 rature of 60 deg. The tube having received a 
 proper curvature, was connected with the stop- 
 cock. Heat was now applied to the bath in which 
 the jar containing the water was placed, the valve 
 of the cock opened, and the gas suffered to escape 
 
96 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 through the tube into the bladder, which, as it di- 
 lated, forced the water in which it was suspended 
 over into a glass jar prepared for its reception and 
 gauged to half inches. It is obvious that the quan- 
 tity of water remaining in the graduated jar at the 
 end of the process would indicate very accurately 
 the quantity of gas received in the bladder. 
 
 This apparatus for determining the quantity of 
 gas contained in the water, aside from the mercu- 
 rial trough, is unquestionably the best that could 
 be adopted, and is in effect the same as that re- 
 commended by the late Sir Humphrey Davy in 
 his analysis of soils. It however subjects the ex- 
 periment to the probability of some trifling inaccu- 
 racies. It is obvious that the walls of the wet blad- 
 der may absorb a small proportion of the carbonic 
 acid, and thereby render the quantity apparently 
 less than what it really is ; and it is equally certain 
 that the quantity of atmospheric air contained in 
 the tube, together with the small quantity remain- 
 ing in the bladder, (for it cannot be entirely ex- 
 cluded,) must add somewhat to the quantity ob- 
 tained. The difference, however, in the result is 
 too trifling to merit a serious consideration. The 
 reception of the gas over mercury would unques- 
 tionably be attended with the greatest degree of 
 accuracy ; but the difficulty of procuring a suffi- 
 
GASEOUS CONTENTS. 97 
 
 cient quantity of that article in the country for the 
 purpose of accurate experiments, entirely preclud- 
 ed the possibility of having recourse to that method. 
 
 With this apparatus, adjusted in the manner just 
 described, two quarts or 115.5 cubic inches of the 
 water of this spring afforded 159 inches of gas, at 
 the temperature of 60 deg. and a pressure of the 
 atmosphere, indicated by the mercury of the ba- 
 rometer, standing at 29.5 inch. Of this 1 59 inches, 
 155.5 were absorbed by a solution of caustic pot- 
 ash, leaving 3.5 inches on which the solution had 
 no effect. The proportion of the two gases, then, 
 contained in two quarts of the water, will stand 
 thus : 
 
 Inch. 
 Carbonic acid gas, 155.5 
 
 Atmospheric air, 3.5 
 
 Amount contained in 2 qts. of water, 159.5 
 
 It is rendered more than probable, from the re- 
 sult of repeated experiments, that the quantity of 
 gas contained in a given quantity of the water is 
 not always exactly the same. The variation, how- 
 ever, is never sufficient to produce any perceptible 
 difference in the sensible qualities of the water, as 
 it appears always to retain in combination consid- 
 erably more than its bulk, besides a considerable 
 
98 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 quantity of disengaged or free carbonic acid. The 
 same quantity of water has afforded at different 
 times, under exactly similar states of temperature 
 and pressure of the atmosphere, 150, 156, 159, 
 164 and 170 cubic inches. From two quarts of 
 the water that had been exposed in an open ves- 
 sel for twenty-four hours, in a temperature of 60 
 degrees, was obtained 142 cubic inches of gas. 
 
 It would therefore appear that the difference in 
 these results arises principally from the free car- 
 bonic acid diffused in the water, being in a greater 
 or less quantity, and not from any deficiency or 
 increase in that portion of the gas retained in it in 
 a state of combination or solution. 
 
 The portion of free or uncombined gas must be 
 considerably affected by the frequent and violent 
 agitation of the water in the well, occasioned by 
 the process of dipping it out for use, and in filling 
 bottles for transportation ; and to this circumstance 
 may be imputed the variations alluded to. But it 
 is not impossible that the quantity of the gas extri- 
 cated from the interior of the earth, under various 
 circumstances and at different times, should be- 
 come more or less abundant. 
 
SOLID CONTENTS. 99 
 
 EXAMINATION OF THE SOLID CONTENTS OF 
 THE WATERS. 
 
 It has already been shown, by the application of 
 tests, &c. that some of the solid ingredients which 
 form a constituent part of the contents of the wa- 
 ter, are in such minute quantities as to require the 
 evaporation of a large portion in order to arrive at 
 accurate results in estimating their quantities, while 
 others enter so liberally into its composition as to 
 be more readily and accurately determined by sep- 
 arating them from a much less quantity of the wa- 
 ter. The following process was adopted : 
 
 A given quantity of the water was taken fresh 
 from the spring and placed in a clean porcelain 
 basin, and suffered to evaporate in a water bath 
 heated by a small lamp, and kept at a temperature 
 in no instance exceeding 160 deg. of Fahrenheit. 
 The basin was secured from the intrusion of for- 
 eign substances by a cover of two or three folds of 
 fine crape. • In this manner it was suffered to dry 
 gradually away, until cubic crystals began to form 
 along the sides of the basin. It was then remov- 
 ed from the bath, and, while warm, thrown upon 
 a filter, and the insoluble mass well washed with 
 
100 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 hot recently distilled water, and then carefully re- 
 moved from the filter into a glass basin, which 
 was placed in a water bath, and its contents dried 
 in a temperature of 212 deg. In this way the sol- 
 id contents of the water were divided into two 
 parts, soluble and insoluble. 
 
 Examination of the soluble parts. 
 Two separate parcels of the soluble salts or fil- 
 tered solutions, each obtained from forty-five cu- 
 bic inches of the water, were subjected to the fol- 
 lowing examination : 
 
 Parcel 1st was placed in a glass basin and 
 evaporated in a water bath to dryness, at a low 
 temperature. The remaining crystallized mass was 
 finely pulverized in a glass mortar, and again dri- 
 ed at a temperature of 160 de'g. for several hours. 
 Over this dry saline residuum was poured a small 
 quantity of alcohol, of the specific gravity of 0.815. 
 After standing some time and being frequently 
 agitated, the whole was thrown on a filter, and 
 what remained on the paper, after being well wash- 
 ed by repeated applications of small quantities of 
 alcohol, was again dried and numbered 1. The 
 alcoholic solution was evaporated to dryness at a 
 low temperature, and again digested in a much 
 smaller quantity of alcohol, of the game specific 
 
SOLID CONTENTS. 101 
 
 gravity as before. A few very minute cubic crys- 
 tals remained undissolved by this last portion of the 
 alcohol. They consisted of the muriate of soda, 
 which had been taken up by the larger portion of 
 the alcohol used in the first washing of the saline 
 mass. They were transferred to No. L The al- 
 coholic solution was again evaporated and dried, 
 and weighed while warm something more than 0.7 
 of a grain. This was dissolved in a cold solution 
 of starch, in a small test tube, and a drop or two 
 of dilute sulphuric acid added. The whole immedi- 
 ately assumed a deep purple tinge, which, on stand- 
 ing some time, was precipitated with the starch, 
 giving to it the well known characteristic blue col- 
 our afforded by the presence of Iodine. A few 
 bubbles of chlorine gas were passed into the mix- 
 ture. The blue colour faded immediately and dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 An equal quantity of this salt, obtained from the 
 same quantity of the water and in the same way, 
 was dissolved in a fluid drachm of pure water, to 
 which a drop or two of the muriate of platina was 
 added. No indications of potash were manifested ; 
 the solution remained scarcely altered in its col- 
 our, and no precipitate appeared. 
 i 2 
 
102 CONGRESS SPRING* 
 
 Iodine may exist in a mineral water in the state 
 of an iodic or hydriodic acid, combined with either 
 of the alkalies, potash or soda forming the iodate 
 or hydriodate of the alkali with which they are 
 united. The presence of potash is only indicated 
 in the water by experimenting on large portions ; 
 it is not satisfactorily indicated even in the residu- 
 um of a gallon, and not at all in that obtained from 
 forty-five cubic inches of the water, as has just 
 been shown. It follows, therefore, that soda is 
 the alkaline base which retains the acid in ques- 
 tion, forming the iodate or hydriodate of soda. 
 
 It has already been shown that alcohol dissolves 
 the whole of the substance which discovers the 
 presence of iodine ; and as iodate of soda is not 
 soluble in that menstrum, we are bound to infer 
 that the salt in question is the hydriodate of soda. 
 
 The inconsiderableness of this salt afforded by 
 the above quantity of the water not admitting of 
 all the accuracy desirable in estimating the quan- 
 tity of so important an article, recourse was had 
 to another process ; the dry soluble salts obtained 
 from two gallons, or 462 cubic inches of the wa- 
 ter, was submitted to the action of alcahol with the 
 same precaution as before related, and from this 
 quantity was obtained a trifle over 7 grains. It 
 
SOLID CONTENTS. 103 
 
 exhibited all the characteristic properties of the 
 hydriodate of soda already noticed, and in addi- 
 tion afforded evidences of containing a trace of 
 bromine and potash : substances, the character 
 and properties of which will be investigated in an- 
 other paragraph. 
 
 This seven grains of the hydriodate of soda, to- 
 gether with several other smaller parcels of the 
 same salt obtained at different times from different 
 quantities of the water, were together placed in a 
 Florence flask and dissolved in an ounce or two of 
 pure water ; the flask was placed over a spirit 
 lamp, and as its contents became hot, a few drops 
 of sulphuric acid were added to the solution, when 
 the well known purple fumes of iodine appeared 
 very conspicuous at the neck of the flask, furnish- 
 ing the most incontestible evidence of the pres- 
 ence of that substance. 
 
 Having thus finished the investigation relating 
 to the presence and quantity of iodine, the further 
 separation of the soluble salts was resumed. The 
 mass numbered 1 of parcel I, which remained af- 
 ter the action of the alcohol, was dissolved in an 
 ounce of pure water, and dilute acetic acid added in 
 small quantities at a time as long as any efferves- 
 cence was produced. The whole was then dried 
 
104 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 at a low temperature, and again digested in alco- 
 hol of the same specific gravity as before ; it was 
 filtered, and the filtered solution evaporated, and 
 a quantity of acetate of soda procured. This was 
 subjected to a low red heat, in a platina capsule, 
 the acetic acid was thus expelled, and the sub-car- 
 bonate of soda remained, weighing 1.25 grains, 
 equivalent to 1.75 grains of the bi-carbonate ; in 
 which state it probably enters into the composi- 
 tion of the water. 
 
 The remaining saline substance was dissolved 
 in a quantity of pure water, in a suitable precipi- 
 tating glass, and to the clear solution was added a 
 solution of the nitrate of silver ; it was added in 
 small quantities at a time, as long as any turbid- 
 ness was produced* It was then filtered, washed 
 with repeated portions of distilled water, and the 
 precipitate carefully dried ; it afforded 182.5 
 grains of chloride of silver, equivalent to 75 grains 
 of the chloride of sodium, or sea salt. 
 
 In order to test the accuracy of the foregoing 
 results, parcel II, which had been reserved for this 
 purpose, was evaporated, its contents dried and 
 digested in alcohol, with the same precautions as 
 parcel I, and exactly the same quantity of hydria- 
 date of soda obtained. The remaining salts were 
 
SOLID CONTENTS, 105 
 
 dissolved in two ounces of pure water, and a solu- 
 tion of muriate of barytes added in small portions, 
 as long as any precipitate or discoloration was pro- 
 duced. The precipitate was now obtained on a 
 filter, washed with pure water, and carefully dri- 
 ed ; it weighed 2.3 grains. It dissolved entire in 
 dilute muriatic acid with effervescence, and was 
 rendered insoluble in water by the addition of 
 sulphuric acid. It was therefore the carbonate of 
 barytes, the muriate of which had been decompo- 
 sed ; the muriatic acid of the barytes had united 
 to the soda, forming muriate of soda, while the 
 carbonic acid of the soda had united to the divor- 
 ced barytes, forming the insoluble salt, carbonate 
 of barytes, 2.3 grains of which is equivalent to 
 1.25 grains of the sub-carbonate of soda, or 1.75 
 of the bi-carbonate, as near as weights and scales 
 can be supposed to make it, 
 
 This result, corresponding so nearly with the 
 other, might give to this mode of separating the 
 carbonate of soda from the muriate the prefer- 
 ence, provided the carbonate of magnesia be pres- 
 ent ; the muriate of barytes is not decomposed by 
 that substance, but will remain in solution with 
 the muriate of soda when the carbonate of soda 
 is all decomposed. The magnesia may then be 
 converted into a muriate by the addition of dilute 
 
106 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 muriatic acid, the whole dried, and the muriate of 
 magnesia taken up by alcohol. This process was 
 adopted in the present instance, but no muriate of 
 magnesia was procured. It is to be presumed there- 
 fore that the carbonate of magnesia is not held in 
 solution with the soluble salts, at least not in suf- 
 ficient jquantity to be appreciated. 
 
 The discovery of iodine and bromine in some 
 of the mineral springs of Europe led to the con- 
 jecture that they might be found to enter into the 
 composition of the waters of Saratoga, and this 
 conjecture was strengthened by the knowledge of 
 their great efficacy in the cure of a variety of stru- 
 mus affections, for which their known properties 
 did not very satisfactorily account. 
 
 Iodine was first detected in these waters in the 
 fall of 1828, and announced in 1829, in the Ame- 
 rican Journal of Science ; and Mr. A. A. Hayes, 
 of New-Haven, detected bromine and potash, and 
 announced the discovery in the same Journal in 
 July, 1830. 
 
 The spare quantity afforded by the water of 
 the two last substances, makes it necessary to op- 
 erate on a large portion in order to obtain deci- 
 sive evidence of their presence. Mr. Hayes say9 
 
SOLID CONTENTS. 107 
 
 that he obtained the knowledge of the fact from 
 " a portion of the dry saline matter left after evap- 
 orating a large quantity of the water." It has al- 
 ready been shown that their existence in a gallon 
 of the water is at least equivocal. 
 
