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IvOVER'S LEAP 
 
HOT SPRINGS, 
 
 PAST AND PRBSENT. 
 
 BY 
 
 SALLY ROYCE WEIR. 
 
 PRESS OF 
 
 S. B. Newman & Co., Knoxville, Tenn. 
 1906 
 

 LIBRARY sfCONGflESS 
 Jw Cfie* llecehred 
 
 OCT 9 1906 
 
 ^ CwrifW Entry 
 
 CLASS /X' XlU., Ilk 
 
 iS-JS-cP- is, 
 COPY B. 
 
^ 
 
 HOT SPRINGS, PAST AND PRCSCMT. 
 
 BY SALLY ROYCE WEIR. 
 
 A 
 
 S a green island lies like a gem on the 
 bosom of the ocean, so the lovely valley 
 of Hot Springs lies in the heart of the 
 Alleghany Mountains. The particular range in 
 which it is situated is called the "Great Smoky 
 ^Mountains, " and is appropriately named. A 
 soft blue haze like smoke pervades the air at 
 all times, even after a heavy rain, and a per- 
 fectly clear day is rare. Soon after leaving 
 Asheville the mountains close in to the narrow 
 gorge through which the French Broad river 
 runs, with only room for the railroad track, and 
 in many places that has been cut out of the 
 solid rock. 
 
 The river is rough and rapid, and the scenery 
 only to be compared to that of some of the 
 beautiful western states. Little groups of 
 canoes tied to the bank show where the infre- 
 quent crossings are, and steep trails leading up 
 
4 Hot Sprhigs, Past and Present. 
 
 the mountains indicate some remote settlement 
 in the distance. Not far from Hot Springs, 
 Mountain Island stands boldly in mid-stream ; 
 and the turbulent river, after dashing itself 
 madly against its rocky face, is divided into two 
 currents, to meet again below it after passing 
 over a picturesque fall. At that place the 
 train passes through the Rock Cut, a dangerous 
 place on the road for any track walker, and 
 already marked by one tragedy. A tramp 
 nu)ther and her five forlorn little children were 
 overtaken by a passenger train at this spot, and 
 the mother was killed while trying to rescue one 
 of her younger children. A few seconds after 
 passing this spot, the train swings around a 
 curve, and dashes on to the bridge at Deep 
 Water. Here the river is so narrow that one 
 would think an active boy could jump across 
 it, but the water is forty feet deep or more, and 
 in a wreck at this point some years ago the 
 engine and tender were completely buried out 
 of sight, except one small corner of the tender 
 w^hich could still be seen above the water. Just 
 below the bridge the river is very broad and it 
 is here that the valley of Hot Springs is first 
 seen. It makes a beautiful picture from this 
 point. The mountains fall away for a brief 
 space, and the train leaving the river runs 
 
Hot Springs, Past and Present. 5 
 
 through the heart of the valley, which is so 
 small that the glance of an eye can take in its 
 extent. In that small space a little village has 
 grown up containing some handsome dwelling 
 houses, a bank, five churches, a number of 
 stores, an industrial school and a large hotel. 
 Near the hotel are the various springs miscalled 
 "hot," with a temperature of from ninety-six 
 to one hundred and four degrees. These, and 
 the Virginia Springs, are the only Avarm springs 
 east of the Mississippi. 
 
 As may be supposed, the Indians were the 
 first to discover their medicinal properties, and 
 there is evidence that they were much esteemed 
 and sought by them, not only by those who 
 owned them by right of possession, but by other 
 tribes as well. The Cherokees were masters of 
 the western part of the state, and there is still 
 a large reservation of them about forty miles 
 from the Springs. Evidence is not wanting that 
 Indians came here, even from the Great Lakes, 
 for Lake Superior copper has been found here, 
 which it is supposed they brought for buying 
 peace while bathing in the Springs. But few 
 traditions of the Indians have been preserved 
 in connection with this place, but the following 
 is one which seems to combine the necessary 
 elements of romance and sadness. 
 
