WATER. 173 



Both of these springs come from a fracture in the Carboniferous limestone. 



Another spring, known as the Sulphur Spring, is situated on the west side 

 of the Colorado River, in San Saba County, and about twenty miles west of 

 Lampasas. This spring has about the same mineral qualities as those at Lam- 

 pasas. It is near the bank of the river, and issues from beneath the massive 

 limestone near the base of the Carboniferous. I had no means of estimating 

 the amount of water flowing per minute. There are no improvements at 

 this place except a very rude bath house. Numbers of people from the sur- 

 rounding counties come here with their camp equipage and spend weeks dur- 

 ing the summer months. The scenery is wildly romantic. The river here 

 has cut its way for miles through the massive limestone to the depth of 200 

 feet, forming a canyon. The sides of the hills are covered with almost im- 

 penetrable jungles of cedar. A more romantic locality can hardly be found 

 in the whole State. Any one who might desire to get away from the busy 

 scenes of a city life and spend a week or two with only the wild scenes of 

 nature for companions, could not find a better place than this. 



Some of the salt wells in Coleman County and McCulloch County, in addi- 

 tion to the large percentage of chloride of sodium they contain, have also a 

 large percentage of iron, shown by the broad deposit of hydrous peroxide of 

 iron seen near the streams. Before reaching the surface the iron is hela in 

 solution in the water as a ferrous carbonate that is almost immediately changed 

 into the insoluble peroxide on reaching the atmosphere. In order to get the 

 benefit of these waters they must be used fresh from the wells. This kind of 

 water flows from the artesian well near Waldrip, situated on the land of Mr. 

 John Kellett. 



There is a well in the town of Brady that has been used by invalids with 

 beneficial results. No analysis of its waters has been made. A well on 

 the Riverside farm, near San Angelo, gives water that is highly impregnated 

 with minerals of several kinds, such as magnesia, potash, etc. In fact, in 

 almost every neighborhood in the country covered , by the Carboniferous 

 formation there are wells or springs highly charged with minerals, varying 

 in different quantities and in different combinations. 



SALT WATER. 



Water containing a large per cent of chloride of sodium is abundant 

 throughout the country occupied by the lower part of the coal meas- 

 ures. Some of the wells are flowing, and in some the water comes very 

 near to the surface, and would probably flow if proper efforts were made by 

 casing in a suitable manner. Some of these waters contain as high as 7.5 per 

 cent of common salt, without any other undesirable ingredients. In the 



