Witching Water Wells

Witching water wells was a "gift" that a few men had back in Americas early years.
There were no commercial water well drillers back then, so people dug their wells by hand most of the time. That being the case, people wanted to know where water could be located a short distance under the ground. Men who had the gift of "witching" were well known in the community. They were in great demand.

To witch a well a person would fashion a short, forked willow branch (see photo). Then they would hold each fork of the branch in their hands and start randomly walking. As they walked, they would hold the willow branch straight ahead of them and watch it. They would continue walking until the end of the branch started vibrating. Slowly at first......then more violently. Suddenly, the branch would point itself straight down to the ground with no effort from the person. Wherever the branch touched the ground......that's where the well should be dug. A really good "witcher" could also tell how deep you had to dig before striking water. They were surprisingly accurate.

WOW!!! Early brain ESP? So much for technology huh?