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Mary,
Mary, Once of Perry
by Toney Urban
Unbelievable,
but true stories connected to Perry, Texas (Falls County)
Previous
Page
Story Two:
Mary and the Water Well |
Other than Mrs. Brown's story, there are quite a few others I can relate to you
regarding 'Mary.' Another has to do with our family drilling a deep well when
we needed extra water on our 264 acre farm. I'll digress for a moment to tell
you how we decided on the spot to dig. My Mother cut a forked branch off a peach
tree and used it to determine the spot to dig. As we watched her, the point of
the forked twig would bend up and down - seemingly by itself - to the point of
being pretty ragged by the time she finished - it went up and down about 400 times.
(Excuse my digression.) Now to the well digging.
The well digging rig
was about 39 feet tall with a huge plunger. I was just a kid but was allowed to
help out a bit. When we got to 425 feet we hit water. The digger hooked up a pump
and tried to pump the water all out. He was never able to, so we knew we had a
good well. The water was mineral-rich and did not taste very good, but was fine
for the livestock.
The next time my Dad visited Mary, being very proud
of our well, he mentioned it to Mary. Mary scribbled a bit on her pad and told
Dad that the well would go dry one day. I thought my Dad was going to fall out.
A few seconds later she added "Not to worry, after 3 days the water would come
back and never go dry afterwards."
About a year or so later, when we turned
on the water one day, nothing but air came out. Dad was dismayed. We went out
to the pump house, took off the cover and dropped a small piece of gravel into
the well. We could hear it hit with a clear peck. The well was dry. We went ahead
with our daily chores because it was a busy time of the year. Later that day my
Dad contacted the well digger, who came over and did the same thing we had done
with the gravel. He then told Dad that he would have to dig deeper. My Dad said
OK, and the second day the digging rig was brought in and set up. Being too late
to start digging that day, they left, saying they would start next morning. That
next morning at the breakfast table, conversation came up about the well diggers
arrival. My Mother, speaking to my father, recalled: "Mary told you this would
happen and that in 3 days the water would come back in and never go dry again."
We all jumped up from the table, ran out to the well, took off the cover, and
dropped in another piece of gravel. We were delighted to hear the clear sound
of the gravel hitting water. A bit later the well diggers arrived, performed the
same test with a piece of gravel, and tried to pump the well dry. Since they could
never do it, they packed up their rig and went home. The well never went dry again.
(If you are not too bored yet):
Story
Three: Mary and the Typhoon - next page |
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