The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1907-05-23
FINDING WATER WITH A TWIG.
BY G. n. ROCKWELL,
Real Admiral, u. S. N.

! l have been much interested from
! time TO time in what we must call the
"vitch-hazcl tales Let me add 4
! little to them.
/ Some years ago I was desirous Of
j driving we'll near my house, for a
! wafer supply, so that the pipe could
. ne carried under the house and into
| the Kitchen sink. where pump could
| be attached 10 it. therefore sent TO
! to an adjoining town for the driver OF
wells, who CAME with his tools, arriv-
| ing about y. NJ He asked me
where | wished to have the we'll To-
Gated, and ! indicated the exact spot.
! A second man who lad accompanied
the we'll artist took a forked twiS
from his pocket and began pacing
over the ground, and at the very spot
where I desired the we'll the twig
seemed to point directly to 1.-The
ground. The we'll was driven in the
exact spot indicated, and has never
failed to deliver an abundant supply
of excellent water. 1t was ready for
use at p. m.
| had often heard Of this divining
business before, but | had never seen
il. l asked the diviner to lend me the.
twig, and | went off into the fields by
myself and to my surprise it acted
perfectly in my hands, and I found
that I also was medium, and the
matter puzzled me very greatly. l
conversed with the seer and found
that he was an intelligent and culti-
waited man. and was, at that time,
principal of the high school in a
neighboring town. He could give me
no rational explanation Of the phe-
nomenon, but said that he was so SEN
sitive to running water and its con-
nection with what he had demon
strated, that in driving over bridge
with swift running stream beneath,
his wrists would twitch perceptiDly
when holding the reins. Here was
material to work on, and so l went
to the fountain head Of knowledge
and sought for light.
In my house at that time as an
honored guest was my father.
Learned in the sciences and ologies
of all the ages, theologian, student,
poet, teacher, traveller in many
lands, and familiar with literature in
several languages, he knew many
things and had vast experience. To
him I submitted this problem in nat
ural science, and this was his exposi-
tion He said that he had known Of
the so-called divination for water,
and that the power or facility, or
whatever it might be called, un-
doubtedly existed, and had been used
with success on many occasions which
had come under his observation, and
said that he would give me theory,
but could not vouch for it's correct
ness, for want of more exact knowl-
edge. He proceeded as follows:
All nature is full Of a mysterious
power or element, which we call elec-
tricity. We know very little about it,
but We know that it is present in the
earth, the air, the sea; in fact, in all
water We have it in our bodies.
In some persons it is very strongly
shown, in others it is less apparent.
The tendency of some electrical cur
rents is to attract each other, and by
the shortest lines. In this case we
have a strongly electrical man,
stream of running or percolating
water, producing or melting current
of electricity, and green forked
twig, for dry twig will not act. Now
we find that the wood of the twig is
not a conductor of electricity, neither
is the bark, but the sap between them
is conductor. So the man holds the
twig, he walks about until spot is
reached where water is producing
electrical action; his electricity is
attracted toward that spot, traversing
the sap under the bark Of the twig,
and turning it down toward the res
ervoir or natural mandatory Of
electrical action, and producing the
phenomena which has puzzled many
people. I give you this thing for
what it may be worth"
In like manner I pass this explana-
ton along to the Forest and Stream
as a contribution to the literature of
the art of finding water with a forked
twig.-F'rom Forest and Stream.