Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, January 30, 1910, Page 18

reat Hot Springs of the Black Hills and Their M PLUNGE BATH HOT SPRINGS S.D RAVELING sourl river Springs, D., of the prairies had turned to the "red-brown of the Biack Hills, the farm house has glyen way to the ranch and its extensive outrjder of corrals and buildings, feeding racks gnd yards, and the roll of the prairie grows more pronounced. One unigue towns with typical western surroundings; the crested buttes of the foothills rise here and there and the dark points of the Hills begin to b seen as the traln reaches Buffalo Gap. The history of the pre-civilized days of Hot Springs s uomething more than a vague, mysterious legend. Since the begin- nipg of the eventeenth century the now famous Minnekahta Springs have been the natural sanatorium of the Cheyenne In- dlans until little more than half a century @go, when tradition says occurred the sanguinary three-days' conflict which gave Battle Mountain Its name, proved the ““Waterloo” of the Cheyennes and gave the coveted springs to the Sloux Indians, In Jupe, 1 Frof. Walter T. Jenny and Colonel W. J. Thornby left Deadwood on horseback on & mine location trip. They arrived at Buffalo Gap and Colonel Thornby found and located what are now called the Minnekahta Hot springs. He located his stakes from the present site of tho Eyens hotel, & half mile up taward the present Saldlers' home. The same year Megsrs. Trimmer, Rumbo and Reno came down from Hill City and located cattle ranches in the valley where the city now stands, the next year bringing their fam- Ules and establishing permanent homes. Early In the next year Joseph Petty brought John Wilson, the first white pa- tient for the treatment of rheumatism, to the springs, prostrate with the dread dis- ease. By #lx weeks' use of the mineral baths he was fully restored and never suf- fered a return of the malady. By the summer of 1881, Trimmer, Laravie and Davidson had formed a partnership and bullt a log hotel, seventy feet long near the springs. Meanwhile a man had come to the Hills who was destined to play a most promiaent part in the future of Hot Springs. This was the late Fred T, Eyans, who had made large sums of money in real estate and street car lines at Sloux City and had first visited the Hills with an exploring outfit in 1876, It was he Wwho hauled the first machinery of the Homestake mine to the Hills, and many 15 the story told of the feats accomplished by this determined character, with his enormous frelghting outfits, in the face of the most trying clreumstances. But when At last the Northwestern ralroad had bullt from Rapid City on to Whitewood, he turped his entire attention to the develop- ment of, Hot Springs, where he had In- vested first in 188, and he became a dominant force in the upbullding of this now famous place. He erected the mag- mificent Kvans' hotel, the Hot Springs hotel, the Minnekahta business block and many residences. He graded and bullt the streets of the upper town at his own ex- pense, and It was wmiainly through his in- fluence that the Northwestern railroad bullt Into Hot Springs. The town suffered & great loss in his death In 1902. At pres- ent both the Northwestern and the Bur- lington rallways run trains into Hot Springs, the former from Buffalo Gap and the latter trom Edgemont. The town has an altitude of 3,260 feet and is situated in & valley, or canyon, be- tween surrounding hills. When Colonel Thornby located the Minnekahta springs he was much attracted by the beautiful Fall riyer stream, which pursues its course through the town and parallel with the mAln street. He says at that time the stream was literally filled with wild geese and ducks that were in such vast num- bers as to be unintimidated by his presence. Today this river is & glowing mass, winter and summer, of watercress, while tame ducks of varied hue lend a great beauty to its naturally pleturesque appearauce. The climate of Hot Springs Is Invigorat- ing the year around, and while the great Influx of strangers s usually in the sum- mer, people are beginning to discover the fact that Hot Springs Is a charming winter resort. ‘The first natatorium was that erected by Evans. It 1s fitted with boards, west from en the Mis- to Het black goll route the sees toboggan rafts and every venience for those who can ca swim, The temperature of the water is about 9 degrees, and there are springs in the bath itselt bubbling up through its pebbled bottom. The waters are as clear a8 crystal, Altogether there are more than seventy-five spyings in and around Hot Springs, and they vary greatly In the constituent qualities. They are all abso- lutely free from any vegetable substance and most of them wre from %0 degrees up- ward. The supply s constant, invariable and (nexhaustible, flowing nearly 1,000,000 #allons & day. The most prominent among these springs are the Mammoth Hot aaciaes (and Lakota groum) which suoply con or not is THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JANUARY 30, 1910, e e e i e AN it .. A WARD IN BATTLE MOUNTAIN &k SANITARIDM the two natatorfums and the city, at pres- ent, and the National sanitarium. The Minnekahta spring, which adjoins the Hot Springs hotel and which was the original spring used by the Indians, as evidenced by & moccasin-shaped stone bath carved out of solid roek by the In- dians, and still in use at these baths, sup- plies the Lady of Lourdes hospita) and the Bvans hotel in Its annex. Then there are the sulphur baths and the Hiawaths, for- merly called the Catholicon springs, which are used In conjunction with the hotel and sanitarlum of the same name. In addition to thess are other