divining-rod

It was supposed to be foul play with a motive, as the only thing they stole was his divining-rod for gold, which he carried about with him, and they did not take his money.

The Romance of Isabel Lady Burton 2006

It is very certain, at any rate, that once there was no pond here, and now there is one; and this Indian fable does not in any respect conflict with the account of that ancient settler whom I have mentioned, who remembers so well when he first came here with his divining-rod, saw a thin vapor rising from the sward, and the hazel pointed steadily downward, and he concluded to dig a well here.

Walden 2004

After a cold and snowy night it needed a divining-rod to find it.

Walden 2004

I think that the richest vein is somewhere hereabouts; so by the divining-rod and thin rising vapors I judge; and here I will begin to mine.

Walden 2004

He'd just turned sixteen, and though he remained small (a shade over five feet six inches tall, broom thin), he was dealing with sprouts of hair beneath his arms and on his chin, and the divining-rod erections that govern most sixteen-year-old boys.

Land of the Blind Walter, Jess, 1969- 2003

Dousterswivel: "Pray, Mr. Dousterswivel, shall we dig from east to west, or from west to east? or will you assist us with your triangular vial of May-dew, or with your divining-rod of witch-hazel?"

The Mysteries of All Nations Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws Against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions Together With Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales James Grant

He bore a truer divining-rod, and through a wilderness of contention he alone was the unerring Pathfinder of the People.

America First Patriotic Readings Jasper Leonidas McBrien

He means inspiring hints, a divining-rod to your deeper nature, "plain living and high thinking."

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 07, No. 40, February, 1861 Various

The divining-rod which he holds only moves in obedience to the muscular contraction of his hands, and a rod of any kind of wood, or even of any material substance whatever, can be used, provided it be a conductor of electricity.

The American Architect and Building News, Vol. 27, Jan-Mar, 1890 Various

The phenomena of tests by the divining-rod are not by any means new.

The American Architect and Building News, Vol. 27, Jan-Mar, 1890 Various