 With a view to corroborate the result of the 
 experiments already noticed, the saline residuum 
 of four gallons, or 924 cubic inches of the water 
 was procured, effused in distilled water, filtered, 
 and the filtered solution evaporated by a slow pro- 
 cess, until a large portion of the muriate of soda 
 had crystallized ; the remaining liquor was treated 
 with chlorine gas, and then agitated with a portion 
 of pure sulphuric ether. On the addition of chlo- 
 rine the liquid assumed an orange yellow colour, 
 which was all taken up by the ether, which then 
 became of a hyacinth or reddish brown tint, arose 
 to the surface, and formed a perfect line of dis- 
 tinction in the liquid contents of the glass; the 
 etherial solution was removed by means of a glass 
 syringe, and a drop or two of a solution of caus- 
 tic potash added to it, it immediately became col- 
 ourless, and on suffering the solution to evaporate 
 in a low temperature, a few minute cubic crystals 
 of the hydro-bromate of potash were deposited. 
 
108 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 Another portion of the salts produced from four 
 gallons of the water was obtained and prepared as 
 above by concentrating the solution of the soluble 
 salts, until nearly all the muriate of soda was crys- 
 tallized. To the clear yellowish coloured liquor 
 which remained was added a few drops of the mu- 
 riate of platina. It produced an immediate fine 
 yellow coloured precipitate, indicating the pres- 
 ence of a small quantity of potash. 
 
 These experiments fully establish the existence 
 of bromine in this water. It is in the state of the 
 hydro-bromic acid united to potash, forming the 
 hydro-bromate of potash ; its quantity, however, 
 is extremely small, and can only be accurately de- 
 termined by more extensive and labored opera- 
 tions. 
 
 Examination of the Insoluble parts. 
 Having thus separated and determined the quan- 
 tities of the various ingredients soluble in pure wa- 
 ter, the saline mass remaining on the filter, after 
 the action of that fluid, was next submitted to ex- 
 amination. 
 
 The whole quantity of this substance obtained 
 from 45 cubic inches of the water was placed in a 
 Florence flask, and dilute nitric acid poured over 
 
SOLID CONTENTS. 109 
 
 it as long as any effervescence was produced, the 
 acid was then added in slight excess, and the 
 flask placed over a spirit lamp, and its contents 
 suffered to boil for half an hour ; it was then re- 
 moved from the stand, and when cold, a minute 
 quantity of a grayish white powder was observed 
 in the bottom of the flask, which remained undis- 
 solved by the operation of the dilute acid ; this was 
 separated from the clear solution on a filter, and 
 after being well washed with distilled water, was 
 dried at a low red heat in a platina crucible. It 
 produced a whitish coloured powder, of a rough 
 dry feeling when rubbed between the fingers, and 
 when fused with a little carbonate of soda produ- 
 ced a greenish coloured glass. It was therefore 
 pure silix. It weighed as near as could be ascer- 
 tained 0.25 grains. 
 
 The filtered solution was then placed in a pre- 
 cipitating glass, and a small quantity of a solution 
 of pure ammonia added ; it produced a brownish 
 coloured cloud in the clear solution, which, after 
 adding a sufficient quantity of the ammonia, sub- 
 sided to the bottom of the, flask in the form of a 
 brown sediment. This was removed by filtering, 
 and, being well washed, was dried and brought 
 to a red heat in a platina crucible, and was then 
 again dissolved in dilute nitric acid, and again pre- 
 
HO CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 cipitated by ammonia, filtered, and the filtered so- 
 lution added to that of the previous process. 
 What remained on the filter was dried again at a 
 red heat, and was the pure red or per-oxide of 
 iron, and weighed about 0.75 of a grain. The 
 quantity, however, of this, as well as that of the 
 silix, will, for the sake of greater accuracy, be de- 
 termined from a larger portion of the water. 
 
 After thus separating the silix and iron, the re- 
 maining solution, consisting of the nitrate of lime 
 and magnesia, was transferred to a porcelain evap- 
 orating basin, and suffered to evaporate over a 
 moderate heat until crystals began to appear. The 
 nitrate was then converted into a sulphate, by ad- 
 ding dilute sulphuric acid in excess, and evaporat- 
 ing the new compound nearly to dryness. The 
 residuum was then transferred to a platina cruci- 
 ble, and gradually brought to a low red heat. 
 What remained consisted purely of sulphate of 
 lime and magnesia, and weighed, while warm, 41.5 
 grains. To separate these two salts, a saturated 
 solution of sulphate of lime in distilled water was 
 used ; it dissolved the sulphate of magnesia, which 
 was filtered from the remaining insoluble sulphate 
 of lime, and this last was again dried at a low red 
 heat, and weighed while warm 24 grains, equiva- 
 lent to 19.11 grains of the carbonate of lime. 
 
SOLID CONTENTS. Ill 
 
 The sulphate of lime in solution with the sulphate 
 of magnesia was separated by the oxalate of ammo- 
 nia, carefully added, the solution filtered, evapora- 
 ted, and the residual salt brought to a red heat, 
 and weighed while warm exactly 17.5 grains. It 
 was the sulphate of magnesia, equivalent to 12.25 
 grains of the carbonate of magnesia, or 18.66 grains 
 of the bi-carbonate. 
 
 To determine with more precision the actual 
 quantity of iron, one gallon of the water was evap- 
 orated, and the insoluble part of its residuum ob- 
 tained by filtering, dissolved in dilute nitric acid, 
 and boiled for the space of half an hour in a Flor- 
 ence flask. The silix which remained undissolved 
 by the acid in the flask was separated, and, after 
 b.eing subjected to a red heat, weighed while warm 
 1.5 grains. The iron was then precipitated by 
 the addition of a solution of pure ammonia, as be- 
 fore described, dried at a red heat, and then re- 
 dissolved in dilute nitric acid, to free it from any 
 impurities which might have been precipitated 
 along with it by the action of the caustic ammonia 
 in the first operation. It was again precipitated 
 in the same way, dried at a red heat in a platina 
 crucible, and weighed while warm 3.5 grains. It 
 was the red, or per-oxide of iron, equivalent to 
 5.075 grains of the carbonate of iron, 
 
112 CONGRESS SPRING- 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 From the foregoing experiments and deductions, 
 one gallon, or 231 cubic inches, of the water of 
 the Congress Spring contains the following sub- 
 stances, viz. 
 
 Chloride of Sodium, (sea salt) 385.0 
 
 Hydriodate of Soda, 3.5 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Soda, 8.982 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Magnesia, 95. 788 
 
 Carbonate of Lime, 98.098 
 
 Carbonate of Iron, 5.075 
 
 Silix, 1.5 
 
 Hydro-bromate of Potash, a trace. 
 
 597.943 grs. 
 Carbonic acid gas, 311 
 
 Atmospheric air, 7 
 
 Gaseous contents, 318 cubic inches. 
 
 Water, at the usual temperature and pressure of 
 the atmosphere, can only dissolve its own bulk of 
 carbonic acid. As this water contains nearly one 
 third more than that quantity, it becomes a sub- 
 ject of some interest to ascertain by what means 
 it acquires so large a proportion of this gas. 
 
RECAPITULATION. 
 
 113 
 
 It is well known that the sub-carbonates of soda 
 and magnesia, when dissolved in water saturated 
 with carbonic acid, receive an additional portion of 
 the acid, and become bi-carbonates. These bi-car- 
 bonates are however decomposed by the applica- 
 tion of heat, and at the temperature of boiling wa- 
 ter, or 212°, they part with the additional portion 
 of the acid, and become again sub-carbonates, in 
 which state these salts j^e obtained from the wa- 
 ter after boiling. The quantity of carbonic acid 
 given off in this way by the bi-carbonates of soda 
 and magnesia passing into sub-carbonates, will ac- 
 count very satisfactorily for the quantity obtained 
 from the water over and above its bulk. 
 
 It will be observed that the quantity of carbonic 
 acid obtained from one gallon exceeds its bulk by 
 80 cubic inches, which, allowing 100 cubic inches 
 to weigh 46.57 grains, will amount to 37.25 grains ; 
 and the additional portion of carbonic acid taken 
 up by the quantity of soda and magnesia found in 
 the water, in order to constitute the bi-carbonates, 
 will amount to about 35.5 grains, a correspondence 
 sufficiently accurate to justify the position here ta- 
 ken. 
 
 This water has been repeatedly analyzed by a 
 number of professed chemists ; but the results of 
 
 K 2 
 
114 CONGRESS SPRING, 
 
 their examinations have been so discordant as to af- 
 ford but little confidence in their correctness. 
 These results, however, do not differ so much in 
 the variety of the articles produced, as in the quan- 
 tities of those acknowledged to be present. Much 
 of this difference may be imputed to the various 
 methods adopted to separate the constituent proper- 
 ties, and to the different states in which these prop- 
 erties are produced ; some of them being in a state 
 of crystallization containing a large portion of wa- 
 ter, while the same article is obtained under an- 
 other process in a perfectly dry state, producing an 
 essential difference in the apparent quantity. But 
 the greatest cause of the discordant results is the 
 transportation of the water from the spring. It is 
 usually bottled, perhaps imperfectly corked, trans- 
 ported to a considerable distance, and then suffer- 
 ed to stand in a quiescent state, subjected to a vari- 
 ety of temperature, until the convenience of the 
 chemist affords an opportunity for its examination. 
 In this way it must necessarily part with a large 
 share of its carbonic acid, and the substances held 
 in solution by it are of course precipitated. Hence 
 no iron, or but equivocal traces of it, are obtained 
 from the water thus procured ; while at the foun- 
 tain, its presence is clearly demonstrated by the 
 most simple experiments : indeed, the mere deposit 
 from the water, as it passes from the spring, affords 
 
RECAPITULATION. 
 
 115 
 
 mcontestible evidence of its presence. It is there- 
 fore abundantly evident, that in order to obtain any 
 thing like an accurate knowledge of the proper- 
 ties and proportions of the various salts which en- 
 ter into the composition of this water, the analysis 
 should be conducted on the spot. 
 
 The late Professor Dana suggested the idea, that 
 some of the substances obtained from the water by 
 analysis, might be the product of the operation, 
 and not an original ingredient ; and added, that 
 " carbonate of soda and muriate of magnesia might 
 exist in solution together in this dilute state, without 
 their mutual affinities being exerted ; but when 
 the solution was concentrated, carbonate of mag- 
 nesia and muriate of soda would be formed ;" and 
 he therefore inferred, that instead of the muriate of 
 soda and carbonate of magnesia, as procured from 
 a quantity of this water, the basis of these two 
 salts actually existed in the water in the state of 
 the muriate of magnesia and carbonate of soda. 
 
 This subject has been subsequently investigated 
 by Dr. Murray. He alleges, from numerous exper- 
 iments, that from evaporating the solvent, he pro- 
 cured salts different from those known to be in the 
 solution. This induced him to call in question the 
 usual modes of analysis ; and he proposed anoth- 
 
116 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 er method of determining the state of combination 
 of the ingredients obtained from mineral waters, 
 founded upon the principle that the force of affin- 
 ity is much influenced by the operation of external 
 circumstances ; and that when these occur, com- 
 pounds may be formed different from those which 
 owe their origin to the pure force of affinity. Pro- 
 fessor Brande, however, of the royal institution of 
 London, will not admit the existence of incompat- 
 ible salts to the extent which Dr. Murray's princi- 
 ple requires. 
 
 Be this as it may, facts do not warrant the be- 
 lief that the operation of the principle, if establish- 
 ed, is exerted in the formation of any of the salts 
 contained in this water. If a part of the muriatic 
 acid, which goes to form the muriate of soda in the 
 concentrated solution, is really united to the mag- 
 nesia or lime while in a more dilute state, it fol- 
 lows of course, that the quantity of the carbonate 
 of soda at the same time must be considerably in- 
 creased ; but this does not appear to be the fact. 
 The application of appropriate tests to the water 
 fresh from the spring, indicate but faintly the pres- 
 ence of a carbonated alkali ; but as the water is 
 concentrated, the existence of this article becomes 
 more and more apparent ; whereas, directly the 
 
MEDICAL HISTORY. 117 
 
 reverse of this would be the case, if the suggestion 
 of Professor Dana was correct. It is therefore 
 more than probable that the substances obtained 
 are actually those which enter into the compo- 
 sition of the water, and constitute its active medi- 
 cinal properties, 
 
 MEDICAL HISTORY. 
 
 The medicinal qualities of this spring have ac- 
 quired for it a reputation abroad to which no oth- 
 er fountain in the United States has yet attained ; 
 and it is highly probable, from the active ingredi- 
 ents which enter into its composition, that it will 
 continue to retain an ascendency which has been 
 so liberally and so justly conferred upon it. Such 
 are its rare and peculiar qualities, that while it op- 
 erates as an active and efficient medicine, it possess- 
 es the properties of an agreeable and delightful bev- 
 erage ; and it is daily sought after and drank by all 
 classes of people, for no other purpose than simply 
 to gratify the palate or to allay the thirst. And al- 
 though in this way it is frequently taken in suffi- 
 cient quantities to produce its most active effects 
 upon the bowels, it is seldom, if ever, known to 
 be attended with any unpleasant consequences, but 
 is always considered by those who thus use it as 
 invigorating and healthy. 
 
118 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 From one to three pints of the water, taken in 
 the morning before eating, usually operates freely 
 as a cathartic, and at the same time has a most 
 powerful effect in increasing the ordinary secre- 
 tions of the kidneys ; but its operation, like Jhat of 
 all other medicines, is much influenced by the 
 condition of the stomach and bowels at the time of 
 receiving it, as well as by the state of the system 
 generally. It therefore frequently happens that a 
 much larger quantity seems to be required, in or- 
 der to produce its characteristic effect upon the 
 bowels ; and invalids have been known to drink 
 twenty, thirty and even forty tumblers full of it in 
 a morning without much apparent inconvenience. 
 It requires, however, but a slight acquaintance 
 with the properties of the water, to satisfy any ra- 
 tional mind, that such a procedure is highly im- 
 proper and even dangerous. Quantities so immod- 
 erate can never be useful to persons who are either 
 infirm or in health ; and there are numerous in- 
 stances in which they have produced consequen- 
 ces of a very alarming character. 
 
 It is a cathartic, possessing evidently interesting 
 and important qualities, and as such it is recom- 
 mended and used in all those chronic diseases 
 where cathartics and gentle aperients are indica- 
 ted ; and such are its peculiar effects, when judi- 
 
MEDICAL HISTORY. 119 
 
 ciously administered, that it may be persevered in 
 for almost any length of time, and a daily increas- 
 ed evacuation from the bowels produced without 
 debilitating the alimentary canal, or in any way 
 impairing the digestive powers of the stomach ; 
 but on the contrary, the spirits, appetite and gen- 
 eral health will be improved and invigorated. 
 
