THE ORIGIN AND USE OF THE NATURAL GAS AT 

 MANITOU, COLORADO. 



BY WILLIAM STRIEBY. 



The waters of the mineral sprin«2;s at Manitoii owe their 

 sparkle and piquancy to the carbonic acid with which they are 

 naturally surcharged. The beautifully clear water as it issues 

 from its subterranean channels is accompanied in several of 

 the springs by a considerable flow of exceedingly pure carbon 

 dioxide. When dipped from the springs it continues to 

 effervesce for some little time, and the agreeable flavor of the 

 gas makes the drink very jjalatable in spite of the large 

 quantity of alkaline mineral matter which it holds in solution. 



Eor many years these springs have been locally esteemed 

 as furnishing both a refreshing beverage and a valuable 

 medicinal agent, but it is only within the last six or seven 

 years that the bottled waters have been put upon the market 

 to supply a wider circle of admirers. In order to give to the 

 bottled waters the charm of the original effervescence, it was 

 necessary to re-charge them with carbon dioxide; and this 

 was done at first in the manner usually employed in bottling 

 seltzer, and some other gassed beverages. This process, 

 bi'iefly, consisted in the preparation of carbon dioxide from 

 sulphuric acid and marble-dust, and the absorption of it by 

 the mineral water by agitation under pressure in strong iron 

 cylinders. Then it was bottled in the common way, or 

 sometimes was enriched by the addition of ginger syrup and 

 flavorings, and put up as ginger-ale, or as the Manitou Mineral 

 Water Company felicitously called it, "ginger chami^agne." 

 About the year 1889 the desirability and feasibility of using 

 the natural gas from the springs to re-charge the mineral 

 water and champagne, was suggested to the Company, and 

 this plan, proposed by the writer and carried out under his 

 supervision, was soon put into practical operation. 