6 Hot Spj'i7igs, Past and Present. 
 
 Not far from the Springs and the hotel, 
 stands a very high precipitous rock overlooking 
 the river. It can be ascended by a narrow 
 crumbling path through rhododendron bushes, 
 and from its summit a fine view may be obtained 
 of the valley. This rock is only part of a very 
 high mountain which rises directly back of it, 
 and is called Lover's Leap, a very common 
 name ; hundreds of guests have found their way 
 to the top, but I think few have heard its story. 
 Lone Wolf was a mighty chief of the Cherokees, 
 who ruled the steaming pools beside the Tas- 
 keeoskie. Lie had three tall sons, braves of re- 
 nowai, but only one daughter, a beautiful 
 maiden in her sixteenth summer; Mist-on-the- 
 Mountain she was called, and many braves 
 sought her love, and the favor of the old chief. 
 Mist-on-the-Mountain loved none of them, but 
 her father desired her to marry Tall Pine, a 
 wily, powerful brave, much older than the 
 maiden, but who threatened to become a rival 
 in power to Lone Wolf, who therefore desired 
 to bind him to his interest. About this time 
 there came one evening a party consisting of an 
 old chief and his young men. They came as 
 friends, they said, to visit a warrior so re- 
 nowned as Lone Wolf, and to try the virtues of 
 the steaming pools by the Taskeeoskie river. 
 
Hot Springs, Past and Present. 7 
 
 They were from a very far country; three 
 moons had they journeyed; also they broug-ht 
 presents for Lone Wolf and his young men, 
 curious belts of wampum, rich dark furs of the 
 beaver, and bits of copper ore from beside the 
 Great Lakes. They were made welcome, one 
 moon they stayed, and the young men of the 
 two chiefs hunted together. But Magwa, one 
 of the strangers, a tall handsome young brave, 
 saw something dearer to him than the hunt ; 
 he loved the beautiful Mist-on-the-Mountain, 
 and she in return loved him; but when on the 
 eve of his departure he asked her father for 
 her, he was sternly refused and told that she 
 was promised. Seeming to acquiesce, he left 
 with his party, but at the end of the first day's 
 journey he was missed, and they continued on 
 their way without him. The second night after 
 they left, a lovely, bright June night when the 
 full moon was rising over Round Top, Mist-on- 
 the-Mountain left the camp, and stealthily 
 made her way to the foot of this towering rock, 
 that still lay in the shadow of the mountain, 
 though the valley was bright in the moonlight. 
 She waited listening, but there was no sound 
 except those common to the night, the hunting 
 call of a. wolf on Round Top, and the answer of 
 its mates as thev started out in search of food. 
 
8 , Hot Springs^ Past and Present. 
 
 and high on the niountain above her the wailing- 
 cry of a lost child, which she knew was the 
 voice of the tawny panther. All these she 
 feared not, her ear was attentive to another 
 sound she wished to hear. But unfortunately 
 she could not see near her, crouched in the dark- 
 ness of the bushes and intently watching her, 
 something more cruel than wolf or panther. At 
 last a slight sound, the dip of a paddle, and a 
 canoe of birch bark has touched the bank. She 
 starts forward to meet it, the figure in the canoe 
 stoops to tie it to the bank; but the other 
 watcher, the rival brave, who has followed Mist- 
 on-the-Mountain to her tryst, unseen by both 
 the lovers has reached the bank first, and as 
 Magwa rises he strikes him a sure blow, that 
 crashes through his skull, and he sinks back 
 lifeless in the canoe. I\list-on-the-Mountain 
 stands for a moment frozen with horror, but as 
 the murderer approaches her, she turns to flee ; 
 but where? He is between her and the camp, 
 she can not pass him, nor can she ever return 
 there after this night. In a moment she is: 
 flying up the steep and crumbling path that 
 leads to the top of the rock, he close behind her, 
 l)ut her light foot is more fleet than his, she 
 has gained the top and swiftly passes over the 
 narrow path to the broader stone at the edge 
 
