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The Divining Rod

The Divining Rod image
Parent Issue
Day
25
Month
November
Year
1898
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

THE DIVINING ROD,

How Charles H. Jones Works One of His.

HE'S AN EXPERT DIVINER

Who Not Only Finds Water But Its Depths

He Can Tell The Direction the Water Runs But Submerged Lakes are Beyond His Ken. Work is Very Fatiguing. 

Fire and Water, a paper devoted to the subjects embodied in its name, published in the issue of March 26, of this year, an interesting article on the divining rod. This is a very old subject, much discussed pro and con. Modem skeptics claim it is an old country superstition. They cannot, however, dispose of it in this way, as it will not die out. In fact many unbelievers are being convinced against their will. They see the results of the forked rod. At this time it is of particular interest to the people of eastern Michigan because of the amazing results achieved by Charles H. Jones, a former well known citizen of Ann Arbor, now residing at Birmingham, in this state. Not only here in this city but in Detroit and many other places has he with unerring accuracy told where water could be found. His success has been so phenominal that responsible business men stand ready to back him up with their means. Mr. Jones does not claim there is anything supernatural in his work, but that the result is simply from natural causes, which by his 20 years of study he is able to interpret with accuracy. He is now making experiments in the line of detecting metals. Mr. Jones, is a medium sized man, well proportioned and very active for being so stout. For years before devoting all his time to his present work, he was a boss drayman. He has been a prominent figure in local Odd Fellow circles. In an interview as to the way he uses his forked stick, generally called a divining rod, and his success, he says :

"Something like 18 years ago I saw a friend of mine try to find water with a forked stick. I had no faith in the business and laughed at him, but I tried it, and to my utter surprise it worked in my hands. I held the fork of the branch as tight as I could, and when I came to certain places the end of the fork would bond to the earth in spite of all that I could do. I kept on trying the experiments as a novelty until finally one day I happened to be in the country where I met a who intended putting down a well. I told him I thought I could locate a good spot. By his request I used my divining rod and told him where to dig. It was not at a convenient spot for him so he tried several places but they all proved to be dry holes. Then the farmer came for me again and I located the same spot on the vein and he found water at a depth of 55 feet. He put up a windmill and pump and the well has never run dry to this day. I have located over 2,000 wells all of which have been a success."

Since commencing the study of the problem I find I can now tell the difference in the veins of water, if they are deep veins, surface veins, or sand veins. A great many men who undertake to work the divining rod cannot distinguish these differences. I can even tell which way the veins run.

"I claim the rod works, because of the electricity in the person holding the forked crotch. It will work more quickly for some people than others. Persons who have much electricity in their systems can work it as well as I can. It is generally claimed that the forked branch or crotch must be a piece of witch hazel, but I can use any kind of wood, they all work in my hands.

"My theory is that when holding the crotch of the divining rod there is a current of electricity formed which shows itself by the rod bonding when stepping over a current of running water, thereby making a connecting link. With sand or surface veins of water, the point of the rod gives four distinct motions, whereas in deep veins, only one steady motion bending down until the width of the vein is crossed. I have followed deep veins, until they have run into larger veins. Deep veins of water range generally in width from six to eight feet but I have found them 125 feet wide. I can tell which way the water is flowing and the width of the vein.

"I find sand veins lay from eight to 20 feet deep and surface veins from 30 to 80 feet. The deepest vein I have ever located was 126 feet. I can locate nothing but running water. With the divining rod I cannot locate a lake unless there is a vein of running water underneath. I have followed water veins for miles, they pulsate just like the veins of the human system driven by the heart.

"Recently I have been making new experiments and can now detect gold, copper, silver, lead and iron. I have done this by attaching a conical hollow wooden ball to the end of my rod, by a copper wire running through it, and wound around the interior of the ball which is filled with a chemical compound. This works also when I find a vein of water. I can tell this by taking off what I call my needle. If it then operates I know I have found only water. All this, however, is still in an experimental stage, about which I hope to give more explanations in the course of time.

"The work of following a divining rod is very fatiguing, as it is not only wearing on the nervous system, but on the muscles of the hands in holding the rod, which you can see by the blisters on my hands." In proof of how the rod was effected by gold, a gold watch was placed on the floor of the room where the interview was had. Mr. Jones took the forked stick in his hand and in a moment the long end of the crotch was bending down towards the watch. He is making many experiments and only time can tell to what extent he can develop this ancient art or science of the divining rod.