24 KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



Indian making friends over a pipe of peace,) articles thrown in probably ta 

 propitiate the Great Spirit. 



It is asserted by mauy who have made frequent use of the waters of this 

 spring, that they possess valuable medicinal qualities; and as they have 

 acquired more than a local reputation, I have deemed it worth the while to 

 visit the spring, collect samples of the water, and submit the same to thorough 

 chemical analysis. The following are the results, each figure being the mean 

 of at least two closely-accordant determinations: 



Specific gravity at 60° Fah., 1.017. Grains to U. S. gallon. 



Sodium chloride 775.703 



Sodium bromide 234 



Sodium sulphate*..* 206.357 



Magnesium sulphate 66.050 



Magnesium carbonate 41.023 



Calcium carbonate 31.398 



Silica (probably combined with soda) Traces. 



Nitrous acid Minute trace. 



Organic matter None. 



Total solids, upon evaporation 1120.765 



Carbonic acid gas evolved upon boiling, 91 cubic inches to the gallon U. S. 



From this analysis it is seen that the water of this spring bears a general 

 resemblance to several other waters of the State that have been analyzed, 

 among them that of the lola gas well, my report upon which was published 

 in the proceedings of this Academy for 1876 — the general resemblance con- 

 sisting in the presence of a large amount of sodium chloride, considerable 

 quantities of the salts of magnesium or calcium, or both, (besides the carbon- 

 ates of those metals,) and, usually, some sodium sulphate. 



While there is this resemblance, the water of the Great Spirit spring differs 

 from all those hitherto examined, in the great amount of sodium sulphate 

 which it contains. In it the sulphates (of sodium and magnesium) consti- 

 tute over 24 per cent, of the total solids, while in the lola water they are 

 but a mere trace — little more than .1 per cent. Curiously enough, the two 

 waters (Great Spirit and lola) contain, the same very small amount of 

 bromide (probably of sodium), namely, .234 grain to the gallon. But in 

 respect to iron they differ again, the lola giving 1.343 grains of ferrous car- 

 bonate to the gallon, the Great Spirit containing not a trace. 



The most peculiar feature about the spring is the mound, from the top of 

 which it issues. All the reports I have seen — and several have been pub- 

 lished in various newspapers — assert that the mound has been built up by the 

 gradual deposition of the saline ingredients of the water; and I visited the 

 spot fully expecting to find a mound composed of sulphates and carbonates 

 of calcium and magnesium, arranged in concentric layers conforming to the 

 outline of the mound, as would be the case had the water of the spring been 



* In a private report, made some time since, a small amount of the sodium was stated as bicarbonate, 

 and an equivalent amount of magnesium as sulphate. This is probably the more accurate form of 

 statement, as indicated by the CO2 determination and by the alkalinity after long boiling; but the 

 above is in accordance with the mode of statement now adopted by many chemists, and is in some 

 respects preferable. 



