246 SULPHUROUS BATHS. [PART II. 



A small creek discharged itself into the lake 

 through a narrow gulley. The gaseous emanations 

 of sulphuric acid have much altered the argillaceous 

 rock, parts of which have become white and red, 

 while in other portions it has changed into a species 

 of clay, covered with sublimations of pure alum, 

 sulphur, and different sulphates. There are several 

 other springs in the neighbourhood, which mix 

 their waters with the creek, and impart to it an in- 

 creased temperature. 



I found here some native women, with their 

 children, living in a temporary shed. The children 

 were affected with cutaneous and scrofulous diseases, 

 especially ringworm and swollen lymphatic glands, 

 and had been brought to this place for the benefit 

 of bathing in the warm sulphurous water, the bene- 

 ficial effects of which were already very visible. 

 The springs are often visited by the natives for this 

 purpose, and, as might be expected, are of very great 

 benefit in many of the disorders most common in 

 these parts. 



The surrounding country, especially to the south- 

 ward, has to a singular degree the barren and deso- 

 late aspect so often observed in places celebrated for 

 their salubrious mineral waters. Scarcely any ver- 

 dure is seen on the hills of the neighbourhood : it 

 is only in the ravines that the uniform brown tint 

 of stunted fern is interrupted by the green of some 

 sheltered groves. 



There seems to be no doubt that the sick will 