Hot Springs, Past and Present. 9 
 
 of the rock; she hears his step behind her, but 
 now she fears him not. One moment she stands, 
 and takes a last look at the valley, clearly seen 
 in the bright light of tlie moon, although the 
 rock is still in shadow. She sees the light of 
 her father's wigwam, her home no more, and 
 the dark close forest of green which covers the 
 valley ; the mountains stand out clear against 
 the sky, and at her feet the Taskeeoskie, Racing 
 Water, which swollen by the rain of previous 
 days is rising into full tide, and now dashes 
 against the foot of the rock. This night they 
 were to have started down it on their long jour- 
 ney to the distant land, and now he has gone 
 alone, on a longer journey, and Avith empty 
 hands; no food has he, nor bow and arrows with 
 which to hunt, and faint and hungry will he be 
 when he reaches the land of spirits. Far down 
 the river a gleam of white catches her eye ; the 
 birch bark canoe which he had prepared with 
 loving care to bear his bride away to her home, 
 has become loosed with the rising water, and 
 has floated out on the tide with its still burden. 
 His spirit calls her to keep her promise ; her re- 
 solve is taken that he shall not travel alone. 
 The step is close behind now% a hand is stretched 
 out to grasp her, but with a glad call to her 
 lover, she has sprung far out from the extreme 
 
10 Hot Springs, Past and Prese?tt. 
 
 point of the rock on which she stands. A dull 
 sound is heard, the ripples Aviden out, but the 
 increasing' rush of the water blots them quickly 
 from sight, and the two lovers have indeed 
 started on their journey together. But what of 
 Tall Pine, her pursuer"^ He stands like one 
 stunned, cold fear at his heart, his bones frozen 
 with that vision of sudden death, his limbs 
 shaking, he turns in mad haste to leave the ac- 
 cursed rock whence dead hands seem trying to 
 push him clown ; over the narrow path he 
 stumbles and down the crumbling slippery way, 
 through close bushes of evergreen. Once a great 
 hunter, his cunning is all gone now, and he 
 sees not that tawny form crouched close on the 
 overhanging limb above him, nor those eyes 
 of fire that watch his every movement. One 
 moment more and he is under the limb ; there 
 is a spring, a snarling cry, and the heavy body 
 strikes him on the shoulders; cruel teeth and 
 claws sink deep in his flesh, and with a dreadful 
 cry beast and man roll down the dark slope. 
 The full moon rises higher over Round Top, the 
 rock is at last bathed in its light, and all is quiet, 
 except the lap of the water against the rock, a 
 snarling sound, and the crunching of bones in 
 the dark rhododendrons. 
 
 Years have passed since that night, the 
 
Hot Springs y Past and Present, 1 1 
 
 Indians are gone, the white men have taken 
 their phice, the legend is almost forgotten, but 
 who can say that the unseen spirits of those 
 lovers do not still haunt that grim rock, the 
 scene of their love and death, watching with 
 jealous eyes the careless crowds that come and 
 go. Only under a certain conjunction of cir- 
 cumstances, say the wise, will they again be 
 visible to mortal eye. If when the June moon 
 rises full over Round Top the river is again in 
 flood, lapping the base of the rock, then let the 
 unwary night traveler beware. So at least 
 think Sam Hootenpile, Jim Carver and Buck 
 Forehand, three friendly moonshiners who made 
 a rendezvous at the rock on such a night, June 
 7, 1875, bringing jugs of the clear mountain 
 dew to exchange for meal to be "packed," on 
 their backs over the steep mountain trail, to the 
 hidden still in the deep ravine. They were tak- 
 ing a little more than their accustomed stimu- 
 lant as they waited, when suddenly as the full 
 moon began to rise there were enacted before 
 their astonished and superstitious eyes the 
 events of that other night so long ago. Again 
 they heard the hunting call of the gray Avolf 
 and the wailing cry of the panther, strange 
 sounds in this present day; saw again the birch 
 bark canoe and witnessed the death of Magwa, 
 
12 Hot Springs, Past and Prese^it. 
 
 the wild flight and tragic leap of Mist-on-the- 
 Mountain, and heard the dreadful death cry of 
 Tall Pine. In panic they fled, each man for 
 himself, leaving their jugs behind them, never 
 again to rendezvous in that particular spot. 
 But it was on a bright June day, and not under 
 the ghostly moon, that an old man, a stranger, 
 boarding in the village, started alone to visit 
 Lover's Leap and climb the mountain back of 
 it. As he did not return, search was made and 
 he was found lying dead at the base of some of 
 the rocks on his upward climb. No mark of the 
 deadly rattlers which inhabit these clifl's was 
 found on his person, not any sign of violence, 
 and the usual verdict in such cases was found, 
 "heart failure;" but can any one truly say they 
 understand the mystery or the possible cause 
 of such a death in such a spot? 
 
