The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-11-30
CURIOUS REPORT AS TO THE
"DOwSER.-

From boyhood until now we have
nection with finding water. II is not
only believed in by many. but the evil
dence to establish it's genuineness isl
quite satisfactory. In h hill country
Of North Carolina the witch-hazel ap-l
plication was very common when wellsl
were to be dug. The proof of its ser
viceableness was seen in the mos cer-l
tain and favorable results. We are rel
minded of this by a report of recent in
vestigations made in Great Britain as
&c the ge~nuineness and nature of thel
phenomenon, for such it is regarded byl
men of practical sciences. The investi-I
cations have been carried on and ex-I
tended through some three or four
years under the authority of the Royal
College for Science in Ireland. Profess
sor w. F. Barrett, who has also takenl
an active part IN the work of the Sol
ciety for Psychical Research, OF Lon
don, and occupies the chair Of expert
mental physics in the Dublin college,
named, conducted the researches. He
has published an elaborate report. He
cites many experiments of the use of
the forked twig. He will publish fur
ther tests in another report. The twigI
is called 'fthe dowser.' He a that
the operator usually holds the Y by the
prongs so that the stem projects in
front of him, and inclines upward
slightly. When the dowSer passes a
spot where water is supposed to exist
the twig rises to a vertical position.
striking him on the breast. 1t short
enough to avoid hitting the mans
body, the twig will sometimes rotate,
though h operator appears to resist
it's tendency to do so. The dowser him
ser himself often appears exhausted by
his effort, even complaining of sick
ness or giddiness, and breaking into
p~erspiration. AS a rule. though not al
ways, he declares that he experiences
queer sensations, resembling muscular
cramps. These are so marked in in
stances that he discards the twIg alto
gether and is guided by his sensations
alone
Eminent people as well as others, use
'the dowser'-fn England. Some istin-
guished in public life. as Lords Sails
bury and Lansdowne, employ it. We
quote from an article in the New York
Tribune based upon the reports of Pro-
fessor Barrett. In 152 attempts there
were .140 successes. In los others there
were obtained 80 successful results.
One of the tests Dr. experiments was
highly interesting. We copy the follow
ing:
1.-TWO sets of experiments have been
tried with a view to ascertain the gen.
u~ineness of the phenomenon. In n a
second or third operator was takenI
over the same ground is the first, and
the results of their were|
compared. The scene of one of these
tests was in county Wicklow, Ireland,
near a hill called C~arrigoona. The
place was selected on the advice of al
trained peologiSt, so as to lack any in
dication of water hat might be Sug-l
gestive to a practised eye. A profess
sional dowser from England was inn
ported, without any knowledge of thel
spot chosen or any chance to obtain ln-l
formation regarding it. First, the pro-I
fessional diviner was taken over twol
fields, and then ar amateur of note
Pains were taken to conceal from theI
latter the conclusions of the fOrmer.l
Both, however, reported favorably onI
one field and adversely on the other,l
and they agreed as to the exact spot
where water should be found. A WE'LL
was dug there, and water gushed OF
at less than the prescribed depth"
Other interesting facts and deduc-I
tions are given but we give but this:
He thinks that the successful opera-
tor is self-hypnotized by fixing his at
tention o nthe twig. He says: "Thisl
unconscious perceptive power, conn.,
monty called '~clairvoyance,' may provi-
sionally be taken as the explanation of
those successes of the dowser which,
are ineXplicable on any grounds att
present known to science"