Water Dowsers

I've been reading more and more lately of water dowsers, or witchers, being hired to find water in areas of the state hard hit by the drought. Some say dowsing is a fraud. Others say it's worked real well for them. I don't know, but I played around with dowsing back in the early 80s although I didn't search for water.

I was working at the Humboldt Bay Power Plant at the time. One day one of the guys from the shop came up the hill carrying a bent welding rod in each hand. A short end of maybe five inches was bent at a 90 degree angle to allow for use as a handle. Pretty much like the picture, but the short end was just wire and the pointing end was longer.

He'd hold the rods in each hand with the long part pointing to the front. As he'd walk along, every now and then the rods would move together and they'd cross. The guy would say, "Right here", and they'd mark the spot. 

They were looking for a water line, or some such, and he thought dowsing might work. For some reason I don't recall if he found what he was looking for. I don't believe they never dug up the spots he pointed out. 

Since I had an interest in treasure hunting at the time, that piqued my curiosity and I went down to the shop and asked for a couple of the welding rods so I could try it myself. Right away I tried it on a quarter laying on the pavement. Sure enough, when I walked over it the rods crossed, forming an X over the quarter. I gave it a few more tries and it worked every time.

Took the rods home and went to a vacant lot on the corner of Pennsylvania and Myrtle Avenue. That's where that fitness place is now across from PG&E. I tried it there and found the coin I laid down. Then I tried it without placing something on the ground. Yep, the rods crossed over every now and then, too, but I didn't know what they were reacting to.

I consulted with my friend and master treasure hunter, Mike Wood, who was also trying the dowsing rods. He put them through their paces with his critical eye and finally came to the conclusion that, if you played with the rods long enough, they seemed to point to wherever you wanted them to. 

Maybe that's how they work?