 It is obvious that the mode and management of 
 taking the water must depend altogether upon the 
 nature of the case for which it is administered, and 
 the consequent kind of effect desired to be pro- 
 duced from it. As it is directed simply for its 
 cathartic or aperient properties, it is in almost 
 all cases important that its operation should be 
 speedily and promptly effected. The quantity re- 
 quired to produce the effect desired must be varied 
 with different persons ; and even the same persons 
 at different times, and under different circumstan- 
 ces, will require different portions. It is therefore 
 impossible to fix upon any certain quantity that will 
 apply in all cases : much must be left to the judg- 
 ment and discretion of the invalid himself. In or- 
 dinary cases, three pints taken on an empty stom- 
 ach, an hour or two before eating, and followed 
 by a proper share of exercise, will be found amply 
 sufficient for all the purposes required. Should 
 this quantity however be found inadequate to the 
 
120 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 effect, it will be better to relinquish the use of it 
 altogether for the day, than to attempt to produce 
 a different result by additional potations of the wa- 
 ter. On the following morning the quantity may 
 be increased to another pint ; and should there be 
 fears of the inadequacy of this quantity from ex- 
 treme constipation of the bowels or other causes, 
 a tea-spoonful or two of epsom salts may be add- 
 ed to the first tumbler. This will insure a compe- 
 tent operation, and the invalid will soon be ena- 
 bled by his experience to determine the quantity 
 which his case requires. 
 
 In cases where the stomach and bowels have 
 been for a long time subjected to the effect of mor- 
 bid excitement, and the whole system enervated 
 by the deranged functions of the assimilating or- 
 gans, the quantity here recommended will be al- 
 together inadmissible. The effects of distention, 
 and the abstraction of temperature consequent up- 
 on admitting so large a quantity of cold water in- 
 to a stomach thus enfeebled, can scarcely fail of 
 being highly detrimental. Reliance therefore must 
 not be placed upon the water, in these cases, to 
 move the bowels ; it can only be used as an auxili- 
 ary to that purpose, and should always be associa- 
 ted with some other cathartic medicine suited to 
 the particular case. A little magnesia, magnesia 
 
MEDICAL HISTORY. 121 
 
 and rheubarb or a laxative pill may be taken over 
 night, and a tea-spoon or two full of the sulphate 
 of potass or magnesia, combined with a glass or 
 two of the water in the morning, is usually advised. 
 
 The proper time for drinking the water of this 
 spring is unquestionably in the morning — an hour 
 or two before breakfast ; indeed, as a general rule, 
 it should not be meddled with at any other period 
 of the day ; and it would be much better for those 
 whose complaints render them fit subjects for its 
 administration, if the fountain should be locked up 
 and no one suffered to approach it after the hour 
 of nine or ten in the morning. 
 
 Nothing can be more absurd than the ridiculous 
 practice of taking large potations of this water at 
 all hours of the day, and particularly, immediately 
 after meals. The impropriety of evacuating the 
 contents of the stomach and bowels before the 
 assimilating powers of digestion have accomplish- 
 ed their labors, must be obvious to every one. It 
 should therefore only be taken in the morning be- 
 fore eating, when its operation will be exerted in 
 removing the fetid remnants of an impaired diges- 
 tion, and evacuating the sordid and irritating ac- 
 cumulations induced by an enfeebled state of the 
 intestinal canal. When this effect is produced, 
 
122 
 
 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 the water has accomplished all that can reasona- 
 bly be expected from its use ; and the digestive 
 organs being freed from their offensive feculent 
 burthen, are left in a condition to act with better 
 effect on the subsequent aliment which may be 
 presented to them. 
 
 The invalid, whose health and strength will ad- 
 mit of it, should always rise as early as six o'clock 
 at farthest, and when the weather is suitable, re- 
 pair to the spring, and take the water at the foun- 
 tain head. The exercise necessarily connected 
 with this mode of drinking the water, together 
 with the invigorating effect of a wholesome atmos- 
 phere and amusing company, add much to its ef- 
 ficacy as a medicine. 
 
 The manner of drinking the water at the foun- 
 tain requires but little attention. It is dipped from 
 the spring in half pint tumblers, one of which 
 constitutes a very suitable quantity for a single 
 draught. As it is intended to move the bowels, it 
 is necessary that these draughts should be repeat- 
 ed in as quick succession as the condition of the 
 stomach will permit. As soon as the sense of 
 fullness occasioned by the first tumbler has pass- 
 ed off, another may be taken, and so on until the 
 quantity necessary to move the bowels has all 
 
MEDICAL HISTORY. 123 
 
 been drank. This is usually accomplished in the 
 course of half an hour, without materially disturb- 
 ing the tranquility of the stomach, and its effect 
 is seldom delayed beyond the limits of an hour. 
 Should this be the case, however, and no opera- 
 tion effected before the period of breakfeast ar- 
 rives, a cup of coffee or tea, connected with a 
 light repast and suitable exercise, will seldom fail 
 of producing a speedy termination to the delay. 
 
 The low temperature of the water, in some ca- 
 ses, forms a serious objection to its being drank 
 to the extent that is required. This may be rem- 
 edied in some measure by securing the water in 
 well corked bottles, and suffering them to stand in 
 the room over night. In this situation the tem- 
 perature of the water is elevated to that of the at- 
 mosphere of the room, and may be drank with less 
 danger of producing chills. When these do suc- 
 ceed, after the above precaution, recourse is some- 
 times had to plunging the bottle into warm water 
 a few times before removing the cork. This will 
 unquestionably remedy the evil ; but the water 
 will be more apt to produce nausea and other un- 
 pleasant disturbances of the stomach, not less inju- 
 rious to the good effect to be expected from its 
 use than that of chills. 
 
124 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 It should always be remembered, that by eleva- 
 ting the temperature of the water to any extent, 
 the escape of its carbonic acid becomes abundant, 
 and it is thereby deprived of one of its most impor- 
 tant ingredients, the loss of which renders it ex- 
 tremely insipid, and its effects are by no means so 
 pleasant or useful. 
 
 The property of this fountain has, within a few 
 years, passed from the heirs of the late Henry and 
 John Livingston into the hands of John Clarke 
 and Thomas Lynch of New-York, who are now 
 the sole proprietors and owners of it. These gen- 
 tlemen have made it an object of their special care 
 and attrition, and it is to their liberality that the 
 public are indebted for the convenient and cleanly 
 manner in which the water is presented to them at 
 the well, and for the improvements that have been 
 made and are still making in its immediate vicini- 
 ty. They are likewise entitled to great credit for 
 the care and attention which they bestow in put- 
 ting up the water and preparing it for transporta- 
 tion. They are now the only persons through 
 whom it can be procured ;* and such has been the 
 
 * Messrs. Lynch and Clarke have reserved to themselves the 
 exclusive right of bottling and vending the water, and the pub- 
 lic may rely upon receiving it from them in as perfect a state as 
 it is capable of retaining when bottled* 
 
MEDICAL HISTORY. 125 
 
 success of their exertions, and the public estima- 
 tion of its value, that it has been introduced into 
 almost every part of the world. There is scarce- 
 ly a town in the United States of any magnitude 
 that is not supplied with it, nor a vessel destined to 
 any distant port that does not enumerate the Con- 
 gress water in the list of her sea stores or her 
 freight. 
 
 The water loses much of its pungency and 
 agreeable flavor from being bottled, and its iron is 
 entirely deposited. It however retains its aperient 
 properties in tolerable perfection, and if properly 
 secured and kept in a quiescent state and even 
 temperature, may be preserved to any length of 
 time. 
 
 The practice of putting the water into wooden 
 casks, earthen jugs, or tin canisters, for the pur- 
 pose of transportation, as is sometimes done, is but 
 little better than placing it in open vessels. It soon 
 loses its vivifying gas, and becomes extremely in- 
 sipid and offensive. It can only be properly se- 
 cured and preserved in strong glass bottles, well 
 corked, and the corks fastened by wiring. 
 
 From the known and acknowledged efficacy of 
 the water as a medicine, it was inferred that its sa- 
 
126 CONGRESS SPRING. 
 
 line deposits might answer a valuable purpose in 
 cases where the water could not be procured, and 
 at one time considerable quantities were manufac- 
 tured for sale, by evaporation ; but the imperfect 
 solubility of these salts renders them not only disa- 
 greeable, but frequently irritating and offensive to 
 the stomach, and the present proprietors of the 
 spring have very properly prohibited their further 
 manufacture. 
 
 Influenced by the popular character of the wa- 
 ter, individuals have been induced to attempt an 
 artificial composition of it, and, under the imposing 
 names of " Congress Water" and " Saratoga Pow- 
 ders," articles have been presented to the public 
 which, although they possess aperient qualities, in 
 reality bear no resemblance, either in their effects 
 or their properties, to the mineral water, the name 
 of which they have assumed. They may move the 
 bowels, it is true, but in this they do not appear to 
 possess any superiority over the common Seidlitz 
 powder, which is now in every body's hands, and 
 which, as a laxative medicine, in all ordinary cases, 
 is undoubtedly to be preferred. 
 
COLUMBIAN SPRING. 
 
 This fountain is situated on the south side of the 
 brook, about fifteen or twenty rods directly south- 
 west from the Congress. It discovers itself at the 
 foot of a steep bank, consisting of loose sand and 
 yellow loam. 
 
 The water being confined by a wooden curb, 
 rises a few inches above the surface of the sur- 
 rounding earth, and escapes through a small hole 
 in the side of the curb, made for the purpose. 
 
 The well is sunk in the earth about six feet, and 
 such is the supply of water, that it is difficult to 
 remove it as fast as it accumulates, even with a 
 bucket. 
 
 The surface of the water, when viewed in the 
 fountain, does not present the simmering appear- 
 ance so conspicuous in the Congress ; but the gas 
 breaks up through it in much larger bubbles, at ir- 
 regular intervals, giving to the water the resem- 
 blance of a more violent ebullition. 
 
128 COLUMBIAN SPRING. 
 
 The surface of the earth over which the water 
 escapes, and the inside of the troughs which con- 
 duct it away, as well as the inside of the curb, are 
 covered with a thick ferruginous crust of a deep 
 brown colour. 
 
 The water itself is quite limpid, and when drank, 
 betrays a strong chalybeate taste, and a pungency 
 indicative of the presence of a large portion of car- 
 bonic acid. In its physical properties generally, 
 this water resembles the Congress in all respects, 
 excepting its saline impregnation, which is evident- 
 ly much less. 
 
 Its temperature at the bottom of the well is uni- 
 formly at 50 deg., and its specific gravity at the 
 temperature of 60 deg. The barometer, standing 
 at 29.5 inches, is 1007.3, pure water being 1000. 
 
 The application of chemical tests to the water of 
 this fountain indicates nothing to distinguish it 
 from that of the Congress, the same ingredients 
 being clearly distinguished in both. They differ, 
 however, in the quantities of the articles which they 
 respectively hold in solution, as is shown by the 
 specific gravity of the two, as well as by the great- 
 er or less effect produced by the application of re- 
 agents. Indeed, in this respect there is a very per- 
 ceptible difference indicated by the taste alone. 
 
COLUMBIAN SPRING. 129 
 
 By pursuing a process similar to that related in 
 the analysis of the Congress water, one gallon, or 
 231 cubic inches, of this water yielded the follow- 
 ing ingredients, viz. 
 
 Chloride of Sodium, 
 
 267. 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Soda, 
 
 15.4 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Magnesia, 
 
 46.71 
 
 Hydriodate of Soda, 
 
 2.56 
 
 Carbonate of Lime, 
 
 68. 
 
 Carbonate of Iron, 
 
 5.58 
 
 Silix, 
 
 2.05 
 
 Hydro-bromate of Potash, 
 
 scarce- 
 
 ly a trace. 
 Solid contents in a gallon, 
 
 
 407.3 gr. 
 
 Carbonic acid gas, 
 
 272.06 
 
 Atmospheric air, 
 
 4.5 
 
 Gaseous contents in a sail 
 
 on, 276.56 inch 
 
 This spring has been materially improved, by 
 clearing out the well and securing it against the 
 intrusion of fresh water, by means of a tight curb 
 inserted to its bottom. 
 
 The water seldom operates as a cathartic, unless 
 when take^i in large quantities, or used by persons 
 
130 COLUMBIAN SPRING. 
 
 whose stomachs are extremely irritable. Its most 
 obvious effects, when taken in proper doses, are 
 diuretic, at the same time operating on the secre- 
 tions and excretions generally. It likewise mani- 
 fests the powers of a mild and pleasant stimulant ; 
 and from the large proportion of iron which en- 
 ters into its composition, it occupies a distinguish- 
 ed rank among the ionic waters which the place 
 affords. 
 
WASHINGTON SPRING. 
 
 Pursuing a south-west direction from the Co- 
 lumbian Spring about fifty rods, we come to the 
 Washington Spring, situated by the side of a rill of 
 very pure water, which has its origin from the banks 
 of sand at no great distance. The fountain is sit- 
 uated on ground considerably elevated above any 
 of the others. It makes its appearance at the sur- 
 face through a bed of argillaceous marl of a deep 
 blue colour. The water, nevertheless, is remark- 
 ably limpid, and has been recently much improv- 
 ed, in all its sensible properties, by sinking the well 
 to a much greater depth, and securing it by a tight 
 wooden curb. 
 
 It is a sparkling acidulous water. Its tempera- 
 ture is 50 deg., and its specific gravity, at the tem- 
 perature of 60 deg. under the ordinary pressure of 
 the atmosphere, is 1007.8, and one gallon of it af- 
 fords the following articles, viz. 
 
 Chloride of Sodium, grs. 281.5 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Soda, 1 6.5 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Magnesia, 40.92 
 
 Carbonate of Lime, 92.6 
 
132 WASHINGTON SPRING. 
 
 Carbonate of Iron, 
 
 3.25 
 
 Silix, 
 
 1.5 
 
 Hydriodate of Soda, 
 
 2.75 
 
 Solid contents in a gallon, 
 
 grs. 439.02 
 
 Carbonic acid gas, 
 
 262.5 
 
 Atmospheric air, 
 
 6.3 
 
 Gaseous contents in a gallon, 
 
 269.3 inch. 
 
