[Dan De Quille, The Metalloscopists, San Francisco Call, 17 June 1894:11]

 

SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 17, 1894.

 

THE METALLOSCOPISTS

BY DAN DE QUILLE.

            Notwithstanding the march of civilization, the advance of the sciences, improved education and the diffusion of knowledge through the printing press, there linger among us innumerable little superstitious notions, weaknesses for things occult and mysterious and yearnings after things of a supernatural nature that we seem to have inherited from our forefathers, and of which we cannot rid ourselves. The truth is that we do not strive very hard to be quit of these old notions, for most of us have a sort of "sneaking fondness" for the mysterious and occult, and hope some time to meet with some marvel inexplicable by the scientists that upsets all natural laws and is, in short, genuinely supernatural.

            Every man has his pet superstition. Then besides individual superstitions there are class and national superstitions. In Cornwall no miner whistles underground. Sailors have a set of superstitions peculiar to their class, besides whatever individual superstitions they may have. Gamblers have their special superstitions, and actors theirs. Then there are national superstitions and superstitions that are world wide. Besides all the signs and portents of good or bad fortune to come, believed in by individuals and classes, it is seen in all countries that certain persons are supposed to possess mystic or supernatural powers, of various kinds.

            Miners have about as many superstitious notions as are to be found among sailors. Few of these, however, demand the interpretation or intervention of the professional adept, the man whose powers are exercised for a consideration. It is only in the finding of mines and ore bodies that the man with the "gift" gets in his work, still he makes a very good thing of it. People laugh at his forked stick and say it is all humbug, yet there are always plenty of men ready to set the man of the magic rod to work, "just for the fun of it," as they say. The fact is they are curious to know what the possessor of the mysterious "power of the rod" will say about certain veins of quartz or pieces of ground in the mineral belt.

            A gaping crowd is always sure to follow the man with the "dowsing-rod." Men will laugh at his announcements, yet much of what he says "sticks" — finds judgment in the mind of some one.

            The general term for divination by rod or wand is "rhabdomancy," which is intended to cover all the use of the instrument. "Metalloscopy" is the special term used to designate the art of finding metals by the use of the divining-rod, and those who use it for the purpose of discovering water call themselves "hydroscopists." Among the masses, however, these gentry are not honored with any such high-sounding titles. In Cornwall they are called "dowsers," and the instrument they use is known as a "dowsing-rod." In the Pacific Coast regions those who use the divining-rod are spoken of as "forked-stick men," and the rod itself is called "the little joker." The rod is just as good for oil as it is for water and metals, and in Pennsylvania the diviner is known as an "oil-smeller." The first oil well had no more than begun to flow before the divining-rod men were prancing about the oil fields with their forked sticks. All the "water witches" or "water-smellers" at once became "oil-smellers." It was suddenly discovered that the rod was as good for finding oil as for discovering water.  It was like the fellow's wonderful hunting horse, which was "just as good for fish as for rabbits."

            In the early days of the Comstock old Al Peck was the great "dowser" man. Old Al was a little, dried-up, illiterate man in whose small restless eves was always to be seen a cunning twinkle when he took to the field "dowser" in baud. The rod he used was provided with a pair of whale-bone handles, which proceeded out of an egg-shaped bulb covered with buckskin. Inside of the bulb was supposed to be some kind of receptacle containing a certain combination of metals and chemicals. The old man said he did not himself know what the bulb contained, that he was not allowed to examine it. He claimed that were he to open the bulb and examine its contents his "gift" of the "power of the rod" would be taken from him.

            Old Al was on the Comstock as early as 1860. I first saw him in that year among the hills between Silver City and American Flat. He had trailing out behind him twenty or thirty men who had followed him from Virginia City. Among these were half a dozen San Francisco capitalists. Old Al was in clover, and seemed to have placed all his followers under some sort of spell akin to that which the "Pied Piper" put upon the children of Hamelin when he led them away to perish on Koppelberg Hill. In the eyes of every man trailing after old Al was to be seen the greed of gold. All eyes were upon the old man as he marched along with the bulb of his forked slick on a level with his nose. When the rod began to move all drew near and stood watching, open mouthed and almost breathless.  

            At times old Al and his stick had some terrific struggles. He would be trying to hold the rod steady, but an immensely rich deposit of the precious metals in the earth beneath his feet was pulling down upon the magic wand with a powder of attraction not to be resisted. Old Al's eyes would blaze green and blue, the muscles of his face would be convulsed and his whole body would writhe, but down would go the point of the rod in spite of all he could do. Then the old man would wipe from his face beads of perspiration as big as buckshot and announce "a bonanza."

