Chapter 10 - Baseball and Vacations

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Early pioneers had done what they could in a crude way to take advantage, and provide facilities for the use of this hot mineral water. On the rocky slope below the springs a swimming pool had been fashioned by building two concentric squares of log cribbing, and then filling in between the cribbing with rock and dirt. On the rocks over the springs, they had erected a shake covered structure which served as "sweat house" and bath house. The sweat house was a steam tight cubicle with a blanket for a door and wooden seat, under which flowed a stream of the hot water. It made a surprisingly efficient steam bath. The bath house contained a huge rectangular wooden tub constructed of hewn planks. Two movable wooden troughs one carrying hot and one cold water could be directed into the tub to obtain the correct temperature. Drinking the hot mineral water and taking the hot steam and water baths was considered a sure cure for prolonged colds, "rheumatiz", etc. Having gathered together an impressive string of pack and saddle horses and a supply of camp provisions, the vacation party consisting of Al Austin, "Sliver" Thompson, John Louden, Ed Comley Fred Franklin, Schuyler Franklin and the boy were to the take off. With one exception, the days journey was without incident. Schuyler Franklin had joined the party solely to "take the cure" at the Springs. All winter long he had hobbled and crippled about, avoiding work and complaining and grumbling about his cold and rheumatiz. On the trail he could neither walk too long nor ride too long because of his pains, On one occasion, while he was walking, a pack horse ahead of him strayed a few feet off the beaten trail, and in so doing, stepped into a hole in the ground, which, by chance, contained a large swarm of yellow jackets. Two or three of the horses, stung by the insects, began bucking and running. Schuyler, seeing the ruckus, and the cause of it, forgot his rheumatiz and took off up the trail like a young sprinter. Reminded of the incident occasionally, Schuyler never again complained.

Red River Hot Springs. About 1908

Long before modern improvements and commercialization "The Hot Springs" was a attractive vacation spot for the mountain people.

Earlier pioneers, using logs, rock and dirt, had constructed a hot water pool, crude, but large and deep enough for good swimming.

Where the hot water emerged from the rocks they had built a bath house, - "sweat - house", using poles and split shakes.

Early visitors to the "spa" lived in tents and in the ancient cabin across from the springs.

With the exception of a couple of men camped at one of the old cabins, the party had the area all to itself. The first order of business was a plunge in the warm swimming pool. Strangely, no one had thought of bathing suits. But, so what? Then, a day or two later, further discussion brought out the fact that ladies sometimes accompanied parties to the Hot Springs. So, it was deemed more discreet to provide some sort of cover for the members, and part of a day was devoted to fashioning swim trunks out of some discarded overalls and drawers. In a very short time the men taught the boy to swim for the first time.

Prolonged swimming in the hot water was weakening, and the men would not permit the boy to stay in it too long at a time. So, having extra time on his hands, the boy began carving and constructing toy boats with cloth sails to sail across the swimming pool, all with the encouragement and assistance of the men.

Ed Comely was the jokester, the chatterer, the wise-cracker of the group. One afternoon as the boy returned to the tent with his boats, Comley greeted him with, "Avast there Captain! How does the ship sail today?" The rest of the gang immediately took up the name, and from that day forward none of them ever addressed the youngster other than as "Cap". Furthermore, when the party returned to Elk City, other residents, hearing him addressed as "Cap", took up the name, not knowing why, - and until his last day in Idaho, the boy responded to the moniker "Cap" as readily as to his own name.

Being well settled in their tents and one of the old cabins, two of the men decided to get out their fishing gear and hike over the little divide to the east into the headwaters of Meadow Creek. They returned that evening with a fine catch of mountain trout. Thus inspired, the rest of the group, including Cap, wanted to try their luck, a few days later, and found the fishing even better.

Some of the men caught up to 75 trout, and even Cap bagged 22 of them, the first time he had ever encountered real fishing. The excursion lasted over two weeks and might have lasted longer but Cap contracted a slight infection in one ear, presumably from too much exposure to the warm water of the pool, and it was thought advisable to get him back to old Doc Yates for an examination. Dr. Yates mixed up a basin of warm soap suds, syringed out the ear, and the trouble disappeared in a few days.

Fishing in the headwaters of the nearby Meadow Creek was great. One day's catch of trout drying on a canvas tarp.