 This fountain was resorted to formerly, on ac- 
 count of its retired situation, (it being then in a 
 forest,) for the purpose of bathing ulcerated 
 limbs and eruptive diseases of the body, for the 
 cure of which it became quite distinguished. From 
 this hint a large and commodious bath-house has 
 lately been erected close to the spring, called the 
 Washington Bath, which is supplied with mineral 
 water from this spring. It has likewise the advan- 
 tage of the very pure stream of fresh water which 
 passes immediately under the building, for the pur- 
 pose of ordinary bathing. 
 
 Near to this spring Mr. Munger has lately erect- 
 ed a small fish-pond, which is abundantly supplied 
 with pure water from the neighboring sand banks. 
 It contains at present some thousands of speck- 
 
WASHINGTON SPRING. 133 
 
 led trout, which seem to have lost much of their 
 native shyness by being thus domesticated. They 
 come to the surface in crowds, and devour with 
 avidity whatever is thrown in for their suste- 
 nance ; and they may be seen at all times bask- 
 ing in the shade, or darting along the bottom in 
 pursuit of prey. With this pond is enclosed 
 about an acre of ground, a part of which is taste- 
 fully laid out into walks ; and on the margin of 
 the little pool is established a bowling alley and 
 billiard table, the whole of which is screened and 
 shaded by the native pine and other forest trees, 
 forming a very pleasant and quiet spot for retire- 
 ment or recreation. 
 
 This fountain, together with the Columbian, con- 
 stitute all the mineral waters that have come into 
 notice in this direction from the Congress. All 
 the other fountains at this place are situated along 
 the course of the valley, in a north-east direction, 
 
HAMILTON SPRING. 
 
 This spring is situated in the low ground about 
 fifty rods from the Congress, in a north-east direc- 
 tion, immediately in the rear of Congress Hall. It 
 was discovered and named after the late General 
 Hamilton by Mr. Gideon Putnam, one of the ear- 
 ly settlers of the place, not long after the discovery 
 of the Congress Spring. It was cleared out to the 
 depth of only a few feet, and the water secured by 
 a small wooden curb. In this situation it remain- 
 ed for a number of years, its waters being devoted 
 mostly to the supply of a bathing establishment 
 erected in its immediate vicinity. After the de- 
 cease of Mr. Putnam, the property passed into oth- 
 er hands, and the well has been recently sunk to 
 a much greater depth, and more effectually secur- 
 ed against the intrusion of foreign substances, by 
 which means the water has been materially im- 
 proved. 
 
 The surface of the water within the curb is con- 
 stantly agitated by the escape of large quantities 
 of gas ; and as the water passes off, it leaves on the 
 surface of the earth an abundant deposit of a 
 
HAMILTON SPRING. 135 
 
 brownish colour, evidently ferruginous and calca- 
 reous. 
 
 The water, when first taken from the spring, is 
 remarkably clear and sparkling ; but, on standing 
 exposed to the atmosphere, soon becomes turbid. 
 It is saline and acidulous to the taste, and when 
 taken to the quantity of five or six half pints, is 
 usually cathartic and diuretic. 
 
 The temperature of the bottom of the well is 
 uniformly at 50 deg., and its specific gravity at the 
 temperature of 60 deg. and under a pressure of the 
 atmosphere, indicated by the mercury in the ba- 
 rometer standing at thirty inches, is 1008.5, pure 
 water being 1000. 
 
 The indications afforded by the application of 
 tests correspond with those already noticed in the 
 examination of the Congress water ; and by pur- 
 suing a process similar to that adopted in the anal- 
 ysis of that water, the following ingredients were 
 obtained from one gallon, viz. 
 
 grs. 
 Chloride of Sodium, 297.3 
 
 Hydriodate of Soda, 3. 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Soda, 27.036 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Magnesia, 35.2 
 
186 HAMILTON SPRING. 
 
 Carbonate of Lime, 92.4 
 
 Carbonate of Iron, 5.39 
 
 Hydro-bromate of Potash, a 
 
 trace. - 
 
 Solid contents in one gallon, 460.326 grs. 
 
 Carbonic acid gas, 316 
 
 Atmospheric air, 4 
 
 Gaseous contents in a gallon, 320 inches. 
 
 This water ranks first among the springs as a di- 
 uretic, and it has long been celebrated for its good 
 effects in gravelly and calculous affections. It is 
 second only to the Congress in its saline impreg- 
 nation, and is frequently used as a substitute for 
 the water of the latter spring in all those cases 
 where the irritable state of the stomach renders 
 the more drastic effects of that water inadmissible. 
 
 In scrofula, and indeed all other indolent swel- 
 lings of the glands, the water of this spring, togeth- 
 er with that of the Columbian, will unquestionably 
 take the preference ; for, although they do not 
 contain quite so large a proportion of the iodine as 
 is found in the Congress water, they, contain a 
 much less quantity of other active saline ingredi- 
 ents, which render them less liable to affect the 
 
HAMILTON SPRING. 
 
 137 
 
 bowels, and their effects upon the system general- 
 ly are thereby rendered more certain. 
 
 It is, without doubt, owing to the iodine which 
 these waters contain, that they have become so fa- 
 mous in the cure of strumous affections ; and the 
 water which contains the greatest abundance of 
 this article, and is least encumbered with those 
 substances that may tend to retard or prevent its 
 effects upon the system, should unquestionably 
 be directed as the most applicable in these com- 
 plaints. 
 
 The Hamilton bath-house is erected close to 
 this spring, and is supplied by it with water for its 
 mineral baths, which are situated in secure and 
 well furnished apartments, prepared either for 
 shower bathing or immersing the body in the water, 
 which may always, during the season, be procur- 
 ed either warm or cold. Fresh water baths are 
 also furnished here for those who prefer them, and 
 which should always be preferred in cases where 
 the bath is used simply as a source of cleanliness. 
 The rooms are sufficiently spacious and well ven- 
 tilated, and the whole establishment is cleanly and 
 well conducted. 
 
 m2 
 
FLAT ROCK SPRING, 
 
 Following the course of the valley in a north- 
 east direction from the Hamilton, about one hun- 
 dred rods> we come to the Flat Rock Spring. It 
 is situated directly in the rear of the Pavilion, on 
 the verge of the marsh, at the foot of a steep bank 
 which terminates the west side of the valley, 
 through which a small brook passes. This bank 
 is composed of argillaceous earth and sand, and is 
 elevated about forty feet above the level of the 
 brook. 
 
 The earth for some rods around this spring was 
 formerly encrusted by a thick bed of calcareous 
 tufa, which long exposure to the air had hardened 
 into a pretty solid rock ; and from this circum- 
 stance the spring received its name. This rock 
 was neither more nor less than the usual sediment 
 deposited by the water, combined with sand, leaves, 
 sticks, &c. for which it was indebted to the wind 
 and rain ; and is no more than what happens about 
 any of the fountains where the water does not find 
 a ready egress, or is suffered to stagnate in their 
 immediate vicinity. The progress of improve- 
 
FLAT ROCK SPRING. 139 
 
 ment has, however, at this time nearly obliterated 
 this natural platform, and the spot is now occupi- 
 ed by a tasteful little Chinese temple. 
 
 The well has been sunk to the depth of about 
 fifteen feet, and a square tube made of plank in- 
 serted to its bottom. Through this the water rises 
 to the surface of the earth and runs off in a small 
 stream, depositing a copious sediment of a dark 
 brown colour, along the whole extent of its course 
 to the brook, which passes some rods distant. 
 
 The appearance and taste of this water very 
 much resemble that of the Columbian, and the 
 analysis, conducted upon the same principle, con- 
 firms the similarity. 
 
 Its temperature is 48 deg. and its specific grav- 
 ity at the temperature of 60 deg. the barometer 
 standing at 29.5 inches, is 1006.9, pure water be- 
 ing 1000. 
 
 One gallon afforded the following articles, viz. 
 
 Chloride of Sodium, 148.866 
 
 Carbonate of Lime, 60.573 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Magnesia, 42.7 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Soda, 20.79 
 
140 FLAT ROCK SPRING. 
 
 Carbonate of Iron, 5.39 
 
 Hydriadate of Soda, 1 .33 
 
 Hydro-bromate of Potash a trace in 
 
 four gallons. 
 Silix & Alumine a minute quantity. 
 
 Solid contents in one gallon, 279.649 grs. 
 
 Carbonic acid gas, 287.5 cub. inch. 
 
 Atmospheric air, 6.5 inches. 
 
 Gaseous contents in a gallon, 294 cub. inch. 
 
 This water is used in all cases for which the 
 Columbian is recommended. It has generally 
 been considered one of the best chalybeate springs 
 which the place affords, and on that account has 
 been the most frequented. It is not improbable 
 that there are cases in which this water will an- 
 swer a better purpose as a tonic medicine than 
 the Columbian, from the circumstance of its con- 
 taining a greater quantity of carbonic acid, a less 
 quantity of the saline principle, and at the same 
 time containing an equal portion of the tonic prop- 
 erties. 
 
HIGH ROCK SPRING. 
 
 Pursuing the course of the valley about one 
 hundred rods further in a northerly direction, we 
 come to the High Rock Spring ; it is situated near 
 the base of a ledge of calcareous rocks which at 
 this place mark the westerly side of the valley. 
 
 The rock which gives the name to this spring, 
 and surrounds and encloses the fountain, is of a 
 conical shape, and apparently rests on the surface 
 of the marl, or is but slightly connected with it. 
 It narrows rapidly as it rises from the earth, and 
 terminates in a rounded top, in the centre of which 
 is a circular opening, which leads to the interior 
 cavity. This hole gradually widens as the rock en- 
 larges, leaving its walls nearly of an equal thick- 
 ness throughout. In this cavity the water rises 
 some feet above the surface of the surrounding 
 earth, and is there seen constantly agitated by the 
 incessant escape of carbonic acid gas, for which 
 the vacancy above the water forms a capacious 
 and secure reservoir, where the curious may at 
 any time make the experiment of its deleterious 
 effects on animal life. 
 
142 HIGH ROCK SPRING. 
 
 This rock very justly claims a conspicuous place 
 among the interesting natural curiosities which 
 our country affords. The venerable Dr. Seaman 
 in noticing this singular production observes: 
 " The more we reflect upon it, the more we must 
 be convinced of the important place this rock 
 ought to hold among the wonderful works of na- 
 ture. Had it stood upon the borders of the Lago 
 d 5 Jlgnano, the noted Grotto del Cani, which bur- 
 dens almost every book which treats upon the car- 
 bonic acid gas, since the peculiar properties of 
 that air have been known, would never have been 
 heard of beyond the environs of Naples, while this 
 fountain, in its place, would have been deservedly 
 celebrated in story, and spread upon canvass, to 
 the admiration of the world, as one of its greatest 
 curiosities." 
 
 The following dimensions of this singular pro- 
 duction of nature were taken from actual meas- 
 urement : 
 
 Perpendicular height, four feet. 
 
 Circumference at the base, twenty-six feet eight 
 inches. 
 
 Length of a line drawn over the top, from north 
 to south, eleven feet seven inches. 
 
HIGH ROCK SPRING. 143 
 
 Length of the same from east to west, ten feet 
 nine inches. 
 
 From the top of the rock to the surface of the 
 water, ordinarily, two feet four inches. 
 
 Depth of water in the cavity of the rock, usual- 
 ly, seven feet eight inches. 
 
 The hole at the top is nearly circular, and meas- 
 ures ten inches across. 
 
 This rock belongs to that species of limestone 
 termed calcareous tufa, being evidently the pro- 
 duct of the water. It is composed of the carbo- 
 nate of lime, magnesia, and the oxide of iron, to- 
 gether with a proportion of sand and clay. It 
 likewise exhibits, when broken, the impressions of 
 leaves and twigs of trees. It is somewhat undu- 
 lated on its surface, and about the top compact 
 and indurated, while near its base it is of a more 
 spongy and friable character, but every where suf- 
 ficiently compact to render it impervious to water. 
 
 That the water at some former period issued 
 from the cavity and descended upon the sides of 
 the rock, will scarcely admit of a doubt ; but the 
 precise manner in which the rock was formed, or 
 the time when the water used to flow upon its 
 surface, is not quite so obvious. The most prob- 
 able conjecture is, that the basis of this mass was 
 
144 HIGH ROCK SPRING. 
 
 commenced beneath the surface of the earth ; that 
 the water, thus confined within the limits of its 
 own sediment, continued to rise, and as it escaped 
 over the sides of its prison, constantly added to the 
 dimensions of its walls. In this manner it would 
 continue to rise until the column of water in the 
 rock balanced the power that forced it up, in 
 which case it would become stationary ; and it is 
 but just to infer, that in proces of time, the power 
 so propelling the water might be diminished in its 
 force, when the water in the spring would of 
 course sink in exact proportion to the loss of that 
 power. 
 
 There was an opinion prevailing among the ear- 
 ly settlers, that the rock had been fractured by the 
 fall of a tree, and to this accident they imputed 
 the failure of the water to run over its top, be- 
 lieving that it escaped through a fissure, which, 
 although invisible, they still imagined must exist. 
 This conjecture, however, does not appear to have 
 been well founded. The spring was visited as ear- 
 ly as 1767, and no appearance to justify such an 
 opinion then presented itself, although the water 
 did not at that time reach the top of the rock by 
 several inches. 
 
HIGH ROCK SPRING. 145 
 
 Loran Tarbel, an aged chief of the St. Regis 
 tribe of Indians, told the present Chancellor Wal- 
 worth, that he visited this spring while a boy ; and 
 that he was told by the Indians that the water 
 once ran over the top, but owing, as they suppos- 
 ed, to some of their women bathing in it when 
 they ought not to have done so, the water sunk 
 back into the rock and never showed itself again 
 at the lop. 
 
 The conspicuous appearance which this rock 
 makes, must have introduced it to the notice of 
 the natives at a very early period ; and although 
 it was probably known and visited by individuals 
 whose business called them to the woods, it does 
 nort appear to have attracted much attention from 
 the white population of the country until about the 
 year 1767, when it was first visited by Sir William 
 Johnson. From this period, CJ the spring" came 
 more rapidly into notice, and for some years this 
 was the only one to which much consequence was 
 attached. 
 
