The False Hope of Soap Lake
A local resident returns home after a futile journey seeking a miracle cure for his ailment.
Isaac Darling did not go to Walla Walla as was stated last week but went to Soap Lake with the hope that the mineral waters there might prove beneficial to his ailment. In this he was disappointed, the physicians there telling him that the treatment with mineral waters would prove of no benefit in his case. He returned home on Friday and is now cared for by his family. His son Morrel has returned from Idaho to assist with the nursing of his father.
“In this he was disappointed, the physicians there telling him that the treatment with mineral waters would prove of no benefit in his case.”
In the early 20th century, 'health tourism' to places like Soap Lake was common, preying on the desperate with promises of mineral-water cures. Today, we might see similar reliance on unproven wellness trends or alternative health products when traditional medicine offers a difficult prognosis.
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