From its rise in the 1800s until well into the twentieth century, Hot Springs was a famed resort known worldwide. The grand hotels and world-class bath houses that sprang up around the government-protected springs drew countless visitors, ranging from the famous and wealthy to those of humble means, all seeking the health and pleasure promised by the Spa City's promoters. In the words of a railroad tourist guidebook from about 1910, "A stay at Hot Springs, be it ever so brief, always remains a pleasant memory afterward. It was the writer's good fortune to spend a few days at this popular resort--not as an invalid, I am happy to say, but as a tourist--and I certainly never bathed in more delightful water than that which flows so abundantly from the hot springs of Arkansas. There is buoyancy, a magnetism about it that is simply indescribable." Such has been the experience of countless visitors over the years. Readers will find much of the history of this storied resort in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which is profusely illustrated with vintage postcards and photographs, all carefully interpreted by the authors, Ray and Steven Hanley, with research assistance from Mark Blaeuer of the Hot Springs National Park staff.

The Line between Lawmen and Lawless On December 26, 1910, Oscar Chitwood lay lifeless on the courthouse lawn in Hot Springs, his wrists shackled together, and his body torn by bullets. The deputies on the scene claimed that masked men had lynched their prisoner and that the lawmen were innocent bystanders to the carnage. Newspapers everywhere proclaimed this killing another example of vigilantism run rampant. Within days, however, the official story fell apart, and these deputies were charged with cold-blooded murder. Authors Guy Lancaster and Christopher Thrasher tell the little-known story of accused outlaw Oscar Chitwood, the authorities he dared defy, and the mysterious resort town of Hot Springs, a place where the Wild West met the epitome of civilization, and where the boundaries between lawman and outlaw were never all that clear.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

A review of available literature has revealed information on the location of springs, the temperature of the water, the rate of flow, the chemical character of the water and evolved gases, and the uses made of the water. For each country or geographic area there is a brief description of the geology and map showing the location of the springs.

Robert Jarman lived in Hempstead County, in what was known as the “wilds of Arkansas.” Hearing of the war coming to Arkansas, Robert and his three friends soon joined the 4th Arkansas Infantry, Confederate States of America, having to leave their families and sweethearts behind. The war took the four friends through the battles of Elkhorn Tavern (Pea Ridge) in Arkansas; Farmington, Mississippi; Richmond, Kentucky; and Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Stones River), all in 1862. Having volunteered to defend their homes in Arkansas, they ended up fighting their first four battles in four different states. Standing on the Edge of Time brings out the many hardships and the suffering the soldiers endured on the campaigns and long marches sometimes through the worst weather conditions. Hundreds of historical facts are included, giving a unique view of the Civil War as rarely seen.