About the "Pahgosa" Hot  Springs

Hailed in Europe for its curative powers, the mineral waters of Karlsbad, Czechoslovakia and the Pagosa Springs are remarkably similar in content. Among the minerals contained in the Springs are large quantities of sulfate compounds, silica, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and fluoride, and trace elements of arsenic, manganese, zinc and iron among others. In Europe insurance companies pay for a patient's treatment in hot mineral waters. Repeated exposures seem to improve conditions involving arthritis, inflamation of the joints, circulatory problems, nasal and respiratory problems and in the process, sooths the spirit, relaxes the body and softens the skin. Such benefits were known by the Indians who first used these healing waters to soothe their wounds and treat their sicknesses, and later by the early settlers and soldiers of Fort Lewis who were situated by the Springs in the late 1800s.

Captain John N. Macomb, a Topographical Engineer, while surveying a route west for the U.S. Army, is reputed to be the first white American to discover the hot springs. He wrote: "It can scarcely be doubted that in future years it will become a celebrated place of resort."

The Ute Indians believed the hot springs was a gift of the Great Spirit. Legend has it that a plague fell upon the Utes. All the skills of their medicine men failed to stem the death of tribal members. In desperation, a council was called on the banks of the San Juan River. A gigantic fire was built to send a message to their Gods for help. They danced and prayed around the great fire until, exhausted, they slept. On awakening, they found the fire burned down and in its place appeared a pool of boiling water. Drinking and bathing in the waters from the boiling springs, the Utes were healed.

The springs were heavily used by the Indians who left deeply-worn trails in all directions. According to another story of an event which supposedly happened around 1867, ownership of the springs was contested by the Ute and Navajo Indians. Tribal skirmishes failed to gain an advantage. The tribes finally decided to settle the right of ownership by sending one man from each tribe to do battle. The Navajos chose a huge brave to fight for them. Colonel Albert Pfieffer, long-time friend of the Utes and a foe of the navajo, agreed to battle on behalf of the Utes. Both men, stripped to the waist and armed with bowie knives, began the duel. Pfieffer quickly out-manuevered the larger Navajo, burying the knife in his heart. The Navajos accepted the defeat and the Utes claimed ownership of the springs until the Burnot Agreement of 1874 by which white men took possession of the hot springs.

In the late 1800s, several bath houses were constructed and a town grew around the springs. Many people came to take advantage of their reputed remarkable curative powers. However, the hot springs never became the celebrated place of resort prophesied by Captain Macomb.

(By the way, Pahgosa is the name given the spring by the Utes; it means boiling water, "Pah" = water, and "gosa" = boiling.)

Even today, however, the hot mineral water retains its singular mystique, and many attest to its therapeutic value.