HX64075176 ^ RA805.H792 Un3 General information Columbia (HnitJem'tp intljeCttpofiJlrttigork CoUcge of ^fjpgicians anb burgeons! Hibvatp Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 witii funding from Open Knowledge Commons (for the Medical Heritage Library project) http://www.archive.org/details/generalinformatOOunit DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE HOT SPRINGS OF ARKANSAS. This circular on the Hot Springs of Arkansas has been issued in response to requests for rehable information which have become too numerous to be answered individually. The hot springs, 46 in number, are situated at the city of Hot Springs, near the center of the State of Arkansas, 50 miles southwest of Little Rock. In addition to the hot springs there are many cold springs furnishing palatable waters extensively used both in the treat- ment of disease and as table waters. LEGENDS AND HISTORY. The hot springs were probably visited in 1541 by De Soto, who died the following spring on the jMississippi, about 100 mUes away. According to traditions the curative properties of the springs were known to the Indians long before the advent of the Spaniards. There is a tale that the various tribes battled from time to time for control of the hot waters, in which they believed the ''Great Spirit" to ba ever present, but that finally a truce w^as declared under which their benefits were extended to the sick of all tribes. It is believed that the earliest white settlement was made about the ZfesiT 1800. Dunbar and Hunter, who visited the place in Decem- bt^j;'^;'l804, found an open log cabin and a few huts built of split boards which had been erected by persons resorting to the springs in the hope of regaining their health. Manuel Prudhomnie built a cabin there in 1807 and was joined the same year by John Perciful and Isaac Gates, who camped in the neighborhood and engaged in hunting and trapping. From tliis time' on history is complete. In 1832 the hot springs and the four sections of land surrounding them were, by act of Congress, set aside for the future disposal of the United States, not to be entered, located, or appropriated for any other purpose whatever, thus making the first national park reserva- tion of the country and preserving in perpetuity, free from monopoly and commercial exploitation, the waters of the springs for the benefit of the sick. 89051°— 11 THE RESERVATION. The Hot Springs Reservation contains 911.G3 acres, ami includes Hot Springs Mountain, North Mountain, West Mountain, and WTiit- tington Lake Park. The springs are all grouped about the base of Hot Springs ^lountain, their aggregate flow being 8'JC),308 gallons per day. The hot water is supplied to the various bathhouses, and the receipts from this source are all expended under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior in improvijig the service and in developing and beautifying the reservation. There are more than 11 miles of well-built roads and footpaths over the mountains. The Government is represented at the springs by a superintendent and a medical director, both appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. The superintendent has supervision over all general matters connected with the Government's interests, is disbursing ofTicer, and enforces the rules and regulations of the department. The medical director has charge of sanitation, hydrotherapy, the bathing of patients, the Government free bathhouse for the indigent, the instruction and supervision of bath attendants, and the deter- mination as to their fitness for employment. THE CITY OF HOT SPRINGS. The city of Hot wSprings has extended beyond the narrow valley in which the springs are located and spread out over the open plain to the south and east. It is supplied with all the public utility services of the larger cities. There are churches of every denomination, public and private schools, hospitals and sanatoria, theaters and other places of amusement, a race track, and the State fair grounds. The resident population is about 16,000. There are many hotels, the largest affording accommodations for 1,000 guests, and several hundred boarding houses ranging in price from S5 a week up. Cottages and apartments for light housekeej-^p«f, furnished or unfurnished, can be rented from $10 a month up. 'le cost of living is about the same as in average cities of like size. Lists of hotels and boarding houses can be obtained at the Business Men's League, which is located next to the post office, and inquiries of a general nature not related to the administration of the baths will be answered by its secretary. The climate is good throughout the year. In the earlier days Hot Springs was exclusively a summer resort, the hotels being closed from October to ^larch. In later years, however, owing to the number who come during the winter months to escape the cold of the north, the resort is patronized throughout the year. There is no malaria. The elevation of the city is 600 feet, and that of the surrounding bills about 1,200 feet above the level of the sea. THE PAY BATHHOUSES. There are 23 pay bathhouses operated under rules and regulations approved by the Secretary of tlie Interior. Eleven are on the reser- vation at the base of Hot Springs Mountain, constituting what is known as "Bathhouse Row," and 12 are located at various points in the city. Eleven are in connection with hotels, hospitals, or sani- toria. The water is the same in all, but the prices charged for the baths vary in the different houses in accordance with the equipments and accommodations furnished. The rates are fixed in each instance by the Secretary of the Interior. The charges for the services of the attendants are the same in all, and include all the necessities of the bath except furnisliing towels and bath robes, laundering bath robes, rubbing mercury, and handling helpless invalids. Any dissatisfaction relative to the administration of the baths or the treatment of patients should be brought to the attention of the medical director, who will investigate the complaint and adjust any difterences. Bathhouses and authorized charges, including the services of an attendant. Bathhouse. Course, 21 baths. One bath. S13.00 8.00 SO .fin .45 Buekstaff i 7.00 13.00 8.00 10.00 7.