 With the coming of the white man, the 
 Indian trail by the river became in time the 
 stage route and the great stock road, and there 
 being no railroads through this section, the 
 traffic over it was very great, stage stands and 
 night stands for stock springing up along the 
 road. Those were great days, and the stage 
 the most important part ; the big red Concord 
 stage with boot behind, and rack on top, loaded 
 with passengers, and drawn by four horses; the 
 
'OUT OF THK .SOLID ROCK" 
 
Hot Springs, Past a7id Present. 13 
 
 toot of its horn as a stand was approached, the 
 important driver, the crack of his whip, and his 
 imperious call, "Make way for the United 
 States Mail!" Lastly the fears of timorous 
 country women, that the stage, if they met it, 
 would make their horses run away; the small 
 fears of those who lived before the automobile 
 awoke to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 
 This road was known as the great Kentucky 
 stock road, and thousands of hogs, mules and 
 cattle were driven over it every fall from Ken- 
 tucky, through to Charleston, Hamburg, Au- 
 gusta and other Southern points. Many other 
 travelers there were, some going south in their 
 own carriages with their colored servants at- 
 tending, on their way to visit relatives. Such 
 travelers would cry out in despair, "Oh, we 
 shall never make the day's journey!" as some 
 turn in the ever winding road would show, as 
 far as the eye could reach, an unbroken line of 
 hogs, great fat fellows which could hardly 
 travel on their footsore, tender feet, but had 
 not yet covered half of the long journey to their 
 destination. Lagging behind were the very 
 large ones, which really could not go any 
 further, and were being gently urged on to the 
 next stopping place, where they would be 
 traded off for the night's expense. The hogs 
 
14 Hot Springs, Past a7id Present. 
 
 would surround the carriage, when it reached 
 the main drove, root up the wheels and crowd 
 under the horses making them frantic, and it 
 was with difficult and slow driving that they 
 were passed at last, when probably the next 
 turn would reveal another and still larger 
 drove ahead. Many were the traps made on the 
 road to steal some of the hogs. One that was 
 very ingenious was a trap with a pivot door, 
 on the floor of a bridge, with a pen, or box 
 underneath, and as the hogs stepped on to it, 
 it would turn, and drop them into the box 
 below, one or two never being missed from that 
 closely moving mass. 
 
 The danger of traveling this road was very 
 great, for there were no banks, any more than 
 there were railroads, and of course no checks 
 or drafts. Each man carried his money on his 
 own person, and took his own risk. First, the 
 merchants went south in the spring to Charles- 
 ton and other cities to buy goods, and in the 
 fall the drovers returned after selling their 
 stock, with their hard earned money. It was 
 in gold and silver, and also in notes, and was 
 often carried in a belt around the waist, con- 
 cealed by the clothing. 
 
 Many were robbed, some both robbed and 
 murdered on this dangerous road, where the 
 
Hot Springs, Past a7id Present. 15 
 
 bushes grew so close to its side that a man had 
 only to step into their shelter to be free from all 
 pursuit, and the rough, turbulent French Broad 
 bounded the other side. One traveler, a stock 
 man, relates a thrilling experience as follows: 
 I had been south with a large bunch of stock, 
 and had sold them at considerable profit. My 
 partner was detained on business of his own, so 
 I was traveling home alone. As I was carrying 
 quite a sum of money in my belt, I decided to 
 take as few risks as possible, and so time my 
 day's journey, when I reached the French Broad 
 river, that I could stop over night at good 
 places, well known to me. But as ill luck 
 would have it, when I reached that part of my 
 road my horse cast a shoe and became lame, 
 the way being rough, so that when night came I 
 was still some distance from my tavern, and 
 was compelled to stop at the first house I came 
 to. I was not well pleased with its appearance 
 and still less so when I went inside, but my 
 horse had been taken to the barn, so I thought 
 I would make the best of a bad job. I saw 
 three or four men about, and some women who 
 were cooking the supper. The house was a 
 double log cabin with an open entry way be- 
 tween, and a rickety stair leading from it to two 
 rooms above. After a fairly good supper of 
 
