EUREKA SPRINGS AS A RESORT.
BY MISS F. E. PERKINS.
To close the eyes on the smokes of the city and open them among
the hills, this is what the Frisco System makes possible to the
dweller in St. Louis or Kansas City. On all other sides surrounded
by almost limitless prairies, in this direction there is an easy
escape to the uplands, where the eye rests with relief upon a
broken sky-line. Hither, too, comes the man from Texas, Alabama,
Mississippi or Louisiana on a similar errand.
The approach to Eureka Springs is a gradual preparation for
the romantic beauty of the resort itself. One's first impression
of Eureka Springs is of a town on end. Houses one story high in
front may be three or four stories in the rear. An electric car
which winds in and out around the hills is a welcome sight to
the tired climber. Conspicuous from every point the Crescent Hotel
lifts its white walls and shows its crescent moon, the highest
point of the town.
Follow any path, and it will lead you to one of the springs
for which this region is famed. Clear, cool, health-giving water
it is, with medicinal properties but no unpleasant medicinal taste.
The Basin spring is the most central, and is the daily resort
of all the seekers after health and most of the seekers after
pleasure, to whom it affords an excuse for a pleasant little stroll
down the main street of the town, a stroll which usually ends
in the purchase of souvenirs in some one of the many attractive
stores. Within easy reach are the Harding spring, the Sweet spring,
the Crescent spring and the Grotto springs, the latter a particular
favorite with the amateur photographer. Further off, but still
within walking distance, are the Magnetic spring, Oil spring,
Moss spring and many others.
To get a good general idea of the plan of the town one has
only to take the elevator in the Crescent Hotel and be carried
to the tower. There such a panorama is spread out as is not often
seen. A valley stretching north and south diverges into two and
is intersected by half a dozen lesser valleys. In and out winds
the electric car, climbing the mountain on which we stand. The
Basin spring, with the surrounding buildings forming the nucleus
of the town, lies to the southwest. To the southeast is the railway
station, completely hidden by the trees.
For one who loves nature with a constant affection there is
no need for amusement other than the free life of out of doors
affords. But some of us are more fickle. We love nature, too,
but there are other things we love, and above all we crave variety.
All kinds of people can find their favorite amusement at Eureka
Springs. Tennis courts are provided in the beautiful grounds of
the Crescent Hotel. Black bass, perch and other fish are found
in White and King's rivers, and there is abundance of game for
the sportsman. For those who do not care to go so far afield there
is the bowling alley, a favorite resort for all ages. Weekly dances
are given at the Crescent Hotel and occasional dances at the smaller
houses.
But the thing in which Eureka Spring easily leads its rivals
is in the facilities it affords for horseback riding. The stables
are good and are adapted to the wants of those unaccustomed to
riding as well as to the experienced. At this season of the year
the sumac has turned and the woods are glorious. The list of attractions
to be visited is a long one and includes Silver Lake, the Goat
Ranch and Blue Springs, the latter at a distance of nine miles,
the others three and five miles respectively. There are caves
to be explored and nuts to be gathered. There are precipitous
places to be climbed and there are woody paths in which to walk
the horse and drink in the odor of the pines. To many of the points
of interest it is possible to take a carriage or a tallyho. Others
there are, like Pivot Rock, a miniature of the famous Balance
Rock of the Garden of the Gods, which are to be reached only by
a horseman.
While the tide of pleasure seekers at Eureka Springs rises
to its height during the summer and early fall, every season of
the year has its peculiar charms, and the hotels and boarding
houses keep open all the year round, the glorious climate insuring
patronage. To those who have never journeyed in this direction,
and who believe and teach that there is nothing worth a journey
between the Catskills and the Rockies, should visit Eureka Springs
and see with their own eyes its picturesqueness and be invigorated
by its healthful waters.
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