August 19, 1862: Tuscan Springs

Tuscan Springs ruins; by nadialena, on Flickr

[Today], the camp went on, but I rode with a gentleman to visit the Tuscan Springs, some eight miles east, in a wild region of low, desolate, forbidding hills. These springs have some repute—a house, bathhouses, etc., have been erected—but they are not quite a Saratoga or an Avon in either surroundings or accommodations, for they are hot, dry, dreary, and desolate. The waters are varied in the different springs, but all are sulphury, stinking, with salt, alkali, iron, etc. They have much repute for the cure of certain diseases. Not the least interesting feature was the evolution of gas along with the water. It is so abundant, and burns so well, that it is collected, purified, and burned to heat the baths. The whole region around shows strong marks of volcanic action.