Water Witching

Water Witching in the County by Kelly Warman-Stallings

(Published to "Window to the Past" website, March 2015)

The term '"water witching" has been around for many centuries and is basically the art of finding underground water sources by the use of a forked tree limb. Some people refer to "water witching" as dowsing, divining or doodlebugging. Although, the scientific term for "water witching" is rhabdomancy.

The way dowsing works is the person with the talent of "water witching" will loosely hold the forked stick in each hand (usually a peach limb) and walk the perimeter of the chosen locale - with the forked limb held straight out in front of them - as they search for a water source.

When water underground has been detected, the forked stick will give a pull as it simultaneously aims itself down to the ground. Or in some cases it will shake in one's hands before going downward... hence holding the divining branch loosely in one's hands.

While rhadbomancy is an unexplained process, and the science of the art is disputed by the majority of scientists, those who practice the art of doodlebugging would highly disagree with those scentific findings. For most "water witchers" the talent of finding water comes natural to them and, in some cases, passed down through generations. Which is the case when it comes to my Smith family of Richwoods township...

My great-grandfather, Henry Franklin Smith (also known as "Cap" Smith), was one of the most renowned "water witchers" in Miller County at one time... I'm not exactly certain when Cap Smith lent his talent of discovering water for his neighbors and others, but I'm sure it was sometime during the early 1900s. Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of going with him and witnessing such a supernatural occurrence, but I surely have heard stories of how he did it!

Another illustrious "water witcher" in Miller County was a gentleman named Walter Lollis. Mr. Lollis, a descendant of slaves who came to Miller County in the 1800s, was well known and respected around Iberia and I'm sure the surrounding areas as well. According to Peggy Hake, his talent for finding water was remarkable. I'm sure, like Cap Smith, Walter Lollis was well in demand for locating the perfect place to dig a well.

The practice of "water witching" has been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and it is one of the oldest forms of divination. And while not everyone has the talent to "water witch", those who do are a valuable asset to others.