A Water Witch In Baja

DOWSING ... also known as Water Witching


"Water witching" refers in general to the ancient practice of using a forked stick, rod, pendulum, or similar device to locate groundwater mostly, but also buried treasure and even missing people.



Confusion exists as to the first historical reference to the divining rod as an instrument to locate water. Either 1568 or 1630 are cited as the first written references. In any event, from about that time on, the divining rod was used in southern Europe in search of water.

A while back (1975), we used the craft of dowsing (using bent metal rods) to locate a fresh-water source in Baja Sur, which as you know, is a very arid place. Here a steady supply of usable fresh water is like gold.

When Thomas Edison was once asked, 'What is electricity?' He replied, "I don't know ...but it's there, so let's use it."

The same assertion applies to dowsing. We don't really know what it is, but we can't deny it's existence, so we use it. History shows us that we have been dowsing for thousands of years. The photo below shows a cave painting depicting a water-witcher using a forked stick. The painting on the rock was discovered in the Atlas Mountains in North Africa and was carbon-dated to be 8000 years old.




Here's when we used Water-witching in Baja.

A while back (1975), we used the craft of 'dowsing' to locate a fresh-water source in Baja Sur, which as you well know, is a very arid land. A source of fresh water is golden.


For our situation, the dowser was Blackjack, here shown in this collage. As some of you may know, Blackjack (JW Black) was the ramrod on many expedition trips into Baja by author and amatuer anthropologist, Earl Stanley Gardner. Gardner is also known for his Perry Mason mystery short stories. Blackjack and his wife, Lois, fondly called him Uncle Earl during our many campfire talks about those expeditions.




Blackjack was a very good friend for many years. We met in those very early days at Coyote Bay and these collages show some of the times and events we shared in Baja ...back-in-the-day.






Here's an anecdote about Blackjack. One night, when a bunch of us were sitting around my fire pit, the discussion turned to the nuclear power plant incident at 3-Mile Island near Middleton, Pennsylvania. It had just happened a week before and was the talk of the world at that time.

Over our fire pit a friend from Las Vegas said to Blackjack,

"JW, you know a lot about a lot of things. Can you explain to us how one of those nuclear reactors work?"

Blackjack (JW) was quiet for a bit, just sat there in his denim shirt with the Beechnut bag in the pocket, wearing his old campaign hat with a dried-up scorpion on the band, and then spit a stream of tobacco into the fire.

He said, "Look here, Lloyd, do you know what bear scat looks like?"

"What?..uh, No. What's that got to do with it?", Lloyd says.

JW..."How about sheep pellets? Know about those?"

Llloyd.."Hell no, I'm from Vegas, you know that, JW."

JW..."Do you know what buffalo chips are?"

Lloyd..."Nope...no idea."

JW then spits again and says, "Well, look here, Lloyd. You want me to explain a nuclear reactor to you and you don't know sh_t."
.



On with the quest for water....


Blackjack mentions to us some obvious benefits of a water source for the Mulege palm forests as an example. Now this where my story begins...Our ranchero friend, Manuel Diaz, had heard of Blackjack's ability to dowse water and asked him if he could locate some water on his ranchland in the hills behind Coyote Bay. Blackjack gladly offered his services and invited me to accompany them on this search for water.






Oddly for a water-witcher, he didn't like getting wet, and he would only go boating close by his camp and in calm water. I took him out fishing just once...he got sprayed with saltwater and that was the end of that.





In JW's prototype 'Grasshopper', we drove back into Manuel's high country land looking for likely spots to find water. Being a very active inventor, Blackjack later manufactured his Grasshoppers at his shop in Paradise Ca. The later cars has a top with small port holes on the side and has small front fenders they turn with the wheels. The rear fenders are larger and cover more of the tire. It was a very fun machine to expore the Baja outbacks.

.
This is from high above Conception Bay.







We drove over some more level terrain, checking many possible locations. I was looking the countryside over and thinking...'Oh-oh, Blackjack. Slim chance of water around here.' Lots of lizards, though, if that helps.





