CAREY, Idaho -- When it comes to his Craters of the Moon Geospring Water Extraordinaire, Maurice Ellsworth makes claims, but he won't make any promises.
"The FDA will pin you at the cross if you do," said the proprietor of Ellsworth Mineral Co.Speaking from his parlor overlooking swampy Carey Lake, Ellsworth added, "We're not looking to get into any trouble."
But Ellsworth, a D-day vet, would swear on the Book of Mormon he is not lying when he says, "In that shed out back runs what's been called the Fountain of Youth. It's the best water in the world."
And if you care to ask, the career farmer will tell you in a slow drawl that his natural hot springs, running from the Craters of the Moon National Monument, relieved his now-deceased wife Norma's skin-inflaming psoriasis, his shrapnel wounds and a whole mess of other hardships distressing people, including acne, diabetes and ulcers.
"I've seen this water do what some medicines can't," Ellsworth said. "After people start drinking the water, their ailments just seem to vanish. We keep getting all sorts of reports."
He will tell stories of beer-brewing moguls jetting the water clear to St. Louis.
This attention came as a surprise for Ellsworth, Norma and their two sons.
The family had lived all over parts of Blaine County before they moved to Carey Lake in 1975.
Back when the Ellsworths built their solid wood home, Maurice said all he had in mind was the farmland, the hot spring's free heat and endless water and the fat hunting in his backyard.
"Our heating bill was never more than $50 a month, and our well's never gone dry," he said.
Before long, he started noticing that the hot spring might have more to offer than better home economics.
Others did, too.
About 20 years ago, the eczema bothering Kay Kelsey's daughters Michelle and Jennifer disappeared after the girls took a few dips in Ellsworth's hot springs-filled swimming pool.
Kelsey said it has helped clear various infections for her as well.
"It really was remarkable," she said. "I'm certain it does more than usual water would do."
Adamson's Store in Carey sells the water, and owner Erma Adamson is apparently quite a devotee.
So for protection from the elements and from animals, Ellsworth built a shed around his lode.
Inside, a green and copper-colored pool shines through the 130-degree water that bubbles up from as much as a mile deep by Ellsworth's estimation.
From the shed, he ran a pipe out to an adjacent turn-of-the-century cabin. That is where he fills each bottle from a faucet.
In fact, one difference between Ellsworth's spring and many others is that its depth, purity and heat produce a remarkable potable water.
The difference between Ellsworth's spring and many others is that the 30 or so trace elements in his water are purportedly beneficial to health.
Now, he is starting to look into letting his mineral water follow a more commercial stream, though at one time he thought the spring would never bring him two dimes to rub together.
His prices are easy to swallow.
He will sell a case holding two dozen 16-ounce bottles for $10 or six gallons in bigger bottles for $6. It costs 50 cents to fill your own one-gallon container.
Ellsworth said he is holding out for a 50-50 partnership situation -- maybe a health and golf resort -- and refuses to unload the whole operation to a stranger.
"I don't care about the money," he said. "I just want to do it right."
So for now, he will bottle the water himself, soak nightly in a hot springs-filled tub and make sure Adamson's shelves are stocked.