 The extravagant stories told by the first settlers 
 of the astonishing effects of this water in the cure 
 of almost every species of disease, are still remem- 
 bered and repeated by their too credulous descend- 
 ants. This, in conjunction with the singular and 
 
146 HIGH ROCK SPRING. 
 
 mysterious character of the rock, continue to at- 
 tach an importance to the waters, in the eyes of 
 the vulgar, at which no other fountain will ever 
 arrive 
 
 The temperature at the bottom of the well is 48 
 cleg., and its specific gravity at an atmospheric 
 pressure, indicated by the barometer standing at 
 29.5 inches, is 1006.85, pure water being 1000. 
 
 One gallon of the water afforded the following 
 ingredients, viz. 
 
 Chloride of Sodium, 1 89. 1 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Magnesia, 61.592 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Soda, 1 7.538 
 
 Hydriodate of Soda, 2.5 
 
 Carbonate of Lime, 69.29 
 
 Carbonate of Iron, 5.58 
 
 Silix and Alumine, a small quantity. 
 Hydro-bromate of Potash, a trace in 
 
 four gallons of the water. 
 
 Solid contents in a gallon, 345.68 grs. 
 
 Carbonic acid gas, 304 
 
 Atmospheric air, 5 
 
 Gaseous contents in a gallon, 309 cub. inch. 
 
HIGH ROCK SPRING. 147 
 
 Since the discovery of the Congress Spring and 
 the extensiye improvements that have been made 
 in that vicinity, the water of this fountain, as well 
 as that of several others situated in its immediate 
 neighborhood, have rather sunk into disuse, and 
 the old village, as this part of the town is now term- 
 ed, evidently discovers a correspondent desertion ; 
 but whatever may be the destiny of the place or 
 the credit of the water, no means should be spar- 
 ed to protect and secure the rock. It has already 
 suffered considerably from the depredations of un- 
 principled specimen gatherers, and it will be final- 
 ly ruined, unless some more effectual method be 
 adopted to prevent it. 
 
PRESIDENT SPRUNG. 
 
 About thirty rods, in a northeastern direction 
 from the High Rock, in the same valley, is situat- 
 ed the President Spring. The earth was remov- 
 ed to the depth of about four feet, when the spring 
 was discovered bubbling up through the fissures in 
 a stratum of lime rock, furnishing an ample supply 
 of water in the wooden curb which was designed 
 to protect and secure it. Within a few years this 
 spring, like most of the others, has undergone 
 considerable improvement by being more effectu- 
 ally secured against the intrusion of fresh water ; 
 since which period the temperature and specific 
 gravity have become the same as that of the High 
 Rock, and the analysis affords the same results. It 
 is therefore probable that these two waters have 
 their origin from the same source ; for they are 
 indeed the same water. 
 
RED SPRING. 
 
 This spring is situated close to the public high- 
 way, about sixty or seventy rods in a north-east- 
 ern direction from the President. Large quanti- 
 ties of ferruginous deposits are found about it, and 
 the water, when agitated, has numerous particles 
 of fine sand stained with this substance floating 
 about in it, which gives the water a red appear- 
 ance, from which circumstance it receives its 
 name. 
 
 Popular opinion has given much credit to the 
 water of this fountain for its beneficial effects when 
 applied to ill-conditioned ulcers and affections of 
 the skin ; and for the accommodation of those who 
 may wish to use it in this way, a small bath-house 
 has lately been erected close to the spring. The 
 water, however, does not appear to possess any 
 qualities to distinguish it from those which have al- 
 ready been described. Its saline impregnation 
 is much less than any of the other springs, and its 
 gaseous contents are still more deficient when 
 compared with those of the other fountains. 
 
150 RED SPRING. 
 
 Besides the several fountains already enumerat- 
 ed and described, there are some others of less no- 
 toriety located in the immediate vicinity, among 
 which may be mentioned the Barrel Spring, not 
 far from the High Rock, the Walton Spring, back 
 of the Columbian Hotel, and the Monroe Spring, 
 fifteen or twenty rods north from the Flat Rock. 
 Both the former, however, are now entirely neg- 
 lected ; but near the latter is erected a commodi- 
 ous bathing establishment, which this spring sup- 
 plies with mineral water. It has likewise the con- 
 venience for fresh water bathing, and the house is 
 cleanly and well attended* 
 
TEN SPRINGS. 
 
 Pursuing the course of the same valley, about 
 one mile from the High Rock in an eastern direc- 
 tion, we come to the Ten Springs, so called from 
 the circumstance of there being that number locat- 
 ed near together. These springs were discovered 
 about the year 1814, on land that then belonged 
 to Messrs. John and Ziba Taylor, and considera- 
 ble pains were taken at the time to bring them into 
 notice. Several of them were opened and secur- 
 ed by placing in them wooden boxes to keep out 
 the fresh water, and a small bathing house was 
 erected close to them. They never, however, ac- 
 quired much celebrity, and the property having 
 passed into other hands, but little attention is now 
 paid to them ; and it is probable, from their prox- 
 imity to those so distinguished, that they will nev- 
 er rise into much consequence. 
 
 These springs are situated, like most of the oth- 
 ers that have already been described, in a soil com- 
 posed of argillaceous earth and sand, combined 
 with the usual deposits, (iron and lime ;) and they 
 likewise contain the same constituent properties, 
 differing only in the quantities of the articles which 
 
152 TEN SPRINGS. 
 
 they respectively hold in solution. Some of them 
 are considerably saline, and being saturated with 
 carbonic acid gas, they constitute a very pleasant 
 beverage, and are much used by those who reside 
 near by, both as a common drink and as a medi- 
 cine. 
 
ELLIS 5 SPRING,, 
 
 About two miles from the Congress Springs 
 in a southwest direction, on land belonging to the 
 heirs of the late Robert Ellis, is another mineral 
 fountain which deserves notice. It is situated in 
 a deep valley on the side of one of the principal 
 branches of the Kayaderosseras creek, the banks 
 of which, at this place, rise nearly fifty feet above 
 its bed, and are frequently indented by deep ra- 
 vines which open into the creek. The side of one 
 of these ravines having been denuded for the pur- 
 pose of erecting mills, furnishes a favorable oppor- 
 tunity for inspecting its structure ; the arrange- 
 ment of which is as follows : First, 
 
 A mixture of clay and gravel, 2 feet. 
 
 Coarse gravel and sand, with a great varie- 
 ty of small stones, generally smooth, 4 
 
 At the bottom of this stratum issues a spring 
 of very pure water, which is never dry, 
 and retains a temperature of 50 deg. 
 
 Coarse- gravel, sand and clay, with paving 
 stones, g0 
 
154 ELLIS' SPRING. 
 
 Per-oxide of iron, combined with sand and 
 
 clay, 2 feet. 
 
 Clay and coarse gravel, 4 
 
 Lamellated slate, soft and crumbly, 3 
 
 Coarse gravel and clay, 4 
 
 Lamellated slate to the bed of the rock, 10 
 
 These strata are all placed nearly in a horizon- 
 tal position, and are well defined. 
 
 The valley in which the mineral fountain dis- 
 covers itself is of a semi-circular form, including 
 the area of an acre. 
 
 Differing from all others of the kind, this water 
 issues from the bank in a horizontal direction. It 
 betrays its character the moment it approaches 
 the surface, by its sparkling appearance, and the 
 deposit of its iron, which stains the walls of the 
 little rill, as it trickles down the declivity to the 
 marsh, a few feet below, where it has formed a 
 compact rocky substance, resembling in all re- 
 spects, the tufa before described. 
 
 The water is remarkably clear ; its taste is 
 acidulous and chalybeate, and its temperature is 
 48 deg. It affords 316 grains of solid contents to 
 a gallon, which contents consist of marine salt, 
 
ELLIS' SPRING. 155 
 
 carbonate of soda, lime, magnesia and iron ; the 
 last of which it affords in as great abundance as 
 any of the mineral waters either at Saratoga or 
 Ballston. It is indeed a very excellent chalybeate 
 water ; and as such it is in high estimation, al- 
 though, in consequence of its remote situation* it 
 is but seldom resorted to. 
 
QUAKER SPRINGS. 
 
 In addition to the springs already noticed, there 
 are several others which belong to the same class, 
 situated in the town of Saratoga, about ten miles 
 in a southeast direction from the Congress Spring ; 
 they are called the Quaker Springs. 
 
 These springs make their appearance through a 
 bed of argillaceous marl, at the bottom of a deep 
 valley, surrounded by gray-wacke and argilla- 
 ceous slate. They contain lime, magnesia and 
 iron, held in solution by the carbonic acid, and 
 like the others, they likewise contain a portion of 
 common salt and soda. Their gaseous contents are 
 very small in comparison with those already de- 
 scribed ; and their mineral impregnation is not 
 sufficient to entitle them to much attention, and 
 they are of course but little resorted to. 
 
BALLSTON SPA, 
 
 The village of Ballston Spa is situated about 
 six miles in a southwest direction from the vil- 
 lage of Saratoga Springs, in the southeast part of 
 the town of Milton, and but a few rods from the 
 north line of the town of Ballston. The great re- 
 sort to this place, on account of its mineral wa- 
 ters, has made it like those of Saratoga, a place of 
 much notoriety. 
 
 The mineral springs are situated in a marsh at 
 the bottom of a deep valley, through which one of 
 the principal branches of the Kayaderosseras creek 
 passes. They were first discovered during the 
 survey and partition of the patent of Kayaderos- 
 seras in 1769 ; and about the same time the Rev. 
 Eliphalet Ball, from Bedford, Westchester coun- 
 ty, with a number of his congregation, settled 
 about two miles and a half from the Springs in a 
 southerly direction, on a tract of land, which was 
 set apart and sold to defray the expenses of the 
 company in surveying the patent ; and which, 
 o 
 
158 BALLSTON SPA. 
 
 from that time, has been distinguished by the name 
 of Ballston. 
 
 In 1772, one Peter Ferris purchased and settled 
 on a hundred acre lot, the second west from the 
 springs ; and about the same time Benajah Doug- 
 lass, who had resided some time previous near 
 Lebanon Springs, (which at that time had become 
 a place of some resort,) entertaining the belief 
 that the springs at Ballston might become a wa- 
 tering place of some consequence, purchased a 
 lot of one hundred acres adjacent to and directly 
 west of the then principal spring, near which he 
 erected a small log house for the accommodation 
 of visitants. Encouraged by the success of this 
 small beginning, Mr. Douglass, a few years after, 
 was induced to build a small frame house across 
 the creek, on the flat opposite the spring. At 
 this period the waters had acquired a reputation 
 of considerable notoriety, and they began to be 
 resorted to by the inhabitants of the surrounding 
 country, particularly from the city of Albany and 
 the settlements along the valley of the Mohawk. 
 Many came with their waggons, bringing their own 
 provisions and forage, and staying several, days, 
 substituting the waggon for a boarding house. Af- 
 ter the commencement of the war of the revolu- 
 tion, the settlement of the country was suspended, 
 
BALLSTON SPA. 159 
 
 and very little improvement was made at these 
 springs until after the treaty of peace was con- 
 cluded. 
 
 In 1791, Mr. Douglass erected a large building 
 for the accommodation of visitants, the same which 
 now constitutes the front of the excellent and well 
 known establishment owned and kept by Mr. Al- 
 dridge. In 1792, Nicholas Low, Esq. of the city 
 of New-York, the then proprietor of the lot on 
 which the springs were situated, erected a large 
 and commodious house close to the spring, which 
 has been kept ever since as a boarding house, and 
 has sustained a high reputation, well known as 
 McMaster's boarding house. During the ensuing 
 ten years, these establishments were much enlarg- 
 ed and improved, and several others were erected, 
 and the springs now became the resort of great 
 numbers of invalids, and also of the wealthy and 
 fashionable. 
 
 In 1803, Mr. Low erected that splendid estab- 
 lishment so universally known and admired, the 
 Sans Souci Hotel, and in the spring of 1804 it 
 was furnished and opened for the accommodation 
 of visitants. 
 
160 BALLSTON SPA. 
 
 la 1807, the legislature of the state passed an 
 act incorporating the settlement at the springs, 
 embracing one mile square, by the name of the 
 Village of Ballston Spa. 
 
 About this time several springs were discovered 
 in the vicinity of those already known, differing 
 but little in their general character, with the ex- 
 ception of the Sulphur water, a few feet from the 
 spring called Low's Well, and known as one of 
 those called the Sans Souci Springs. 
 
 During the latter part of the summer of 1817, 
 continued rains had so swollen the small stream 
 which passes through the village, that it burst over 
 its usual bounds, and in some places formed for it- 
 self an entire new channel. On the subsiding of 
 the flood, a new spring was discovered, exhibiting 
 an appearance which, connected with its medicin- 
 al properties, gave for a time much additional ce- 
 ebrity to the place. It was situated some rods be- 
 low what was called the Public Well, and in what 
 was, during the freshet, the bed of the stream. It 
 issued from a circular opening of several feet in 
 diameter, affording an immense quantity of water, 
 attended with all the characteristics of a strong 
 mineral impregnation. 
 
BALLSTON SPA. 161 
 
 With a view to prevent the connection of the 
 water with the stratum of clay through which it 
 passed up to the surface, and likewise to prevent 
 the intrusion of fresh water, a tube was ingenious- 
 ly constructed and forced into the aperture from 
 whence the water arose, to the depth of nearly 
 thirty feet In this tube the water arose about five 
 feet above the level of the brook, and was then 
 suffered to fall over its sides, producing in some 
 measure the effect of a jet cPeau, while the surface 
 of the spring was brought nearly to a level with 
 the eye, furnishing a fine opportunity for inspect- 
 ing its sparkling properties to the greatest advan- 
 tage. Close to the side of this tube another was 
 inserted, not however to so great a depth, through 
 which the water arose somewhat above the surface 
 of the earth, and was then suffered to escape. 
 
 It was not a little singular that the waters of these 
 two wells, apparently issuing from the same source, 
 should have contained different portions of the mu- 
 riate of soda, while they very nearly corresponded 
 in all the other articles which they contained. 
 