Blackjack would get out and use his forked metal wands every now and then. I'd point out the occasional lizard sunning itslef on a rock. And some bleached bones here and there.



He got a good read on this particular stop. I watched with a healthy amount of skepticism as the metal rods began to cross....harump-harump. I liked Blackjack a lot for many reasons, not the least of which was his wry sense of humor. So I was thinking, 'Atta boy, Blackjack...make those wands cross and get Manuel all excited!'







Blackjack finishes his discovery and tells Manuel this is a good place to dig....and how deep the water was to boot!

Hoo-boy! Now I'm choking back my guffaws and almost splitting my sides. A chukwalla skuttles off into the spiked scrub..






"Manuel, dig here, amigo. Mucho agua."







Intrigued by Blackjacks findings and wanting to see for himself about this new craft, Manuel trys it ..and Bingo...the wands cross and he's become a believer! Amigo Manuel has a huge grin on his face as does Blackjack.

I'm getting a bit perplexed, 'Hmm...could it be?'





Okay, okay... I sure don't want to be left out...and so I give it a go. Blackjack smiles wryly at me and hands me the wands. I hold them straight out and start walking, almost sorry to have to debunk this water-witching pony show.

And then...try as I might, I could NOT stop those wands from crossing. YES...I am now a disciple of the art of dowsing. ...And alien abduction, too, but that's another story.







Well, we'd located water for Manuel on his high ranch and he was all set to dig his well to water his avacodos or start a lizard spa. We left him to it and set off on another water quest.

Now it's my turn to ask for water. After my baptism into the brotherhood of water-witchers, I decide to rely on Blackjack to find our Coyote Bay houses a reliable water source...which he did in short order on my rear lot. Marching around with his wands he indicated the best area to find fresh water. He said the find indicated a large amount of water and not deep at all...within 15 feet. We quickly dug a test well and sure enough, there was plenty of fresh water. Many onlookers were amazed and happy. No more frequent trips to Mulege to fill truck tanks!

With his guidance and with the help of neighbors and interested helpers, we start construction on a water tower that will eventually supply 10 homes and a school. By the way, Blackjack was also an expert welder, doing all the layouts and then making all the welds on this tower. That tower stood the test of time for 40 years.






Nearing the end of construction, and realizing that raising the tower was going to take more than a rope and pulley with some strong backs, I went looking for help..and luckily found these campers on Coyote Beach with a Search and Rescue truck with a powerful front winch. All went well and we raised the tower without a problem. We used a gin pole to lift 4 water pilars on top. Almost time to pump the water up and give it The Test.



Old Baja vets will know that this experience was like emerging out of the dark ages to have all that fresh water by merely opening a faucet. Almost a spiritual moment. I won't say I cried, but I did get a little giddy while standing under that tower and letting it overflow in the heat of damn-its-hot summers....oh what joy that was! My own 40ft cool refreshing waterfall! I was in a decadent heaven.


In addition, all of that water-witching made this possible. Life became good ...back-in-the-day.




Muchas Gracias, Blackjack!




[Edited on 1-28-2015 by Pompano]

Thanks Roger... a great story!

J.W. Black was also one of the first to drive to Mission Santa Maria in one of his Grasshopper's...

Witching does work I use two brass wielding rods and have had good results

Quote: Originally posted by David K

I love this stuff... I watched a witcher perform in Baja once... and while it looks a little flaky, there's enough positive results to not dismiss it. Seems magnetic fields have an affect and metals or water are conductive. I used the welding rod tool method like J.W. Black in Roger's photos, and they crossed when I walked over a bottle of water! I guess I was a believer?!

bet you got that Ouija board pretty dialed in too eh?

My old amigo, Blackjack, was a very unassuming...yet a very impressive... character. I thoroughly enjoyed being around him. His ability to tackle and solve problems was, and is, typical of the once common 'can-do' attitude as opposed to many of today's self-entitled who merely wait for some directive and a government handout.

