The early Spanish did not depend on dowsing alone in their search for minerals. It was just one part of their method. During all expeditions by the Spanish, when in search of minerals or new lands, a priest was taken along. This man was trained to take ore samples, test them and observe outcroppings and indications of ore bodies. He was also the cartographer ( map-maker ), as the average soldier could not do this. He was there to protect the priest and expedition. That is why even Cortez and Coronado would ask the priest's opinion before making a decision. A priest was the judge, father confessor and sometimes leader of an expedition. Priests were also trained in botany. They knew that certain plants, grasses, and trees could indicate mineral deposits or water. The poppy flower ( in it's wild state ) almost always indicates a copper deposit. Peppergrass and milkvetch could mean there is uranium below their roots. The common horsetail plant has the ability to extract gold from the ground if the mineral is present. The chief value of the plant, however, is as an indicator of gold in a given location. Hemlock and the holly tree are sometimes indicators of lead. Firs, junipers and yellow pines show where to look for gold. The rhododendron bush has been known to indicate coal and oil, by the color shades of it's leaves. Regardless of where you find willow trees, the cat-tail plant or swampgrass, they indicate water. Searching in this manner is referred to as geo-botanical prospecting.
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