            When looking for silver, etc., Peck would hold a silver coin in his left hand against the handle of the rod, for gold a gold coin, and often silver in one hand and gold in the other. In fact he held in his hand against one of the prongs of the rod a bit of whatever metal he was in search of. Peck was well known in all the mining regions of the Pacific Coast. I think he had a good deal of superstitious faith in the rod, yet undoubtedly helped it along in such a way as to suit his purposes— "assisted nature," as the doctors say.

            The latest man in the field in this region who sets up for a discoverer of the secret hoards of nature in the way of the precious metal is a Scotchman named Norrie. Mr. Norrie claims that his ore indicator is constructed on strictly scientific principles, and is the result of hundreds of experiments and years of study. In attempting to give an idea of the apparatus used by Norrie it will first be necessary to mention some of his notions in regard to quartz veins and the mineral deposits they carry. It is a well-known fact that nothing in nature is ever in a state of perfect rest. All things are either in process of growth or process of decay. In the animal and vegetable kingdoms this is apparent to even the most ordinary observer. Though the fact is not so evident in the mineral kingdom, owing to the great periods of time occupied in the processes of formation and dissolution, yet there is in it no more rest than in the other kingdoms.

            Rocks and minerals are either forming or decomposing. There is constant motion among the particles or atoms of which they are composed. According to Norrie these changes and motions, chemical and mechanical, produce emanations of various kinds from the mineral deposits in which they are taking place. When wood or coal is being consumed by fire it sends up smoke and flame or heat; also sends up emanations in the shape of gases which we do not see, though they are as much the products of combustion as are the visible smoke and flames.

            Now Norrie holds that in the name way deposits of iron or copper pyrites, silver sulphides and the like during decomposition or other changes send forth gaseous emanations and also electrical currents — for there is no chemical change or mechanical motion of atoms that is not attended with electrical action of more or less force. Mr. Norrie claims that his instrument— which in action is something like a steelyard— is charged with certain chemicals that are affected by the metallic vapors and electrical currents that rise through the earth at points beneath which lie mineral deposits in which changes are more or less actively progressing. This being the case the vibration of the instrument and its loss of equilibrium tell when it is passing over a mass of ore. He then claims to be able to tell abut the depth and richness of the deposit by the amount of certain other chemicals which he is obliged to add to restore the balance of his instrument and place it on an "even keel" by overcoming the attraction or "pull" of the ore deposit. All this looks very like the "dowser" in another shape.

            Norrie says that though the chemical and electrical emanations— which may be looked upon as the perspiration of the laboring rocks— are invisible to the eye they are none the less real and present. Though they escape the visual organs they do not wholly escape the other senses of certain human beings. He says there are persons of such peculiar and delicate organization—"so constituted" — that they are affected by the effluvia rising from large bodies of mineral matter in which chemical changes are taking place. Such persons complain of nausea and dizziness when in the midst of the exhalations of mines He thinks that all animals are sensitive to and more or less affected by the effluvia of large mineral deposits. Both the dog and the horse show signs of uneasiness when passing through exhalations from subterranean depths. The susceptibility of these animals to such influences is so marked that through them some valuable mines have been found in Germany and other European countries. Also there are legends of rich mines having been discovered in the Hartz Mountains through their vaporous exhalations becoming visible in the night as a bluish flame playing along on the surface of the ground.

            Now, Mr. Norrie claims that his mineral indicator is more sensitive to both electrical currents and evolved gases than are the senses of any person or animal, and asserts that it is so delicately balanced that its equipoise is disturbed by the faintest shade of an emanation from subterranean depths — by the sigh of the smallest laboring nodule.

            Judging from what Norrie reports of his observations with his instrument I am of the opinion that an apparatus similar to the microphone might be constructed by means of which the sounds produced by chemical and dynamical changes in mineral deposits might be detected through a great depth of rock. One might thus be enabled to officiate at the birth of a crystal at the depth of 100 feet below the surface. Until such an instrument is brought out I shall continue to think better of the pick and shovel than of anything else as implements by means of which to discover deposits of the precious metals.

            Besides these chiefs in metalloscopy— Al Peck and Norrie— the Comstock mines have been visited by a score or more of "douster-swivels," with their forked sticks and other apparatus for spotting bonanzas. It is a curious fact, and one that shows in the human animal an inherent leaning toward the occult and marvelous, that many a man who disclaims belief in the "dowser," yet finds a good deal of comfort in the circumstance of the "little joker" having indicated a great and rich body of ore when operated over his pet mine. It will be found that thereafter his opposition to dowsers is merely passive. On the other hand, let the "magic fork" fail to find anything of value on a man's favorite claim and his antagonism to "dowser" and the whole beggarly tribe of swindling "douster-swivels" becomes active and vehement.

