"The house occupied as the hotel, and several of the old cabins, are still standing. The opening of the Salt Sulphur Spring, the medical properties of which are so much more strongly marked, and the erection of commodious buildings near it, soon destroyed the fame of the Sweet, the water of which at the present time is used almost exclusively for the baths, although there are some individuals who still prefer it to that of either the Salt or New Spring. To gratify such, and at the same time to test the value of the water, the enterprising proprietors, in the summer of 1839, caused the spring to be deepened and thoroughly repaired. At present it is enclosed in a white marble reservoir, two feet square by two feet four inches in depth, over which is erected a neat wooden edifice, of an order 'sui generis.' In taste, smell, colour, and constituents, it closely resembles the Salt Spring, but is much more feeble as a remedial agent, which is to be attributed to its containing a smaller quantity of the active principles common to both.
"The second spring, or the Salt Sulphur proper, was discovered in 1805, by Erwin Benson, Esq. He was induced to believe that either sulphur or salt might be found in considerable quantities at the spot now occupied by the spring, from the fact of its being the favourite 'lick,' of immense herds of buffalo and deer. Under this impression he began boring, and penetrated but a short distance below the surface, when he struck the vein of sulphur water, now constituting the spring. Like the old, this spring is enclosed in a marble reservoir, two feet square, and about two feet ten inches deep, but from the boldness of its sources, it is probable, that this spring will be enlarged. It is protected from the influence of the weather; by a neat and appropriate edifice, furnished with seats. The water possesses all the sensible properties of the sulphur waters in general; its odour, for instance, is very like that of a 'tolerable egg,' and may, in certain states of the atmosphere, be perceived at some distance from the spring, and in taste it is cousin-german to a strong solution of Epsom salts and magnesia. In a short time, however, strange to say, these disagreeable properties are either not observed, or become on the other hand, attractive; indeed, there is hardly an instance of an individual's retaining his original repugnance to them longer than three or four days, and some there are, who become so excessively fond of the water, as to give it the preference over any other liquid. Like most of the sulphurous, this water is perfectly transparent, and deposits a whitish sediment composed of its various saline ingredients mingled with sulphur. It is also for the most part placid; occasionally, however, it is disturbed by a bubble of gas which steals slowly to the surface, where it either explodes with a timid and dimpling smack, or is eagerly caught up by some careworn and almost world-weary invalid, as a gem from the treasury of Hygeia!"
Analysis of the Salt Sulphur Springs, by Professor Rogers
"Temperature variable from 49° to 56°. Solid matter procured by evaporation from 100 cubic inches, weighed after being dried at 212°, 81.41 grains.
Quantity of each solid ingredient in 100 cubic inches, estimated as perfectly free from water.
| 1. | Sulphate of lime, | 36.755 | grains. |
| 2. | Sulphate of magnesia, | 7.883 | " |
| 3. | Sulphate of soda, | 9.682 | " |
| 4. | Carbonate of lime, | 4.445 | " |
| 5. | Carbonate of magnesia, | 1.434 | " |
| 6. | Chloride of magnesium, | 0.116 | " |
| 7. | Chloride of sodium, | 0.683 | " |
| 8. | Chloride of calcium, | 0.025 | " |
| 9. | Peroxide of iron derived from protosulphate, | 0.042 | " |
| 10. | An azotized organic matter blended with sulphur, about, | .004 | " |
| 11. | Earthy phosphates, a trace. | ||
| 12. | Iodine, a trace. |
Volume of each of the gases, contained in a free state, 100 cubic inches.
| Sulphuretted Hydrogen, | 1.10 to 1.50 | cubic | inches. |
| Nitrogen, | 2.05 | " | " |
| Oxygen, | 0.27 | " | " |
| Carbonic acid, | 5.75 | " | " |
"I enclose you a list of the ingredients in the Salt Sulphur water, which applies to the New as well as the Old Spring; the former having rather a smaller amount of saline matter in general, though in some ingredients surpassing the other. It has been very minutely analyzed, and is the first of all the waters in which I was able to detect traces of iodine, which it contains in a larger amount than the Old Spring, and, indeed, most of the other waters in which I have been so fortunate as to discover this mineral.
Diseases to which the Salt Sulphur is applicable.