16 Hot Springs, Past and Present, 
 
 fried chicken, coffee and corn pone, I asked for 
 my room. I felt tired, and to tell the truth I 
 did not fancy the society of my hosts, but I had 
 still to wait awhile, as the woman said my room 
 was not ready yet. 
 
 Presently the man appeared with a candle 
 and asked me to follow. He preceded me up 
 the rickety stairs and into the rio-ht hand room, 
 gave a quick glance around, set the candle on 
 the table, bade me a surly good night, and I 
 heard him softly turn the key in the lock, and 
 depart down the stairs. I was alone, but still 
 I felt there was some one, or something else in 
 the room besides myself. I looked all around. 
 It was a small room, and only contained the 
 bed, a table and two chairs. The bed was the 
 old-fashioned sort with small upright posts, and 
 a curtain or flounce all around the bottom. I 
 began to prepare for bed, and took off my coat, 
 but my eyes were always traveling back 
 towards the bed. I went up and looked at it 
 but it seemed all right ; then I looked down, and 
 there near my feet I saw something dark on the 
 floor. I touched it with my finger, it was wet. 
 I brought the candle for a closer look. The wet 
 spot was blood ! Merciful heavens ! Holding 
 the candle in my shaking hand I knelt down by 
 the bed, and raised the flounce. There, as I ex- 
 
Hot Sprmgs, Past and Present. 17 
 
 pected, lay a dead man, still warm and bleeding, 
 his throat cut from ear to ear. No wonder my 
 room was not ready yet ! Visitors had come too 
 fast that night, and they had killed him to 
 make ready for me, but could not remove him 
 because the stairs came down in sight of the 
 room in which I was sitting. 
 
 Now, what must I do, stay there to be 
 butchered like a sheep ? Not if I could help it. 
 I realized I w^ould be no match for the three 
 or four men I had seen about the place; the 
 one window in the room was small, a mere peep 
 hole, and was nailed down besides; the door 
 was locked, sure proof of murderous intentions, 
 and I knew they were listening to hear Avhether 
 I had discovered anything, so I moved carefully. 
 At last I thought out a plan. I turned down the 
 covers of the bed clear to the foot, and with 
 tremendous exertion, and the greatest care, 
 lifted out the poor unfortunate and placed him 
 in the bed, laying him on his side with his face 
 to the wall, and covering him up well. I then 
 replaced the bed flounce, blew out the candle, 
 and waited behind the door, with my shoes in 
 my hand. The Avindow had no curtain, and the 
 night being clear, the stars gave a glimmering 
 light in the room. I can never tell how long I 
 waited, several years I think, Avhen I heard a 
 
18 Hot Springs, Past and Present. 
 
 slight sound on the stairs, then still more 
 plainly some one turnino^ the key in the lock. 
 The door was pushed gently open, and I could 
 count one, two, three, four pass in softly on 
 tiptoe creeping- to the bed, and as softly I crept 
 through the open door hearing, even as I went, 
 the blow that was intended to end my life. I 
 reached the ground without being discovered 
 and was soon hidden in the bushes, from there 
 making my way to a place of safety. 
 