 The water which flowed from these tubes, com- 
 bined with that which came up in the aperture 
 around them, ran off in a stream at the- rate of 
 more than a barrel a minute. It commenced the 
 o 2 
 
162 BALLSTON SPA. 
 
 deposit of its chalybeate and calcareous properties 
 the moment it came in contact with the atmos- 
 phere, and the quantity given off by so large a 
 bulk of water continued to mark its passage along 
 the brook into which it passed for the distance of 
 more than a mile. 
 
 This singular fountain continued about two 
 years, the wonder and admiration of all who saw 
 it and drank of its waters. At length, however, 
 the abundant carbonic acid seemed to be exhaust- 
 ed, or to have taken some other course, and all 
 attempts to reclaim it have as yet proved fruitless. 
 The water still continues to flow in abundance, 
 but retaining little or none of its mineral proper- 
 ties excepting its iron, which it still continues to 
 hold in solution in considerable quantities. This 
 was called the Washington Spring. 
 
 Not long after the first appearance of the last 
 mentioned spring, it was thought by many that the 
 old spring or public well on the flat had suffered a 
 deterioration, there being evidently a much less 
 evolution of uncombined gas than usual, and it is 
 not improbable that the immense quantity of gas 
 discharged at the place referred to might have op- 
 erated to produce the apparent diminution at the 
 old spring ; the failure, however, has been by 
 
BALLSTON SPA. 163 
 
 some attributed to other causes. A desire to im- 
 prove the condition and appearance of the well, 
 about the same time, induced an officious inter- 
 ference with its situation, which better reflection 
 and more experience would probably have caus- 
 ed to be omitted. These facts are recorded mere- 
 ly as matter of history, leaving the inferences 
 to be confirmed or otherwise by future events. 
 The water of the old spring, although it has suf- 
 fered some in the public estimation, and is cer- 
 tainly not quite so palatable as formerly, is still an 
 excellent tonic, sitting more easy and light on the 
 stomachs of many than the waters of some of the 
 other springs, which are more highly charged with 
 the carbonic acid gas, which has the effect some 
 times to produce distention of the stomach, and 
 consequent vertigo and pain in the head. 
 
 In the year 1822, on removing an old floor and 
 other rubbish under a building attached to the 
 bathing house, a spring was discovered, or rather 
 reclaimed, (for its existence had been known many 
 years before,) apparently more saline than any 
 which the place afforded ; it now constitutes one 
 of those called the Sans Souci Springs, and is sit- 
 uated about equi-distant from the one originally 
 called Loufs Well and the Sulphur Spring. It 
 is now the spring mostly resorted to, particularly 
 
164 BALLSTON SPA. 
 
 by those who take the water as a beverage, or 
 who desire its cathartic effect. 
 
 In the spring of 1827 an effort was made by a 
 number of enterprising individuals to explore, by 
 boring, the interior of the slate formation, with a 
 view to obtain a further supply of mineral water 
 at this place. To effect the object, a machine, in- 
 vented for the purpose by Mr. Disbrow of New- 
 Jersey, was procured, and operations were com- 
 menced on the flat nearly opposite to Aldridge's 
 boarding house. The boring was begun in the 
 bottom of a public well that had been previously 
 sunk to the depth of fourteen feet, eight of which 
 were in the rock. At the depth of about eighty 
 feet a vein of mineral water was discovered ; a 
 tube was fitted to the hole in the rock of sufficient 
 length to extend a little above the surface of the 
 earth, and the water immediately rose to the top 
 of this tube and escaped in a copious stream, af- 
 fording an ample supply of a lively acidulous water. 
 The excavation, however, was continued to the 
 depth of one hundred and thirty-seven feet, but 
 without any considerable addition to the water, 
 either in quantity or quality, except a slight sul- 
 phurous impregnation. This spring has been 
 named the JVeio Washington Fountain. 
 
BALLSTON SPA. 165 
 
 Not long after the completion and establishment 
 of this fountain, a most singular incident occurred 
 that is thought worthy to be recorded. It explod- 
 ed, with a loud noise and with such force as to 
 throw the whole column of water contained in the 
 well many feet into the air, leaving a distinct sul- 
 phurous odour, which continued for some minutes 
 diffused in the surrounding atmosphere. The 
 spring for a short time appeared entirely empty ; 
 but it soon filled again and resumed its original ap- 
 pearance, and has ever since continued to flow 
 from a basin, which is now fixed to the top of the 
 fountain. It is somewhat singular, that since the 
 explosion, the sulphurous impregnation of the wa- 
 ter of this spring has nearly or quite disappeared. 
 
 During the succeeding winter a similar experi- 
 ment of boring was made, with nearly similar re- 
 sults, in a place called The Park, a little west from 
 the Sans Souci and directly in the rear of the Vil- 
 lage Hotel. The rock was struck at the depth of 
 about thirty feet^ through a bed of dark blue argil- 
 laceous marl. At about the same depth in the 
 rock as in the former instance, a vein of mineral 
 water was met with, very much resembling that of 
 the last described fountain. The boring, howev- 
 er, was continued to the depth of two hundred and 
 seventy feet, being about two hundred and forty 
 
166 BALLST0N SPA. 
 
 feet in the argillaceous or transition slate, which 
 at this place forms the bottom of the valley in 
 which all the above described springs are situated. 
 
 From the aperture thus formed, the water of 
 this fountain now flows in great abundance, rising 
 several feet above the surface of the earth, and pre- 
 senting a beautiful little pool, which is tastefully 
 displayed in a small basin secured to the top of 
 the tube which conducts the water to the surface. 
 It is an acidulous chalybeate of the first order, and 
 must be regarded as an interesting and important 
 acquisition to the place. It has received the dis- 
 tinctive appellation of the Park Spring. 
 
 These waters evidently belong to the same class 
 with those already described at Saratoga ; and if 
 they do not contain quite so large a proportion of 
 the saline properties as some of the fountains at 
 the latter place, which is very manifest both from 
 the taste and the effects, they are unquestiona- 
 bly entitled to rank among the best acidulous cha- 
 lybeate waters which this or any other country af- 
 fords. 
 
 In order to examine these waters analytically, 
 a quantity from eaeh spring was secured at the 
 fountain in well stopped bottles, conveyed to the 
 
BALLSTON SPA. 167 
 
 place of examination, and immediately submitted 
 to the operation of tests. The whole of the ex- 
 periments, both to determine the properties and to 
 separate the different ingredients, were conducted 
 in the same manner and upon the same principles 
 as previously detailed in the examination of the 
 Congress water ; and the indications being in all 
 respects the same, there occurring no perceptible 
 difference other than what would naturally be sup- 
 posed to result from the greater or less quantity of 
 the various articles held in solution by each, it is 
 not deemed necessary to recapitulate the dry de- 
 tails of these experiments in this place. 
 
 A quantity of the gas was procured from the wa- 
 ter of each fountain, and submitted to the process 
 of examination in the same manner as heretofore 
 related at page 94. It was found, like that procur- 
 ed from the water at Saratoga Springs, to consist 
 of pure carbonic acid, with an admixture of a small 
 quantity of atmospheric air. 
 
 From repeated experiments on the water pro- 
 cured from the several springs at this place, there 
 can be no doubt that they all contain considerable 
 more than their bulk of carbonic acid gas ; but 
 not having the necessary materials for making the 
 examinations on the spot, and the certainty that 
 
168 BALLSTON SPA. 
 
 the water parts with & considerable portion of the 
 gas from being bottled, however carefully it may 
 be done, no attempt was made to estimate with ac- 
 curacy the amount of its gaseous product. 
 
 With these general remarks on the history, 
 properties and character of the mineral waters at 
 Ballston Spa, I shall now proceed to a particular 
 examination of some of the principal fountains, or 
 such as have from their medical properties acquir- 
 ed the most .celebrity, 
 
SANS SOUCI SPRING. 
 
 This spring is situated immediately in the rear 
 of the Sans Souci, and is more familiarly known 
 by the name of " Jack's Spring." Its history has 
 been already related in the general remarks. Its 
 water is sparkling and acidulous, and its taste high- 
 ly chalybeate and somewhat saline. 
 
 The water from which the following analysis 
 was made was procured from the spring in the 
 fore part of the month of February, 1830, and dur- 
 ing the winter following, 1831, the examination was 
 repeated on different quantities of the water, with 
 results perfectly corresponding. The processes 
 adopted for determining and separating the various 
 ingredients were the same in all respects as those 
 detailed in the exam: nation of the Congress water, 
 a repetition of which is altogether unnecessary. 
 
 The temperature of the water at the bottom of 
 the well, at a time when the thermometer stood in 
 the open air at 20 deg. above zero, was 50 deg., 
 and its specific gravity at the temperature of 60 
 deg. was 1005.7, pure water being 1000. 
 
170 SANS SOUCI SPRING. 
 
 One gallon, or 231 cubic inches, of the water 
 from this spring contains the following substan- 
 ces, viz. 
 
 Chloride of Sodium, 143.733 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Soda, 
 
 12.66 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Magnesia, 
 
 39.1 
 
 Carbonate of Lime, 
 
 43.407 
 
 Carbonate of Iron, 
 
 5.95 
 
 Hydriodate of Soda, 
 
 1.3 
 
 Silix, 
 
 1. 
 
 Solid contents in a gallon, 
 
 247.15 grs 
 
 I have omitted to mention the presence of the 
 hydro-bromate of potash in the above enumeration 
 of the ingredients, because that substance is not 
 satisfactorily indicated in one gallon of the water, 
 as is the case with the same article in some of the 
 springs at Saratoga ; but I have no doubt, that by 
 concentrating a much larger portion of the water, 
 its presence might have been demonstrated. This 
 substance, together with that of the hydriodate of 
 soda, seems in some way connected with the ma- 
 rine salt, the quantity being increased or diminish- 
 ed according as that salt is afforded in a greater or 
 less abundance. The hydriodate of soda appears 
 to be in the proportion of about one to a hundred 
 
BALLSTON SPA. 171 
 
 of the chloride of sodium, while the proportion of 
 the hydro-bromate of potash is much less, and is 
 scarcely to be detected in those waters that con- 
 tain the greatest quantity of the marine salt; and 
 in those which contain a much less quantity, it can 
 only be demonstrated by concentrating several gal- 
 lons of the water. 
 
LOW'S SPRING* 
 
 This spring is situated near to the one just de- 
 scribed, and its appearance and sensible proper- 
 ties are certainly not very dissimilar to it. Its spe- 
 cific gravity and its temperature, at the time I ex- 
 amined them, were the same ; and as the applica- 
 tion of re-agents indicated no essential difference 
 in their constituent properties, they may with great 
 propriety be presumed to be the same, or very 
 nearly the same water» 
 
PARK SPRING. 
 
 This fountain is situated in the immediate neigh- 
 borhood of the two last described springs, in the 
 rear of the Village Hotel. Its situation and histo- 
 ry have already been described. The specific grav- 
 ity is considerably less than that of either of the 
 other two springs, and from the analysis, it affords 
 a much less quantity of all the saline substances 
 excepting the iron, with which this water is un- 
 doubtedly saturated. From one gallon I obtained 
 4.5 grains of the pure oxide of iron, equivalent to 
 6 1 grains of the carbonate of iron, (a quantity un- 
 exampled in any of the other springs ; ) and the 
 water not holding so large a quantity of the saline 
 ingredients in solution, it constitutes one of the 
 purest and best simple acidulous chalybeate waters 
 which can any where be found ; and in kll cases 
 where simple chalybeates alone are recommended, 
 this water should undoubtedly have th& preference. 
 
 p2 
 
THE PUBLIC WELL. 
 
 This spring is situated near the centre of the 
 village, on the flat ground nearly opposite to Al- 
 dridge's boarding house. It was formerly the 
 most distinguished of any which the place afford- 
 ed, and it was ornamented and secured with a 
 handsome iron paling and marble floor ; but un- 
 der an apprehension that the spring had suffered 
 in its properties from the great pressure occasion- 
 ed by these heavy stones, they have been removed 
 without benefitting the water, and certainly without 
 adding any thing to the beauty of the place. 
 
 Notwithstanding that this spring has, within a 
 few years, suffered considerably in the estimation 
 of the public, it is still much used, and is undoubt- 
 edly an excellent chalybeate water. 
 
 It has been generally asserted that " Sir Wil- 
 liam Johnson, in conveying the land at this place 
 to individuals, reserved this spring for the benevo- 
 lent purpose of serving the public." Where this 
 story came from originally is not easy to tell ; it is 
 certain that Sir William never owned any land in 
 
BALLSTON SPA. 175 
 
 the vicinity of either of the springs. The title un- 
 der which the lands at this place are held was ob- 
 tained from the representatives of May Bickley, 
 one of the original patentees, over which Sir Wil- 
 liam never had even the control of an agency. 
 
THE NEW WASHINGTON SPRING. 
 
 This spring, like that last noticed, is situated in 
 the street, a few rods distant, in a southerly direc- 
 tion. 
 
 The water submitted to examination was pro- 
 cured from the fountain in the month of February, 
 1831, and different portions of it were carefully 
 examined under the same rules and regulations as 
 already described. Its specific gravity is 1004.6, 
 pure water being 1000, and its temperature 51 
 deg. ; and one gallon contains the following arti- 
 cles, viz. 
 
 Chloride of Sodium, 
 
 89.83 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Soda, 
 
 18.057 
 
 Bi-carbonate of Magnesia, 
 
 42.042 
 
 Carbonate of Lime, 
 
 41.51 
 
 Hydriadate of Soda, 
 
 0.7 
 
 Carbonate of Iron, 
 
 3.71 
 
 Silix and Alumine, 
 
 lv25 
 
 Solid contents in a gallon, gr. 197.099 
 
BALLSTON SPA. 177 
 
 This well when it was first opened emitted a 
 perceptible quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen, but 
 it has now nearly or quite disappeared, particu- 
 larly since the memorable event of its eruption, as 
 before noticed. The gas, which it now emits in 
 great abundance, is purely carbonic acid, probably 
 combined with a small quantity of atmospheric air. 
 
 All these waters, if drank in large quantities, 
 or taken by persons whose stomachs are rather 
 irritable, operate as an aperient, and at the same 
 time have a powerful effect as a diuretic, and are 
 of eminent service in all those chronic affections 
 where chalybeate medicines are indicated. 
 
SULPHUREOUS WATERS. 
 