            While the masculine ore-finder invariably operates with the old-time mineral rod, or some similar mechanical contrivance, his female counterpart nearly always claims to be "so constituted" as to be peculiarly sensitive to the vaporous exhalations of minerals and to the magnetic ore electric currents from ore bodies. These female "douster-swivels" are affected in various ways, mentally and physically, and their antics, which range from the semi-trance to mild hysterics, are often decidedly ludicrous. Some have tremblings, others mild convulsions, while the majority exhibit much writhing of the facial muscles and wild rollings of the eyes when under strong "mineral influence." These are the "natural magnets," the "ore-smellers" and the "clairvoyants" —all persons "peculiarly constituted."

            Though these hysterical demonstrations on the part of the "natural magnets" may be well calculated to awe and favorably impress the feminine beholders, they do not, as a rule, very greatly affect the masculine mind. The sturdy and matter-of-fact miner is not awed. We of the Comstock have been visited by several women calling themselves "natural magnets." To be taken into the labyrinthian workings of one of our leading mines and led about through a confusing mass of drifts and crosscuts is a severe test to be undergone by even the most experienced and "shifty" of the male "dowsers"; for the female "natural magnet" the ill-concealed grins and significant coughs of the miners, who know every streak and bunch of ore in the workings as well as a mother knows her children, are absolute torture, and few care to repeat their first experience in that line of divination, for all soon come to grief in the mazes. They contradict themselves at every turn.

            I once went into one of our mines with a woman who called herself the "Mineral Queen"— a woman "peculiarly constituted." With us went the superintendent, foreman and two or three others connected with the mine. After the lower levels were reached the "Mineral Queen," evidently feeling that there was ore about and that it was time to be affected, began to "stiffen." Her eyes seemed set in her head. Said she: "I feel an influence. It is a mineral wave. It comes from this direction," pointing. "It comes from a large body of rich ore," proceeded the woman. She was led around another way and halted. Again she felt the influence. The metallic wave was so heavy that it made her tremble in every joint. "It is getting richer and is now near, very near," cried she.

            The fact was that the woman was constantly pointing away from the ore, and when led past the largest and richest deposits of ore in the mine with both eyes wide open saw nothing, was free from agitation and was struck by no "metallic wave." When shown the ore and the barren regions to which she had pointed the "Mineral Queen" was so disgusted that she would never again go into mines that were extensively opened; she took to the bills in the outside districts where rich ore was still a hidden and unknown quantity. There she caused a considerable amount of money to be permanently invested.   

            When we were in the dressing-room of the mine, preparing to descend to the lower levels, a Boston man, who was on a visit to the Comstock and was going with us, became very curious when he found that in another room preparing to make the descent was a woman called the "Mineral Queen." "How could she tell about the ore? How is she affected in the presence of ore?" he asked.

            "Well," said the foreman, who was in the humor to guy the Bostonian, "the woman is so constituted that she weeps very copiously whenever she is taken near a big body of rich ore."

            "Oh, yis, sir; that is so," said an old son of Erin, who had charge of the dressing-room and wished to help along with the joke. "That is so, sir. I've been wid her in a dhrift where there was vara rich ore when to folia afther her was loike walkin' at the tail ay a sphrinklin' cart!"

            Mrs. Sandy Bowers, once mistress of the "Bowers Mansion," Washoe Valley, and of almost untold wealth in mines, when she lost all was obliged to take up the trade of fortune-teller. This was not hard for her, as she came of a Scotch family claiming to possess the gift of second-sight, and had all her life been dabbling more or less in things occult by means of a "peepstone," brought from the old country. Being naturally interested in mines and mining, the old lady was wont— for a consideration—to look into her "peep-stone" and tell the boys of the rich bodies of ore still lying undiscovered in various leading mines of the Comstock at times when a "boom was on." When she started out I christened her the "Washoe Seeress, " a name by which she is known to this day. She was quite as good a diviner as any of the "dowsers" and "natural magnets " and as the boys were inclined to help the old lady along, no one ever complained of her predictions. Thus it came about that the woman who had been presented at the court of Queen Victoria and who had lighted up the dusky glens of her native "Heelands" with the blaze of her diamonds finally settled down to business in her old age as the "Washoe Seeress."

 Dan De Quille.