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  • Texas | Columns

    The boy with X-ray vision

    by Bob Bowman
    Bob Bowman
    Every now and then, an old story about a Texas boy who had X-ray vision, and could locate underground water, surfaces in one of the fifty-plus East Texas newspapers I read every week.

    This time, the story showed up in the Polk County Enterprise under columnist Mike Cox’s byline. Here is the gist of the story:

    One night in 1896, Joel Fenley was walking across one of his pastures with his son Guy tagging along. Suddenly, Guy stopped, looked at the ground and exclaimed to his dad, “Look at that stream of water flowing down here.”

    Fenley was perplexed. He knew his land and was positive there was no stream there. But his son insisted he saw water flowing underground.

    Back home, the father decided to test his son’s talent. He filled a wooden bucket with water, told his son to go into another room, placed the bucket under a table, called his son back, and asked him to point to the spot on the table corresponding with the bucket. The boy did.

    Soon after the incident, Fenley asked his son to show him where he had seen the underground stream. Fenley hired a driller and hit water at 167 feet.

    A local rancher heard of the boy’s talent and asked Joel to help him locate a well on his land. The boy indicated several locations where he said water was flowing near the surface. Each location produced a water well.

    In 1901, when a Uvalde legislator was having trouble finding water on his Big Bend ranch, he mentioned the problem to fellow legislator John Nance Garner, the soon-to be U.S. Vice President. Nance suggested he get in touch with Joel Fenley’s son.

    Wigfall Van Sickle had already sunk $1,500 into a 607-foot dry hole on his ranch, but when Guy Fenley walked over the land, he found water.

    Guy continued to find water on other ranches, but refused to take any money for his services. In 1901, the San Antonio Express interviewed Joel Fenley. “I can no more explain it than anyone else,” he said.

    The Express reporter also talked to Guy, but he hesitated to talk about his abilities. However, he finally said: “I don’t know. I can just see the water, just like I can see you.

    When he grew up, Guy Fenley took up ranching in Zavalla County, and served as the county’s clerk. Whether his powers continued during his adult life is unknown. He died in 1968 at the age of 79.


    © Bob Bowman
    August 8, 2011 Column
    More Bob Bowman's East Texas >
    A weekly column syndicated in 109 East Texas newspapers
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    (Bob Bowman of Lufkin. is the author of more than 50 books about East Texas history and folklore. He can be reached at bob-bowman.com)

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