 Besides the acidulous saline chalybeate waters 
 so bountifully bestowed on this county, there are 
 several other mineral fountains of a different char- 
 acter ; I allude to those springs which belong to 
 the class termed sulphureous waters. There are 
 several of this class which occur in the vicinity of 
 the argillaceous slate formation, and they very 
 probably owe their orign to the decomposition of 
 the iron pyrites, or sulphuret of iron which abounds 
 in this rock. 
 
 By far the most interesting and important spring 
 belonging to this class is situated on the east bor- 
 der of Saratoga Lake, on a farm belonging to a 
 Mr. Abel, about one mile south of Snake Hill, at 
 the bottom of a deep ravine, which opens to the 
 lake, and discloses a fine view of that beautiful 
 sheet of water. The well is situated but a few 
 yards from the beach ; the water rises up through 
 a bed of argillaceous marl, and diffuses its sul- 
 phureous adour in the atmosphere to some dis- 
 tance around. 
 
SULPHUREOUS WATERS. 179 
 
 The water is very limpid when first dipped, but 
 on standing some time it deposits a small quantity 
 of argillaceous earth, which when thrown on igni- 
 ted coals, exhibits evidences of sulphur. This 
 sediment is likewise deposited around the spring 
 and along the course of its current. 
 
 It has a strong sulphureous and feted smell, 
 nearly resembling that of bilge water, and it pos- 
 sesses an offensive nauseous taste ; it however be- 
 comes more palatable after drinking it a few times. 
 
 Strips of litmus paper plunged into this water 
 fresh from the spring are slightly reddened by it, 
 but the paper resumes its blue colour on drying. 
 
 Characters traced on paper with a solution of 
 the acetate of lead, when plunged into water fresh 
 from the spring, become nearly black, and they 
 are made legible on suspending the paper a few 
 minutes over the fountain. 
 
 Polished silver is immediately tarnished by im- 
 mersing it in the water, and silver watches worn 
 in the pockets of those who are in the daily use of 
 it are said to be blackened by it. 
 
180 SULPHUREOUS WATERS. 
 
 The usual tests do not indicate the presence of 
 any metalic substance in this water, nor are there 
 any indications of lime, magnesia or marine salt ; 
 the constituent properties are purely sulphuretted 
 hydrogen, together with a small quantity of alu- 
 mine, which is diffused in it, but not in sufficient 
 quantity to render it turbid. 
 
 Its temperature is 48 deg., and its specific grav- 
 ity is but very little above that of pure water. 
 
 Doctors Armstrong and Johnson have lately 
 given a new impulse to the use of sulphureous 
 waters in the cure of visceral congestions and 
 chronic affections of the digestive organs; and it 
 is highly probable that a free internal use of the 
 water of this spring, connected with some mild 
 laxative medicine, will be found highly serviceable 
 in a great variety of those afflictive complaints. 
 
 Baths might easily be constructed here, and the 
 water conducted directly into them from the foun- 
 tain, which produces a sufficient quantity for a 
 constant supply. Bathing in waters of this de- 
 scription has long been celebrated for its efficacy 
 in the cure of a great variety of eruptive and other 
 diseases of the skin ; and it is highly probable that 
 this spring will ultimately become an important ap- 
 
SULPHUREOUS WATERS. 181 
 
 pendage to the distinguished waters of Saratoga 
 and Ballston, from either of which it is but a few 
 miles distant, and the ride includes all the variety 
 of scenery presented by the lake and its environs. 
 
 In the valley of one of the branches of the Kay- 
 aderosseras creek, about two miles westerly from 
 the village of Saratoga Springs, is another strongly 
 scented sulphureous spring ; it rises perpendicular- 
 ly from the earth in a stream sufficient to turn a 
 mill, at the bottom of a steep bank, composed of 
 sand, clay and coarse gravel 
 
 The approach to this spring is discovered at 
 the distance of some yards, by the sulphureous 
 odour with which it impregnates the atmosphere. 
 The water is clear, and but triflingly agitated by 
 the escape of gas ; its taste is unpleasant, not un- 
 like the washings of a rusty gun barrel. It depos- 
 its a brown sediment, which marks its passage to 
 the creek, a distance of one hundred yards. 
 
 Its temperature is 50 deg. while that of a foun- 
 tain of pure water which issues from the same 
 bank in a horizontal direction, and within ten feet 
 of it, is at 46 deg. 
 
182 SULPHUREOUS WATERS. 
 
 In addition to the sulphuretted hydrogen which 
 this water affords, it contains a small proportion 
 of carbonic acid gas, and is slightly impregnated 
 with marine salt, iron and lime. It is highly ex- 
 tolled for its efficacy in the cure of eruptive diseas- 
 es, for which it is used, both internally and exter- 
 nally ; but owing to its remote situation, and the 
 want of proper accommodations, it is but little re- 
 sorted to at present. 
 
 At Ballston Spa, situated within a few feet of 
 the Sans Souci fountain, there is a spring which 
 has received the name of the Sulphur Spring. It 
 is a weak, saline chalybeate, containing a small 
 quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, which is 
 sufficiently apparent both from the smell and taste. 
 Its sulphureous impregnation, however, does not 
 appear to be sufficient to make it very important 
 on that account. It is much used for bathing, and 
 is recommended and used in a great variety of cu- 
 taneous affections. 
 
PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 OS THE 
 
 MEDICAL PROPERTIES 
 
 OF 
 
 THE WATERS. 
 
 I shall conclude my remarks on the waters of 
 these fountains, by a few general observations on 
 their medical properties, and their application in 
 the various diseases for which they have become so 
 deservedly celebrated. 
 
 These waters are so generally used, and their 
 effects so seldom injurious, particularly to persons 
 in health, that almost every one who has ever 
 drank of them assumes the prerogative of direct- 
 ing their use to others ; and were these direc- 
 tions always the result of experience and obser- 
 vation, they would certainly be less objectionable ; 
 but there are numerous persons who flock about 
 the springs during the drinking season, without 
 any knowledge of the composition of the waters, 
 and little or none of their effects, who contrive to 
 
184 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 dispose of their directions to the ignorant and un- 
 wary, with no other effect than to injure the repu- 
 tation of the water and destroy the prospects of 
 the diseased. 
 
 Many persons who resort to the springs for the 
 restoration of health, seem to be governed by the 
 idea, that they are to recover in proportion to the 
 quantity they drink ; and, although many who are 
 in health may, and frequently do, swallow down 
 enormous quantities of the water with apparent 
 impunity, it by no means follows that those whose 
 stomachs are enfeebled by disease can take the 
 same quantity with the same effect. Stomachs of 
 this description frequently reject large portions of 
 the water, and thereby protect the system from 
 the disastrous consequences that would otherwise 
 follow. But when it happens to be retained, the 
 result is indeed distressing ; the pulse becomes 
 quick and feeble, the extremities cold, the head 
 painful and dizzy, the bowels swollen and tender, 
 and the whole train of nervous affections alarming- 
 ly increased ; and should the unfortunate sufferer 
 survive the effects of his imprudence, it is only to 
 a renewal of his worst apprehensions, from a loss 
 of confidence in what he most probably consider- 
 ed a last resort. 
 
MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 185 
 
 In directing the use of the waters, I shall con- 
 fine my remarks to a few observations on their 
 medical application, of a general character only ; 
 particular directions can only be given with safety 
 to the patient from a careful investigation of the 
 particular symptoms, character and nature of the 
 complaint. 
 
 Among the great variety of invalids who resort 
 to the springs, none perhaps receive more essen- 
 tial and effectual benefit from their use than those 
 usually termed bilious. 
 
 In all those affections usually termed bilious, if 
 the attack be recent and unattended by any seri- 
 ous organic affection, it is most usually removed in 
 the course of a few days by a free use of the Con- 
 gress water alone ; but in those cases where the 
 functions of the stomach and bowels have become 
 impaired from the long continuance of the disease, 
 attended with anasarcus swellings of the extreme- 
 ties, &c. although the waters of this fountain may 
 be resorted to with nearly the same assurance of 
 obtaining relief, nevertheless more caution is in- 
 dispensably necessary in its administration ; for 
 should a great quantity of the water be drank with- 
 out having the proper effect by the bowels and 
 kidneys, it is never beneficial, but on the contrary, 
 d2 
 
186 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 frequently increases the most alarming symptoms 
 of the complaint. 
 
 In cases of this description, I have long been 
 in the habit of recommending the addition of some 
 mild cathartic medicine ; and for this purpose a 
 few grains of calomel, or the blue pill, are directed 
 to be taken over night, followed in the morning by 
 a sufficient quantity of the water to move the bow- 
 els briskly two or three times, with the happiest 
 effect. A few doses of this description usually 
 puts the bowels in a situation to be more easily 
 wrought upon by the water, and the patient be- 
 comes convinced of its efficacy in his disease from 
 a few days proper application. 
 
 In the more advanced stages of bilious affec- 
 tions, where the organization of the liver and oth- 
 er viscera have materially suffered, and the dispo- 
 sition to general hydrops, indicated by the enlarge- 
 ment of the extremities, fullness of the abdomen, 
 &c. the waters are all of them manifestly injuri- 
 ous, and are not to be admitted, even as an auxil- 
 iary remedy. 
 
 In all those functional affections of the organs 
 employed in the process of digestion, constituting 
 what is usually termed dyspepsia, the waters have 
 
MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 187 
 
 long maintained a high and deserved reputation. 
 The Congress water is principally relied on for 
 the cure of these affections. This should be taken 
 in the morning, an hour or two before breakfast, 
 in sufficient quantity to move the bowels freely 
 once or twice. In ordinary cases, four or five 
 tumblers full are sufficient for the purpose; and in 
 weak irritable habits, half the quantity, or a single 
 tumbler full in some cases, is amply sufficient to 
 answer the purpose. 
 
 In those cases where the bowels are attended 
 with an habitual constipation, the large quantity of 
 water required to move them often produces un- 
 pleasant distention of the stomach and bowels, and 
 by producing cold chills and nausea, frequently 
 defeats the general intention of its application. 
 This, in some instances, may be remedied by sim- 
 ply elevating the temperature of the water by 
 keeping it for some hours in well stopped bottles 
 in a warm room. When this fails, recourse may 
 be had to some suitable laxative, which should be 
 taken over night on going to v bed ; and a much less 
 quantity of the water in the morning will answer 
 the wishes of the patient, without subjecting him to 
 any very great inconvenience. Or, if circumstan- 
 ces require a still greater effect, a little epsom, or 
 some other laxative salt, may be added to the first 
 
188 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 glass of the water. In this way the difficulty will 
 soon be overcome, when a much less quantity of 
 the water will be found to answer the purpose. 
 
 But the Congress water is not alone to be de- 
 pended on for the removal of these affections : 
 when the stomach and bowels have been properly 
 cleansed by the mild and innocent purgative prop- 
 erties of this water, for which purpose it is to be 
 drank only in the morning, the remainder of the 
 day should be devoted to the moderate and dis- 
 creet use of some of the more pure chalybeate 
 waters : as that of the Flat Rock, Columbian, 
 High Rock, Ellis 9 Spring, or Ballston Spa. 
 
 The quantity of water from either of these foun- 
 tains, to be used daily, must necessarily depend in 
 a great measure on the state of the disease and the 
 condition of the stomach. It is therefore best to 
 commence their use in. small quantities at a time, 
 and at distant and regular intervals ; gradually in- 
 creasing the quantity and frequency of the draught, 
 as may be most agreeable to the stomach, and 
 least unpleasant to the feelings. In this way the 
 quantity may be increased to from one to two 
 quarts ; and it is questionable whether a much 
 larger quantity may be drank with any additional 
 advantage. 
 
MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 189 
 
 The use of chalybeate medicines in the cure of 
 the deranged state of the digestive organs has 
 seldom been directed, except in conjunction with 
 laxatives of some kind ; and it is now a subject of 
 speculation with some of our best and well inform- 
 ed practitioners, whether the cure might not be 
 as expeditiously effected by the judicious adminis- 
 tration of laxatives alone. It is certain that three 
 fourths of the cases usually termed dyspeptic, 
 which congregate at these springs during the drink- 
 ing season, owe their origin to the ill-timed admin- 
 i tration*of chalybeates and other tonic remedies, 
 prescribed for the purpose of bracing up what was 
 supposed to be a debilitated stomach ; or in more 
 familiar terms, " to wind up a ran down constitu- 
 tion" 
 
 " From long and unbiassed observation," says 
 the venerable Doct. Armstrong, " I am fully con- 
 vinced that most of the medicines called tonics are 
 either useless or pernicious ; and if these were 
 erased from the pharmacopoeias, it would be a re- 
 al benefit to the profession and mankind ; for they 
 only serve to mislesd the former, and to tantalize 
 or injure the latter. Tonic medicines generally 
 oppress the digestive functions, or operate as di- 
 rect stimulants, and in either case they are improp- 
 er in convalescence ; for by the first they may de- 
 
190 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 stroy the natural appetite, and by the last they may 
 lead to chronic inflammations. So far from such 
 drugs being appropriate to a stage of convales- 
 cence from acute disease, mild laxatives are most 
 frequently requisite to preserve a right balance be- 
 tween the ingesta and the egesta ; and the practi- 
 tioner who substitutes the former will find that his 
 patients will pass better through convalescence, 
 and be afterwards far less subject to consecutive 
 attacks of inflammation." These remarks are so 
 much in accordance with my own experience and 
 observation, that I could not forego the opportu- 
 nity of transcribing them here. 
 
 But whether the tonic medicines be or be not 
 appropriate in the cure of the deranged state of the 
 digestive organs, it is certain that the quantity of 
 iron found in the water of those fountains which 
 contain the largest proportion of that article, is 
 quite too trifling to merit a serious consideration 
 as a remedy in any disease. That the waters pos- 
 sess powerful stimulating and exciting powers can- 
 not be disputed ; but whether this property be ow- 
 ing to the small portion of iron, as is usually sup- 
 posed, which enters into its composition, may very 
 rationally be doubted. 
 
MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 191 
 
 Conjoined with the internal use of the waters, 
 bathing should not be neglected ; its exhilerating 
 effect upon the surface of the body contributes 
 much to the restoration of the vigor and strength 
 of the stomach. The cold shower bath should al- 
 ways be preferred where the energy of the circu- 
 lation is sufficient to overcome the effects of the 
 cold, and produce the sensation of warmth over 
 the surface immediately after its application ; 
 where this sensation is not produced, the cold bath 
 should be dispensed with, and the tepid or warm 
 bath substituted in its stead, together with general 
 friction with a flesh brush or coarse flannel over 
 the whole body. 
 
 The stimulating effects of these waters, arising 
 from their saline and gaseous properties, give them 
 a decided preference over any other as a bath ; 
 and those who are laboring under a deficient or 
 irregular action of the cutaneous vessels, arising 
 either from a sympathetic affection with a diseased 
 stomach, or from an original affection of the ves- 
 sels themselves, will find it to their advantage to 
 persevere in its use under this form. 
 
 The idea of bathing before sunrise or early in 
 the morning is entirely wrong. Before bathing, 
 the system should always be invigorated by the ef- 
 
192 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 feet of moderate exercise and a nutricious repast. 
 The hour of ten or eleven in the forenoon is there- 
 fore the most suitable time for its application. 
 
 In calculous and nephritic complaints the 
 waters have long been celebrated for their efficacy, 
 and numerous well attested instances of their good 
 effects can be produced, where the disease was not 
 only benefitted, but effectually cured. In these 
 cases, the subjects of them, after using the water 
 for some weeks, voided large quantities of sand 
 and small gravel, and have since felt no symptoms 
 of the return of the complaint. 
 
 The waters that would seem to promise most in 
 these diseases are those which contain the greatest 
 quantity of the cerated alkali, but they hare usual- 
 ly been drank indiscriminately for this purpose, 
 without reference to any particular fountain ; it is 
 therefore probable that the carbonic acid, togeth- 
 er with the carbonated earths, add something to 
 the liihontriptic properties of these waters. 
 
 They should be drank in such quantities as to 
 keep the bowels open, and repeated sufficiently 
 often to keep up an increased secretion by the kid- 
 neys. 
 
MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 193 
 
 The warm bath, as an auxiliary to the internal 
 use of the waters, is of much importance ; it great- 
 ly facilitates the passage of the ragged fragments 
 of gravel which sometimes take place from the ef- 
 fect of this remedy. Its temperature should be 
 from 100 to 110 deg. and the length of time 
 proper for continuing it should be from one to two 
 hours. 
 
 In chronic rheumatism, the virtues of the 
 waters were known, and celebrated, by the abo- 
 rigines ; and the observations of more modern 
 visitants have tended greatly to confirm the good 
 opinion entertained by the original proprietors. 
 The Congress water has the most celebrity in this 
 disease : it should be taken in the morning, in suf- 
 ficient quantities to move the bowels two or three 
 times, and followed by moderate draughts of some 
 of the other fountains ; and in most instances, the 
 shower bath will add much to the efficacy of the 
 water. Following this course for a length of time 
 gradually relaxes the rigidity of the muscles, adds 
 strength and facility of motion to the diseased 
 joints, and restores ease and vigor to the whole 
 system. 
 
 The anthritis, or gout, has but seldom ap- 
 peared at the Springs. Whether this absence is to 
 
194 
 
 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 be imputed to the few cases that, comparatively 
 speaking, occur in our country, or to a prevailing 
 opinion, that the use of the waters would be inju- 
 rious, is uncertain. If, however, one may be allow- 
 ed to judge from the few cases which have appear- 
 ed at the waters, there is some reason to believe 
 they may prove highly serviceable, particularly in 
 the incipient or forming stage of the complaint ; 
 but in those cases where the disease has become 
 confirmed, and the system, for a long time, has 
 been subjected to a course of powerful stimulants, 
 the operation of the waters is more doubtful ; and 
 indeed several instances have occurred where 
 their use evidently tended to invite a recurrence 
 of the paroxysms. 
 
 In PHAGEDENIC, Or ILL-CONDITIONED ULCERS 
 
 of the extremities, perhaps no application has ever 
 been attended with more effectual benefit in a va- 
 riety of these affections than a free use of the wa- 
 ters ; but the various forms and circumstances un- 
 der which this afflictive complaint presents itself 
 require particular attention, as they form the only 
 criterion for a proper application of this highly use- 
 ful remedy. 
 
 Persons afflicted with obstinate and painful cu- 
 taneous eruptions derive great and important 
 
MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 195 
 
 benefit from a properly directed course of bathing 
 and drinking. And in that peculiarly relaxed and 
 enfeebled state of the system arising from a long 
 protracted mercurial course, the water connected 
 with the air and exercises of the country, has ne- 
 ver failed of proving an efficacious and speedy re- 
 storative. 
 
 Scrofula is another disease for which those 
 who are afflicted with it frequently become appli- 
 cants to the waters, and experience has abundant- 
 ly sanctioned the belief of their utility in that com- 
 plaint. 
 
 Before the discovery of Iodine in these waters, 
 their operation in the cure of strumous affections 
 was considered as somewhat mysterious, but since 
 that substance has been demonstrated as forming 
 one of the constituent ingredients in the water, the 
 mystery has been solved, and the waters are now 
 prescribed in these affections with a confidence 
 which the important and active properties of this 
 interesting* article is calculated to inspire. 
 
 As Iodine is a substance which has been recent- 
 ly introduced into the list of valuable remedies, a 
 short notice of its historv and medical character 
 
196 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 will not be uninteresting, particularly to the gen- 
 eral reader. 
 
 This singular and interesting article was first 
 discovered by a manufacturer of saltpetre at Paris, 
 no longer ago than 1812. In washing the carbo- 
 nate of soda from the ashes of sea-weeds, he ob- 
 served that the risidual liquor corroded the metal- 
 ic vessels in which it was standing, and on the 
 addition of sulphuric acid he obtained a dark col- 
 oured precipitate, which was converted into a 
 beautiful violet coloured vapour by the applica- 
 tion of heat. Some of this substance was put into 
 the hands of M. Clement, a distinguished chemist 
 of Paris, who soon recognized it as a new body ; 
 and in 1813 he first described it in the royal insti- 
 tution of France. Sir Humphrey Davy, Gay- 
 Lussac, and a number of other distinguished chem- 
 ists, have subsequently investigated its chemical 
 habitudes, and determined its real nature. 
 
 Iodine, in a pure state at the ordinary tempera- 
 ture of the atmosphere, is a soft, friable, opaque 
 solid, of a blueish black colour, somewhat resem- 
 bling plumbago. It occurs usually in crystalline 
 scales ; it sublimes rapidly at a temperature even 
 below that of boiling water; and it suffers a grad- 
 ual dissipation at a still lower temperature. Its 
 
MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 19*7 
 
 vapour is of a rich violet colour, from which cir- 
 cumstance it has received the name of Iodine. 
 It has a very acrid taste, and a strong offensive 
 odour. It acts with great energy on the animal 
 system, but may be employed with advantage as a 
 medicine in very small doses. 
 
 It unites chemically with oxygen and hydrogen, 
 forming the iodic and hydriodic acids ; and these, 
 when united with the alkaline, or earthy basis, 
 constitute the iodates, or hydriodates ; and in one 
 or other of these forms it is usually met with in na- 
 ture. 
 
 The hydriodic acid combined with potassa or 
 soda, has been detected in many of the brine 
 and other mineral springs of Europe. It has like- 
 wise been found in sea-water, and a number of 
 marine animals ; and it is contained in sponge, and 
 a great variety of sea-weed ; and its existence in 
 the waters of Saratoga and Ballston Spa, in the 
 state of the hydriodate of soda, has been satisfac- 
 torily demonstrated. 
 
 As a medicine, Iodine is now believed to pos- 
 sess great and important qualities ; and it has been 
 introduced as a remedy in the cure of almost eve- 
 ry species of chronic affection. It is supposed to 
 »2 
 
198 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 exert a special influence over the absorbent or lym- 
 phatic system ; and in goitre and scrofula, as well 
 as all other indolent enlargement of the glands, it 
 has maintained a high and deserved reputation. 
 And it is unquestionably owing to the presence of 
 this substance that the mineral waters of Saratoga 
 are indebted for their great efficacy in the cure of 
 strumous affections. 
 
 The fountain which contains the largest propor- 
 tion of the hydriodate of soda, should, without 
 doubt, be selected by the invalid laboring under 
 these afflictions. The water should be commenc- 
 ed in small doses, and the quantity gradually in- 
 creased, as the stomach will bear it ; and its use 
 should be continued, at least, through the summer 
 months. There are but few of this description 
 who have not received advantage, and numerous 
 instances might be adduced where the less serious- 
 ly affected have perfectly recovered from a proper 
 course of bathing and drinking. 
 
 Bromine* is another substance that has lately 
 been discovered as entering into the composition 
 of these waters ; and it is not improbable, from 
 
 * This substance was discovered in sea-water, by a French 
 chemist in 1826. It is in a liquid state at the common temper- 
 ature of the atmosphere ; its color is a blackish red j its odour 
 
MEDICaL PROPERTIES. 199 
 
 the highly active properties which it is known to 
 possess, that in conjunction with iodine, it contri- 
 butes to the efficacy of the water in its operation 
 on scrofulous and enfeebled habits ; but the ex- 
 tremely minute quantity in which it is found for- 
 bids the idea of attaching much importance to its 
 presence. 
 
 In dropsf, arising from organic derangement 
 of long continuance, the waters are manifestly in- 
 jurious, as they invariably increase the swelling, 
 and add to the sufferings of the patient ; but in re- 
 cent cases, where the affection arises simply from 
 a deficient action in the absorbent vessels, the wa- 
 ter has a singular effect in removing it. It should 
 be drank in the morning freely, so as to produce 
 a copious discharge from the bowels ; and through 
 the day taken in such quantities as to keep up a 
 pretty constant discharge of urine. The bloating 
 is relieved immediately, and a proper continuance 
 of the water will finally establish the permanency 
 of the cure. 
 
 is disagreeable, and its taste powerful. It acts with energy on 
 organic substances and corrodes the animal texture. It has 
 been detected in most of the substances in which iodine has 
 been found. It exists in sea-water in the state of the hydro- 
 bromate of magnesia, and in the waters of this place it is in the 
 state of the hydro-bromate of potassa. 
 
200 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 In paralysis, the waters have been usually 
 serviceable. The purgative properties of the Con- 
 gress render it the most applicable to this disease ; 
 and its good effects are much increased by the use 
 of the bath. 
 
 In chlorosis, and a variety of other complaints 
 peculiar to the female sex, the waters maintain a 
 high and deserved reputation. In most of these 
 cases the bowels should be kept open, by the 
 use of the more purgative waters ; and those of a 
 less purgative character should be persevered in 
 for a length of time. Their good effects will be 
 much accelerated by frequent bathing and mode- 
 rate exercise. 
 
 " The general operation of chalybeates," says 
 Dr. Saunders, in his treatise upon the mineral wa- 
 ters of Europe, " is to increase the power of the 
 secretory system in a gradual uniform manner, 
 and at the same time by the permanency of their 
 stimulus, or some other cause with which we are 
 not well acquainted, to impart a gentle and saluta- 
 ry increase to the body, of strength, tone, ner- 
 vous energy and general vigor of all the functions. 
 It is therefore chiefly in chronic disorders, in those 
 that arise from slow beginnings and are attended 
 with great laxity and debility of the solids, but 
 
MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 201 
 
 without much organic disease, that these waters 
 are found to be particularly useful." 
 
 In phthisis, and indeed all other pulmonary 
 affections, arising from primary disease of the 
 lungs, the waters are evidently injurious, and man- 
 ifestly tend to increase the virulence of the dis- 
 ease. Their use, therefore, in these complaints, 
 as well as in all acute or inflammatory diseases, 
 should be strictly prohibited. 
 
 The season of the year most suitable for drink- 
 ing the waters is often made a subject of earnest 
 inquiry. The summer months, or during the pre- 
 valence of warm weather, is undoubtedly the most 
 suitable time for their use, as cold drinks are then 
 far more agreeable, both to the stomach and pal- 
 ate ; and all the secretions and excretions of the 
 system, in ordinary cases, are then more readily 
 and effectually operated on by the effects of re- 
 mediable agents. But what is of still more im- 
 portance, the summer season is more particularly 
 adapted to a free and unrestrained exercise in the 
 open air ; without which a long course of the 
 waters would be of but little avail. 
 
 The great number of visitants who frequent 
 these watering places during the season for drink- 
 
202 MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 ing, are no doubt a source of considerable income 
 to the country ; but the annual increase of poor 
 invalids, who flock here from all parts of the Uni- 
 ted Slates, and are solely dependant upon private 
 munificence for their subsistence, is an evil that 
 begins to be seriously felt, not only by the inhabi- 
 tants, but by strangers, whose benevolence, while 
 here, is daily laid under contribution for the sup- 
 port of some poor object, who is struggling to ob- 
 tain from bountiful nature a renovation of health 
 which he has lost, perhaps, in the service of his 
 country. This evil can only be properly remedied 
 by an interference of the general government ; 
 and I cannot omit this opportunity to remind those 
 whose business it may be, that the endowment of 
 a small hospital at this place, under proper regula- 
 tions, would be attended with more beneficent ef- 
 fects, and would tend more to ameliorate the con- 
 dition of suffering humanity, than the appropria- 
 tion of an equivalent sum in any other way could 
 possibly produce. 
 
 Much interest has been excited on the subject 
 of the source of these singular and interesting 
 waters, but no researches have as yet satisfactori- 
 ly unfolded the mystery. The large proportion of 
 common salt found among their constituent prop- 
 erties may be accounted for without much difficul- 
 
MEDICAL PROPERTIES. 203 
 
 ty, all the salt springs of Europe as well as those 
 of America being found in geological situations 
 exactly corresponding to these ; but the production 
 of the unexampled quantity of carbonic acid gas, 
 the medium through which the other articles are 
 principally retained in solution, is yet, and probably 
 will remain, a subject of mere speculation. The 
 low and regular temperature of the water seems 
 to forbid the idea that it is the effect of subterra- 
 nean heat, as many have supposed, and the total 
 absence of any mineral acid, excepting the marine 
 which is combined with soda, does away the pos- 
 sibility of its being the effect of any combination 
 of that kind. Its production is therefore truly un- 
 accountable. 
 
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