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 8.00 11.00 10.00 10.00 7.00 9.00 10.00 13.00 10.00 9.00 10.00 9.00 .40 .fi.") .45 Hale .55 .40 ,55 .55 .55 .45 .60 .55 .55 Ozark . .40 .50 55 Park .fi5 .55 .50 .55 ..50 1 In process of construction. Bath tickets are redeemable for the same proportionate price for which they were sold, wheti p'resented by the original purchaser, pro- vided that when less than seven baths have been taken on any ticket presented for redemption the batlihouse may charge the rate for single baths for the number of baths taken on said ticket. LEGEND. [The numbers in this list refer to the smaller num- bers on the map; the larger numbers on the map are the numbers of the squares.] 1. Superintendent's office. 2. Lamar bathhouse. 3. Buckstafi baths. 4. Ozark bathhouse. 5. Magnesia l^attihouse. G. Horse Shoe bathhouse. 7. Palace bathhouse. 8. Maurice bathhouse. 9. Hale bathhouse. 10. Superior batlihouse. 11. Arlington Hotel and baths. 12. Government free bathhouse. 13. Imperial bathhouse. 14. Hot Springs bathhouse and hotel. 1.5. Rector bathhouse and Waukesha Hotel. 16. Rockafellow batlihouse and hotel. 17. Majestic Hotel and baths. 15. St. Joseph Infirmary. 19. Great Northern Hotel and baths. 20. Post olEce. 21. Business Men's League. 22. Rock Island Station. 23. Iron MctintaLn Station. 24. Ozark Sanitorium. 25. Alhambra bathhouse. 26. Moody Hotel and baths. 27. City Hall and Auditorium Theater. 23. =^ Electric street car lines. 29. Main entrance to reservation. 30. Park Hotel and baths. 31. Eastman Hotel and baths. 32. .U-kansas National Bank. 33. Security Bank. 34. Citizens National Bank. 35. Elks' Home and Masonic Temple. 30. First Baptist Church. 37. First Methodist Church. 38. Episcopal Church. 39. Catholic Chinch. 40. Fhst Presbyterian Church. 41. Whittington Lake Park. 42. High-school buildmg. 43. County coiut house. 44. Superintendent's official residence. North, West, and Hot Springs Mountauis and Whittingtou Lake Park form the permanent Hot Springs Reservation, owmed and operated by the Government. THE ARMY AND NAVY GENERAL HOSPITAL. The Army and Navy General Hospital is also supplied with water from the si)rin^s. It is administered by the War Dojiartment for tlie beneiit of olficei's and enlisted men of the military and naval service of the United States, cadets at the United States Military and Naval Academies, ofhcors of the Kovenue Cutter Service, oflicors of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, and honorably discharged soldiers and sailors of the Regular and Volunteer Army and Navy of the United States, who are suffering from such diseases as the waters of the hot springs of Arkansas have an established reputation in benefiting. Admission to this hospital of all such cases regardless of their severity is not, however, contemplated. Its facilities will not be extended to mild and transient cases wdiich should yield to ordinary ti-eatment, but are reserved for those of a serious and obstinate character, which, though resistmg ordinary methods of relief, promise a rapid and permanent recovery from the use of the waters of the springs. Application for admission to this institution should be made to the Adjutant General, United States Army, at Washington, D. C. THE GOVERNMENT FREE BATHS. The Government free bathhouse for the indigent was established pursuant to act of Congress of December 16, 1878. The number of baths given to the poor during the year 1910 was 200,048. The act of March 2, 1911, provides that an applicant for free baths shall be required to make oath that he is without and unable to obtain means to pay for baths, and a false oath as to his fuiancial condition makes him guilty of a misdemeanor and subjects him, upon conviction thereof, to a fine of not to exceed $25, or 30 days' impris- oimient, or both. Tickets are issued only to those who, after examination, are found to be suffering from diseases that may reasonably bo expected to be benefited by the baths. Children are not allowed in the bathhouse unless they themselves are patients. Those who intend making application for these baths are advised that no other treatment is provided. There is no hospital attached, and they must provide their own board and lodging. There are no hospitals in the city of Hot Springs to which patients can be admit- ted free of charge, nor are any funds available from which relief can be afforded or railroad transportation furnished to their homos. This statement appears necessary, as many destitute invalids come each year from other and distant States in the belief that the Gov- ernment maintains a public institution at which they will be cared for free of charge. THE CHARACTEIl AND ACTION OF THE WATERS. The source of the heat is beheved to be great masses of igneous rock intruded in the earth's crust by volcanic agencies. Deep-seated waters converted into vapors by contact