The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-03
is 1T SUPERSTITION MERELY =
Success of Alleged Well Finders
With Wands.


Success of Alleged Wen Finders
With wands.
(From Fire and Water)
A French scientific society is endeav-
oring to ascertain the truth of the
claims of "water-fnders," and has ask
ed nearly all of the technical societies
in this country to contribute incidents
coming under the observation of their
members upon the subject of finding
hidden supplies of water by means of
twigs of hazel or other woods or by
special devices, in which few persons
outside of jewellers in the rural dis
tricts have any faith. Still, what seems
to be indisputable evidence as to water
finding is apparently furnished by
architects, we'll borers and manufac-
turers of well-boring and water-lifting
apparatus, as we'll as by a few scien-
tific investigators who have been
brought to full stop when trying to
assign a reason for effects which they
nave seen and cannot account for by
any known theory.
Many large and wealthy firms in this
country employ these water finders.
VINO are almost invariably men we'll
up In geology and thoroughly under
oil the substrata and the natural course
OF subterranean streams, cisterns or
pockets which water would naturally
seek. one such man is to-day employ
ed by the largest of the air compressor
concerns In this country, and another
is Junior partner. in a firm which
makes patent air-lift for raising wa
Ter from great depths. Both of them
nave operated for years in all parts of
1noles, and both are constantly employ
ed. or course, they do not tell their
secrets to Investigators
one or them obtained his engage
ment some years ago by submitting to
severe tests upon the suggestion of his
skeptlcal employers, who had heard of
MS success and sent for him to come
70 new YORK. He was taken down
town TO one of the sky scrapers in pro-
cess of erection and asked 70 And from
the sidewalk the location of six water
pipes running into the building under
ground. He located five and stopped.
upon comparing his marks with the
plans 1t was found that he had skin
PED one supply pipe. He then said:
Ihere is no water running through
that pipe; 1 cannot locate still water
II must be stream creating friction
or cannot detect it. could not find
an underground ocean if it was still.
An investigation was made, and, as he
said, the water had been shut off from
the pipe which he missed.
This man was then taken I'D the
Hudson, where a well supply was to be
established for town of considerable
size, and he walked over five or six
miles of land before he chose a spot up-
on which he said a dozen or more wells
could be driven and the required sun
ply insured. Then he drove stakes ar
points which he selected, and the party
returned to the hotel, not entirely con-
WINGED. One skeptic remarked to an
other that evening: IF this man does
not work by view of the surface fea-
lures he can do just as we'll in the dark.
Let's give him surprise-and take him
out again tonight
That night the surprise was spr,,nr
upon him. One of his employers told
the water finder that another tract of
land had been offered to the companv.
ana asked him If he thought that he
could locate water at night. The man
was tired. but he answered quickly:
IL you have any doubt of that Won
can blindfold me. l should like to have
you make the test" They drove To the
same tract in a roundabout way. blind
folded him. and let him go ever the
ground again. driving stakes as they
| went along. In the morning his en-
ployers looked over the tract. and
found that each new stake was driven
! less than six feet from one of those
first driven, and in several Instances
they were only a few inches apart.
That settled the matter with the com
pany, but many other tests of his ca
pacity were afterwards made In one
case he told some people who were lay
! ing out the site of real estate spec-
ulation that the only place he could find
water was in the middle of one of the
finished streets, and they refused to
bore there They bored dry holes on
both sides of the street first and after
eXpending lot of money uselessly they
TOOK his tip, and found a flowing well.
This is only one of a score of in
stances. In one instance a city Sc
cured tract for a driven well supply.
and his employers. who were supplying
the wellborer, sent him out TO look
over the ground. The visit was made
in secret. The we'll finder knew moth
ing of the bargain the city had made
for the land. He was an entire stran-
ger in the community. and was attend
ed by a companion as ignorant as him
self of the affair. He located a series
of sites for wells, and sent in a report.
1t was then found that. after going all
over the city property, he had located
the stakes upon property which the
city had not secured. The wellborer
was told to go on with his work on
the city property, and ignore the water
finder. He did so. and failed to get
water enough to fill his contract. Then
he. secured an option on the staked-out
strip intersecting the city property. and
found enough water to satisfy the de-
mand without without having recourse
TO the sparse supply already drilled.
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