sprin s W among them the Mud Baths, adjoining the court house and on the riyer bank. Commencing with rheumatism and end- ing with the diseases of the liver and kid- neys, the list of troubles treated success- tully by the varlous baths is too long for present space, but there Is no disease cured by the bathe of Carisbad, Germany, or those of Hot Springs, Ark., that has not been treated successfully In the baths of Hot Springs, 8. D., while the conditions of climate and scenery are so effective that no health resort on earth conduces 50 greatly to nature's ocurative powers. There are & nymber of hatels in Hot i YU s == ot ¢ L Springs. The pleasure of the plunge baths would be & sufficlent endorsement for Hot Springs, but at its very door are a great many varied amusements. Camping parties are numerous. The mountain streams abound with trout. Hunting includes the doer, walf, wildcat, rabbit and many kinds of birds. Horseback and burre riding are lberally indulged in, pnl geological ex- cursions gre made interesting by trips to the Bad Lands. Many beautiful paths and drives, wonderful caves, cascades, waterfalls, grand canyons and wild flow- ers In great profugion are found in near proximity to Hot Bprings. oeaqe A EIEILL 00 DN A\ Two of the most famous drives within easy acgess of the city are the Bad Lands, where the mgst remarkable fossils in ex- istence are found In ‘s perfect state of preservation and where the most pecullar formations on earth can be found, and the Wind cave, with its 2,00 subterranean caverns and 100 miles of passages already explored without finding & limit. The Wind cave was discovered In 1577, but was not turmed to account and was unex- plored until 188, when it was located as mineral claims, and an casy road was made from chamber to chamber by blast- ing. Later on the proprietors got to quar- DINING RoOM, BATTLE MOUNTAIN SANIT- ~ARIUM reling among themselves, until finally the United States government took control and put a stop to the vandalism which was despolling it of its beauties In the carrying away of specimens. The pe cullar formations of these varlous caves are perhaps more delicate than those of any well known cave as yet discovered, and United States guides are constantly an hand to conduct parties through the cave after thelr arrival from a short drive fram Hot Springs. The original entrance to the cave was a round hole in the rock, ten or twelve in- ches in diameter, worn smooth by the Notes on Recent Experiment National Control of Wirele ONGRESSMAN ROBERTS' bill for a governmental regulation of wireless telegraphy and tele- phony proposes the appointment of a board of seven members, “‘one expert each from the War, Navy and Treasury departments, three ex- Pperts representing the commerclal wireless telegraph and wireless telephone intersts, and one scientist well versed in the art of electric wave telegraphy and telephony." The dutles of the board, according to the resolution, shall be “'to prepare a compre- hensive system of regulations to govern the operation of all wireless plants afloat and ashore which come under the cogni- sance of the United States, with due regard alike for government and commerclal in- terests.”” It is provided that within thirty days of the organization of the board it shall submit its report and recommenda- tions to congress. To defray the expenses of hte bourd 32,000 s appropriated. The international wireless telegraph busi- ness of the world Is conducted under a treaty signed at Berlin on November 3, 190, relates the Boston Transcript. This treaty was the result of a convention which was parteipated in by twenty-six of principal nations. Of these countries following have confirmed the treaty: Bel- glum, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, Brasil, Sweden, Mexico, Roumania, Ger- mauny and all of Ns protectorates, Great Britain (under certaln reservations), Spain, Bulgaria, Persia, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Portugal, Turkey, As the United States up to this time has not given its adherence to the convention, ships fIMng the Ameri- can flag find themselves without standing in international wireless telegraphy, as none of the contracting countries is com pelled to recelve & telegram from the ship of & noncontracting country, and any coastal station in a forelgn country may refuse transmission of & message 10 & »l tion on shipboard subject to & uongontract- the the ing country. This condition of affairs was brought ferclbly to the attention of the War department by the cruise of the United States army transport Kilpatrick enroute from New York to Manila Feb- ruary 17 to April 2, 1900, and returning May 16 to July 85, 180. The veport from this ship says it had great difficulty In communicating In different parts of the world, and that in several Instances, after ascertaining its natlonality, messages were retused The only action of the United Btates gov- ernment looking to regulation of wireless telegraphy is the approval of the president of the Unjted Biates, dated July 29, 1904, of the report of an Injerdepartmental board Appointed by the president to consider the entire question of wireless telegraphy in the service of the national government Owing to the absence of definite regula- tions, there is considerable confusion In the transmission of wirelcss messages on the coast of the United States, which in- terferes very materially with wireless com- munication between the various seacoast defences and with ships at sea. The army now has twelve wireless telegraph stations located at military posts in this country and nine stations points 1n Alaska. our at Electrie Sleep. Investigation golng on