 When I reached a respectable house I re- 
 turned with help, but the murderers had taken 
 fright after they found I had escaped and were 
 not to be found. Another traveler, a merchant, 
 on his way to Charleston to buy goods, relates 
 how he was overtaken by a stranger riding a 
 fine horse, who engaged him in conversation. 
 He felt sure from the first that the man was a 
 robber who was only waiting for a good chance 
 to kill him for his money, so he began, in a 
 natural manner, to tell what bad luck he had 
 experienced and how he hoped to borrow some 
 money when he reached his destination to help 
 him over his troubles. While he was talking, 
 he was trying with one hand to unbuckle the 
 stirrup-leather on the other side of his horse, 
 thinking that with the heavy iron stirrup at its 
 end he could make a good weapon of defence in 
 
Hot Springs, Past and Prese7it. 19 
 
 case of need. The robber evidently believed 
 him, for after awhile he rode on looking for bet- 
 ter game. 
 
 The use of this road for driving stock south 
 was continued for fifty years or more, and a 
 small number is still brought here from nearby 
 places to be shipped on the cars. 
 
 In those ante-bellum days there was a 
 large brick hotel near the Springs, and the place 
 was then called Warm Springs. The hotel was 
 in old Colonial style, with a lofty porch the 
 entire length of the front, which faced the river. 
 The porch was supported by thirteen large 
 round white columns, which were named for the 
 thirteen original states and were a landmark 
 for travelers. The Springs enjoyed great 
 popularity in those days, since resorts were not 
 as numerous as they are today, and these, and 
 the Springs of Virginia, were the most fashion- 
 able and desirable in the South. The best fam- 
 ilies came every year in their own carriages, 
 with their servants, and stayed all summer. 
 There was dancing every night, and rides and 
 drives in the daytime and amusements of every 
 kind. The table was good, cream and butter 
 from their own cows, chickens in abundance, 
 and beeves and sheep in the pasture to be killed 
 when wanted, embalmed beef and canned food 
 
20 Hot Sprijigs, Past and Present. 
 
 being still reserved to gladden the digestions 
 of the future. One favorite amusement was to 
 start before daybreak and ride to the top of 
 Rich Mountain to see the sun rise, and then 
 down to the home of Major Broyles, at the foot 
 of the mountain, for breakfast, after which, a 
 guide for the cave w^as procured, Mose, one of 
 the Major's negroes. The old Major was a 
 veteran of the Mexican war, and a remarkable 
 character in his way ; a man of high attain- 
 ments and much natural eloquence, he drew a 
 crowd around him wherever he went. He mar- 
 ried a daughter of Col. Nash, for whom the city 
 of Nashville was named. His home was in 
 Tennessee, the Springs w^ere in North Carolina, 
 the state line running along the top of the 
 divide. Rich being the highest peak. It be- 
 longed to the Major, and he named it Rich be- 
 cause it Avas so fertile. The cave was near the 
 home of his son-in-law, and was a great resort 
 at that time, but during the w^ar was abandoned 
 to robbers and deserters and now is almost for- 
 gotten, but will be re-discovered some day, to 
 bring wealth to the one who opens it. It has 
 never been fully explored, only about three 
 miles of it, but is known to contain streams of 
 water, and deep caverns, and one room, the 
 mountaineers say, looks as if it were frozen. In 
 
Hot Spings, Past and Present. 21 
 
 one place a thirsty explorer left a glass on a 
 stone ledge, perhaps forty or fifty years ago, 
 and now it is embedded in the solid stone by 
 the constant drip of the water. The mountain- 
 eers discourage any attempt to explore the cave 
 except for a very short distance, the probable 
 reason being one or more illicit stills in its re- 
 cesses. 
 
 It was nearly twenty years after the con- 
 clusion of the Civil War before the railroad was 
 completed to the Springs. It brought an in- 
 creased number of visitors for a few years, more 
 than could be comfortably accommodated, then 
 other resorts w^ere opened, and the number of 
 o:uests diminished. In 1884 the old brick hotel 
 was burned, and about two years afterwards 
 the Southern Improvement Company bought 
 the place, and built a hotel, no larger than the 
 old one, but more modern, and designed rather 
 as a winter than a summer resort. It was very 
 successful for a time, but frequent changes of 
 management have somew^hat diminished the 
 number of visitors. The village of Hot Springs 
 has been growing rapidly in the last few years, 
 and some Northern people have made their 
 homes here, tempted by the fine climate of both 
 summer and winter. The lumbering interests 
 are considerable, the lumber being cut by mills 
 
