Mazes and Marvels - Introduction

MAZES AND MARVELS OF WIND CAVE
A NATIONAL RESERVATION
HOT SPRINGS, SOUTH DAKOTA
BY
E.C. HORN, GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA
COPYRIGHTED 1901
THIRD EDITION
PRICE 25 CENTS

HOT SPRINGS, SOUTH DAKOTA
THE VESTIBULE TO WIND CAVE

"There lies a Vale in Ida, lovelier
Than all the valleys of Ionian hills."

Tennyson's poetic eulogy on the Vale of Ida lacks in power to depict the beauty of the lower Black Hills as evidenced in the Vale of Minnekahta, ensconced within which, in the shape of the letter S, is Hot Springs, the "Carlsbad of America."

The city of Hot Springs, with a permanent population of more than 2,000, its numerous mineral springs, delightful, invigorating climate, beautiful, entrancing scenery, and palatial hotels and sanitariums, attracts multiplied thousands annually. Well might it be called the "Health Seeker's Mecca" of two hemispheres, for it acts as a magnet, drawing its visitors from every clime.

The Burlington and Northwestern railroad companies have built a costly union depot of the most modern type within one block of the leading hotels, and show their patrons every courtesy.

Besides all the excellencies noted, Hot Springs takes a high round on the ladder of fame as the vestibule to one of Nature's greatest wonders, Wind Cave. If Hot Springs is but the vestibule, who can divine what Wind Cave ought to be? Let us see.