here and abroad, just made public, shows that electricity may prove superior to any of the drugs now used to produce analgesia. This dis- covery, It contirmed by: future investiga- tions, would mean a revolution of modern methods of surgery. People suffering from diseases that call for operations, but who cannot got relief through danger of death, if put under ether or chloroform, might be oured, for electrielty, when used as an an- aesthetic, has no bad effect, it 's claimed, on the heart. It produces a siate of insen- sibility, by acting on the nerve centers of the braip, that is called “electric sleep. The sleep 1s mot fatal. but when the elec- trie current 1s opened the influence is im- mediately lost and the patient becomes conscious without feeling any of the after effects common with drug anaesthetics. To Stephene Ledue of Naples the medical pro- fesslon is Indebted for the comprehensive study of “electric sleep.” He has conducted numerous experiments on animals, most of them being very successful, and other In- vestigators are following In his footsteps. In this country the chief investigator in this fleld has been a woman doctor of New York City, Dr. Loulse G. Robinoyitgh. Dr. Roblnovviteb has performed some of the most delicate operations known to syrgery with electrieity as her anaesthetic, and has been very sugcessful. All her operations have been on apimals, the work being still too much in the experimental stage to be used freely on human beings. Some of the operatibns she successtully performed are trepanning within exposure of the brain, exposure of the large arteries of the neck and operations calling for abdominal sec- tions. She has found that electricity can be used in operations that are elther local or internal, and with equal success. At the Philadelphia General hospital the city will shortly procure the necessary appara- tus to be used to produce the ‘“electric sleep” and will conduct a serles of ex- haustive Investigations. Dr. Mihram Kri- kor Kassablan, director of the Roentgen ray laboratory of the Philadelphia hosple tal, 18 now engaged on this work with Dr. Solomon Sells-Cohen. Twelve Million Telephoues. It Is reported that there are now in this country 12,000,000 telephones, or one for every two houses in the country. This does mot mean that one-half of the resi- dences In the country eontain an instru- ment, but the figures are Instructive and illuminating. Practically everybody who is anybody In the citles or towns and vil lages has a telephone, while those In the country distriets are leglon. The aston- ishing fact. savs the Philadelphis Inquirer, and Discovery in F ieid is that each of these phones 1s used on an average of six times a day. The total number of cads in & year runs up into the billions and s not gppreciable by the hu- man mind, This Is the remarkable when conslder that forty years ago there was no such thing as a telephone, and even twenty years ago the instrument was not comman outside of business houses. Now they have become one of the necessities of iife. We use the telephone not only in business, but for saclal purposes, for shoppiug und mar- Leting and for almost every purpose where we used to use the mails or do without. If by sny ecatastyophe the tele- phones of the eeuntry should pe silenced forever it would ameunt tp & ealamity of the first magnitude. We have adjusted lives to the telephone wud coud not do without It unless w> made new and un- desirable arrangem:n(s, more we our Registering Heart-Beats of Doy, “Jimmy," the bull terrier, was the hero of a lecture in London the other day. One of the lecturer's most interesting experi- ments showed how heart-beats were meas- ured by electricity For this purpose “Jimmy" acted as subject. The dog stood on & table, with his feet In vessels of water, and Prof. Duddell having adjusted his apparatus, the lights were turned down and the shadow of a thin wire was pro- jected on & screen. The wire jerked back- wards and forwards. hose Jerks,” sald Mr, Duddell, “represent the electromotive force of Jimmy's heart. You will notice that they are very unequal That Inequal- ity 1s not due to excitement through Jimmy finding himself in the presence of such & large audience, but ls the natural action of & dog's heart. The beatings of the hearts of all animals are, in fact, un- steady. It may interest you to know that Dr. Waller performed this experiment with Jimmy at & conyersazione of the Royal so- cloty, and afterward & question was asked of —Electricity in Parliament about the great cruelty Jimmy by having to paddle in water to show this experiment." The main object of the lecture was to illustrate the more modern methods by which sclentists are able to measure elec- trical currents. Mr., Duddell performed some Interesting experiments to show the physical effects of the currents, such as the heating, and even the fusing of wires of different thickness. to a little The Lightning Rod. Prof. Elihu Thomson, In Sclence, justifies the lightning rod as of all the value that was ever claimed for it, under right condl- tions. Prof. Thomson says in his article: “Let us add with emphasis that the Frank lin rod when properly Installed undoubtedly secures practical immunity from lightning damage. Its fnstallation is an englicering undertaking demanding study of varled conditipns and proper care and judgment in meeting these conditions. The one con- sideration originally left out was that If there were any better or more direct paths for lightning existing in the bullding structure or better ground connections than the rod possessed these must be Included in the protective system. But it is also & tact that the construction of