with this heated mass probably ascend through fissures toward the surface where they meet cold springs, which are heated by the vapors. The waters are radioactive in a marked degree, and to the pres- ence of this rare element in gaseous form is now generally attributed their salutary effects. The baths create a reaction accompanied by an elevation of body temperature, accelerated heart action with diminished blood pressure in the arteries, and a stimulation of the nutritive changes in the tissue cells, especially those composing the organs of elimination and those concerned in the formation of the blood. The mineral constituent is very low, and when the waters are taken internally, combined with the sweating produced hj the baths and packs, elimination by all the emunctories is greatly increased. The hot waters may reasonably be expected to give relief in the following conditions : In gout or rheumatism after the acute or inflam- matory stage; in neuralgia when dependent upon gout, rheuma- tism, malaria, or metallic poisoning; in the early stages of chronic Bright's disease; in catarrhal conditions of the gall bladder; in certain forms of disease of the pelvic organs, and in sterility in women; in chronic malaria, alcoholism, and drug addictions; in many chronic skin diseases; in some forms of anemia; in syphilis; in gonorrheal rheimaatism; in toxaemias and conditions of defective elimination; and in some forms of cardiovascular disease with increased tension in the blood vessels. The general tonic and recuperative effects are marked in conditions of debility and neurasthenia due to the strain and fatigue incident to social and business cares and responsibilities, and in many other conditions the baths and climate are useful adjutants to medical treatment. The reservation parks afford opportunities for out-of- door life, driving, riding, automobiling, a,nd hill climbing. Much importance is attached by local physicians to the possibilities for out-of-door hfe. The baths are contraindicaterl in tuberculosis of the throat and lungs and in all forms of cancer. As the therapeutic value of the baths is dependent upon the radio- activity of the waters, rather than upon any mineral constituent, a complete chemical analysis is omitted from this circular. It will, however, be furnished to those interested on application to the super- intendent or the medical director of the reservation. PHYSICIANS. The only physicians ^vho aiv. allowed to prescribe the waters of tlie hot si)rini]:s aie tlioso licensed j)ractitioners of tlie Stale of Arkan- sas who liave been examined by a Federal board of medical exam- ines appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. Visitors are warned that physicians wlio have not ])assed the Federal board and been registered in tlie superintendent's oflice, are not permitted to make use of the baths in the treatment of their patients. This rule is for the protection of visitoi-s who, if they desire the baths, should before employing a physician, jirocuro from the superintendent of the reservation a list of the qualified practitioners. Wliile the baths may be taken without the advice of a physician by procuring a permit at the office of the superintendent, tliis practice is not recommended. Patients who assume to tletermine the nature of their ailments, and to prescribe for themselves, often fail to obtain the desired rehef. The waters are not beneficial in all diseases and in some are harmful. It is a useless expenditure of time and money to take the baths for a disease that will not be benefited by them, and such procedure can only result in delaying proper treatment. Physicians' fees are from §25 a month up, accordmg to the treat- ment required. Visitors are advised for their own protection that soliciting for hotels, boarding houses, or doctors on the trains running into Hot Springs is in violation of law, and are warned against heeding the advice of irre- sponsible and unknown persons. In the interest of the public it has been found necessary to pro- hibit the batliing of anyone stopping at a hotel or boarding house in wliich the sohcitation of patronage for doctors is allowed. Such solicitation usually takes the form of advising the patient that the doctor to whom he has been recommended by a friend at home is out of town, but that Dr. X is as good a man and will treat him for less money. The drummer commonly poses as a greatly benefited and grateful patient of the doctor who employs him. Doctors who make use of agents to induce patients to take treatment from them usuaUy divide their fees with the solicitors or drummers. The moral responsibility of good citizenship demands that visitors should make knowni to the superintendent of the reservation any instance of soliciting for doctors, thus effectively aiding the depart- ment in eliminating an obnoxious practice, and insuring to themselves the full benefits of proper treatment at this resort. RAILROADS. The railroads running into Hot Springs are the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern. Through cars are operated from many of the larger cities. Detailed information can be obtained from local ticket agents. n COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES This book is due on the date indicated below, or at the expiration of a definite period after the date of borrowing, as provided by the rules of the Library or by special arrange- ment with the Librarian in charge. DATE BORROWED DATE DUE DATE BORROWED DATE DUE 1 1 1 • 1 i 1 1 i 1 C28(n4l)M100 RA805.E792 ^"^^ U. S. Dept. of the interior. .//79Z