University of Virginia Library

CONGRESS SPRING DRIES UP.

“But how came it?” I asked of my venerable “statician.”

“You see,” said the old man, “everybody in Saratoga got to
boring for private springs. The new Indian Spring set them
crazy. They all wanted private Geysers for fountains in their
gardens. During the year 1880, no less than seventeen springs
were bored in Saratoga door-yards.

Of course there was an end to the water, and by-and-by, I
think in 1884, the old springs began to dry up. First, the
Columbian, then Congress Spring, then the Hathorn. It affected
Saratoga a good deal, and caused good old Mr. Hathorn's death.
People kept away for a little while, but they soon found that the
water from the deep springs was fully as bad as the old water,
and so they got to drinking it again.