most modern bulldings, partioularly in citles, Involves so much’ metal In roofing, ventilating and other pipes, wires and the like that It i generally unnecessary (o resort to any separate means for protection. In cities there are many lofty structures framed in steel, piping that projects above the roof, and metal stacks, generally In good con- nection with the underground plpe sys- tems, all of which together tend to min- imige dunger from strokes of lightning The best vindication of Frankiin will, how- ever, be found in the fact that the firmest rellance is placed by the trained ele¢trical engineer upon the provision of an easy path for the electricity of lightning to reach the ground or D tion of the wind ana water for unknown centuries. The hole has been masted out and the opening enlarged, making a com- fortablo passageway which has been erected a small log cabin, in the further corner of which is a trap door, which the gulde ralses and we follow him down one after in utter darkness for a disiance of 156 feet, when candles are lighted and we find ourselves in the BridBl €hamber, the first room in this gigantic tairy palace, named from a wedding having been performed there. Krom three have been for fortable traveling, in which 120 special fe tures are pointed out by the guide. The shortest, requiring hours to traverse, has been named the Garden of Eden route The next, requiring three hours, is cal'ed the Falr Ground. The largest called the Pearly Gates, requires six hours. The dazzling splendor of the various cham- bers, the largest of which c three acres, one-third larger than the largest in Mammoth cave, illuminated with clum light is indescribably beautiful can only be comprehended by actual servation The United Statees government has desig- nated Hot Springs at the site of a national sanitarium for disabled soldlers. A group of handsome buildings has recently Been completed at a cost of almost $1,00,000, and the *Battle Mountain Banitarium” was opened May 15, 107. ‘The main group of buildings is In old Cpanish mission style and & happy grouping of them in a circie makes them very compact and won- dertully easy of access to each other. Some idea of the extent of the bulldings can be had by realizing that within the main group itself, four full city blocks could be placed, filing as it does a o 68 feet in dlameter, or about five acres. The sani- tarium property includes a total of 3,461 acres. The roadways around the main group wiil cover five miles. Nothing has been spared in equipping the sanitarium 4n every way for the comfort and pleasure of the veterans who may be- come members. A fine midtary band is provided, which plays daily at the raising and lowering of the colors. Orchestral music evenings within the court or arcade, To the person acquainted with western South Dakota, It Is a source of constant surprise and disappointment to note the way in which thousends of visitors gallop through the Black Hills, They try to do oo much. They spend thelr days In sight- seeing and thelr nights in traveling. In & few duys they have seen the entire Hills. When they start for home they are com- pletely worn out. Their holiday has been of no benefit, they are rested neither in body nor in mind. Let us suggest that your trip through the Black Hills be what it is supposed to be, a holiday, & pleasant outing. Dom't hurry. Don't rush, But whatever you do or wherever you go, visit Hot Springs. Spend a week or & month at Hot Springs. You will find enough of interest there to occupy every moment. "God's country” it is sometimes called. Rather it Is & woman's country, children's country, the country where the invalld lives out of doors. The visitor to this reglon will carry in his mind for the rest of his life pleas- ant memories of his trip, and & warm place in his heart for the people and the sur- roundings. The strongest lmpression one gets of Hot Springs and Its surroundings is the air of restfulness, the complete &b~ sence of care and the congenlal soclal sur- roundings everywhere, The saddle is Indispensable enjoyment of the country around Hot Springs. The streams, the hills and the canyons are always beckoning the rider. The saddle horse is in full evidence every- where. Many & dellcate woman, finds her way where she wishes without escort, and careless as to fashion in mounting. KEither she s bent upon recruiting her health means to have & good time, or has busi ness requiring her attention. It is essen tially & country made especlally for an outing. The place 18 not a fashionable re sort where people go on dress parade, but just a cosy corner of Nature, where not think much about dress enjoyment of its restfulness beauty The railroad trains steam past the plenle parties, and the four-horse stuge trots by with its Jolly crowd of pleasure seckers, In time the trolley line will be laid here. There are large scopes of country here that have missed the whistle of tha loco motive and the nolse and bustle which the railroad implies, but they are up-to-date people and keeping step with the present century mark of clvilization. This is one of ideal places west for camping out. The eool, air, ghe abundance of fuel, §rass are all appreciated by the old-tl camper. The romance of the early {8 one of the most thrilling in the history of the Black Hills. Men are living who took part in It. The deserted pathways of men are all through the Hills. The growiy' of shrub and weed and brier Is -“"\i to hide the scars and gashes made by nick and shovel of many years ago. over another here routes apened col two ers cal and ob- cirel area to the full does in the and the of the bracing water and mine anifold Attractions: | A & b