As for his ability, and so many others throughout history, to dowse or 'witch' water, nobody can really explain How it works, just that it Does. Call it electro-magnetism, a feat of the mind via self-assurance, whatever....I don't think we can call it voo-doo and categorize it in the Occult anymore like the church did in the Spanish Inquisition. Rather than Occult, we might better list it in the Arcane Practices file?

I am pleased to see how many have experience or first-hand knowledge of dowsing. My uncle Norman had the knack and used his ability on his farm. He never advertised the fact, but many came seeking his help.

An interesting subject - water witching. Empirical proof helps us validate what we should and shouldn't believe, but sometimes cold hard facts just aren't available. Even when we don't have solid proof, however, humans still tend to extend their sense of belief to certain phenomenon.

A few notable people have been dowsers or have written of it's success.

Dr. Karl Berg, Arch-Bishop of Salzburg

Henry the VIII

Vernon Cameron

Leonardo De Vinci

Robert Boyle

Charles Richet

Albert Einstein,

General Rommel

General Patton

Some Supporters of Dowsing:
The Encyclopedia Britannica The American Academy of Science
The Academy of Sciences of Paris. The Canadian Ministry of Agriculture


Anyhoo, I'm not half-bad at it, either, and once found an unrecorded and lost waterline at a friend's house. Sure saved a lot of money on a backhoe rental.

About all this water-witching.....it's okay to be skeptical. Like gravity, karma, or women's intuition... we know it's there, we just can't quite see it yet.

Bravo, Sweetwater...a great limerick for this thread. I like it, my mother's name is Hazel.

Glad you enjoyed that.....of course I had no idea that Hazel was your mom....the limerick play is on witch hazel....I wonder if anyone still uses it as an aftershave......it's pretty old school......

[Edited on 1-29-2015 by Sweetwater]

Bravo and congratulations on your new talent and ability, ChicaSierra. Glad you were inspired and successful.

Hope you find many treasures with your dowsing. And don't worry about any skepticsm, the Salem Witch Trials are long gone.

I think it just goes to show that, like Hamlet says to his naysayer in the play, 'Hamlet'...

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

So true, Pompano! Thank you for your belief in the practice and your encouragement! Maybe one day, I'll take my skill to Baja...perhaps I will find some good, pure water for my friends and family who live in the Gonzaga area

Quote: Originally posted by ChicaSierra

So true, Pompano! Thank you for your belief in the practice and your encouragement! Maybe one day, I'll take my skill to Baja...perhaps I will find some good, pure water for my friends and family who live in the Gonzaga area

The granite mountains just west of Gonzaga Bay store all sorts of water and you don't have to go far from the beach to see it above the sand. I can only imagine it continues to flow east under the sand. You should do well finding where to dig a well!

Just a mile inside the Arroyo Santa Maria canyon, in May (about 6 miles from the sea):



The Las Pamitas oasis is even closer to the bay, just south of this arroyo.


This tiny waterfall is just over a mile west of the Gonzaga Pemex. The water is mineralized and creates a giant glacier of white soda and future onyx...

Yes, David....Such a wonderful place. What feels like a Sahara desert at the 'trailhead' turns gradually into a full blown oasis! I haven't made it to the top yet, but plan to, one of these days. I'd also like to check out (dowse) the area where the wash meets the gulf...P.F./Sacraficio I am always amazed at how some of the local fresh water wells are so close to the coast.
Also, some Gonzaga friends recently reported that Las Palmitas is now totally fenced off and inaccessible (I guess, for livestock, or??)..... Too bad. Nice place to check out. An 'old timer' told me about taking their rigs out there for a 'car wash,' pump and all...only to be sand blasted on the way out...silly men.
BTW, I hear there is now quite a bit of water at La Turquesa, from the deluge.
My brother (family of 4) spend months at a time in P.F., relying on a homemade de-sal water system from a shallow salt water well. It works pretty well, but ground water would be my preference/ dream.
Anyhow, thanks for the cool pics/memories!