22 Hot Springs, Past a7id Present. 
 
 far up in the mountains, and hauled on wagons 
 to the lumber yards near the track. There is 
 also a large Presbyterian Industrial School here 
 for mountain boys and girls, which has done a 
 good work. Perhaps the most unique house at 
 Hot Springs stands on a commanding plateau 
 across the river from the town, and nearly op- 
 posite the hotel, on an elevation of over two 
 hundred feet above the river, and the view from 
 that point is magnificent. The house is of con- 
 crete, heavy and solid, and of peculiar archi- 
 tecture, and is the result of the patient labor 
 and courage of two women, being designed by 
 one of them. While men were employed to do 
 the heavy labor, much of the work on this house 
 was performed by the women themselves, and 
 they are justly proud of their work. The 
 grounds are beautiful, and filled with flowers, 
 and are visited every year by hundreds of 
 guests at the Springs; the place is called "The 
 Tempest." The most remarkable fact about 
 this place, however, is that under this plateau 
 is the reservoir of hot water from Avhich the 
 many Springs both in the river bed, and also 
 across the river are fed. Some years since a 
 well was begun near the house, and sunk to the 
 depth of ninety four feet ; the project was then 
 abandoned as no water was found: but clouds 
 
Hot Springs, Past and Present. 23 
 
 of steam, poured from it all the time, and rocks 
 taken out of it were warm to the touch. If a 
 drive-well were run to the depth of a hundred 
 and fifty or two hundred feet, there is no ques- 
 tion but that a fine stream of quite hot water 
 would be found and in that case this property 
 would be valuable from a hotel man's point of 
 view, for /with an abundance of land, a magnifi- 
 cent view, fine climate, beautiful grounds and 
 an artesian well of hot water, what more could 
 the hotel man desire? Railroad men who have 
 already viewed the property say it is the finest 
 hotel site in the country. Two or three good 
 hotels would be the best thing possible for Hot 
 Springs, as competition is always good for 
 trade. 
 
 This sketch would not be complete with- 
 out some slight mention of the mountaineers, 
 the natives of this section. They are probably 
 more purely American than any thing that is 
 left us in these days of immigration and admix- 
 ture with other nations. Their manners and 
 customs have changed very little since "Good 
 Queen Bess" by the advice of Sir Walter 
 Raleigh sent their forefathers here for penal 
 servitude, and founded a colony of felons. 
 They still retain many of the old English 
 words and forms of speech, and are ready to 
 
24 Hot Springs^ Past and Prese7it. 
 
 boast at any time, as do all good Americans, of 
 the fine families from which they are de- 
 scended. They are uneducated, and but few 
 can read, but they are very shrewd, and take 
 the greatest pleasure in "doing" the unwary at 
 any time. They will sell you, with an honest 
 face and cheerful heart, a wild turkey or a 
 bucket of dressed squirrels which they assure 
 you were killed that morning, and which you 
 discover, after they have left, are unfit for use ; 
 but yet they don't expect you to think any the 
 less of them when they return again. The Bible 
 is the only book of which they have any knowl- 
 edge and it they can not read, though they re- 
 member all the "Preacher" said about it, and 
 will quote it freely, sometimes with amusing 
 divergence from the text, never thinking of ap- 
 plying its rules and precepts to their own lives, 
 but telling you readily wherein their neighbor 
 errs. They believe the Bible means exactly 
 what it says in words, are not troubled about 
 the higher criticism, and if questioned about 
 the parable of the Wise Virgins, it would be dis- 
 covered that they believed when the Wise Vir- 
 gins brought oil in their vessels with their 
 lamps, that they had small tin cans filled with 
 kerosene. One man reproving the "preacher" 
 for some offense said, "If you talk that-a-way, 
 
Hot Springs, Past and Present. 25 
 
 yon are no better than soundin' brass, and tink- 
 lin' C3^mlings" (a small gonrd). They are 
 brave, greatly given to hospitality, and very 
 kind-hearted. 
 
 
OCT 9 1906 
 
 \ 
 
ammmammmmammtmmmmamim 
 
 MHMMNMtaMHMMMN 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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