From the ornithological chronicles of Corvus Blackwood, Distinguished Observer

In my extensive observations of human peculiarities, few individuals have presented such a remarkable study in physiological extremism as Miss Catherine Bent of Cornwall, whose acquaintance I made during that memorable summer of 1954. Unlike the composed methodology of Miss Miles, Bent's approach to water divination represented something altogether more theatrical—and considerably more violent in its manifestation.

The British Pathé cinematographers who documented her activities in Deveran captured what can only be described as a woman in the throes of hydraulic possession. Her body, allegedly "highly sensitive to nature and physical elements," would convulse with such extraordinary violence when approaching underground water sources that observers reported she would "sometimes fall flat on her face". The spectacle was simultaneously compelling and rather alarming.

What distinguished Bent from her more sedate contemporaries was the apparent involuntary nature of her responses. Her body would go into "wild spasms" as she claimed to receive information about hidden water sources, suggesting either genuine neurological sensitivity to subsurface conditions or an extraordinarily committed performance. The cinematographic evidence reveals a woman whose entire corporeal frame appeared to respond to invisible forces with the dramatic intensity of a revival preacher.

From my aerial vantage point, I observed that her method dispensed entirely with traditional dowsing implements. Rather than relying upon hazel rods or copper wires, Bent appeared to channel her perceptions through physical convulsions that rendered her movements decidedly unsteady. While contemporary scientific observers dismissed her abilities as "hokum," she maintained absolute conviction in her powers, demonstrating the curious psychological phenomenon whereby intense belief can manifest remarkable physical symptoms.

The Cornwall countryside, with its complex geology and numerous underground streams, provided an ideal testing ground for such dramatic demonstrations. Whether Bent possessed genuine sensitivity to electromagnetic variations in the earth or simply exhibited an elaborate form of unconscious muscular response remains a fascinating question for students of human psychology and the persistent mysteries of folk practice.

—Corvus Blackwood, from his "Studies in Extraordinary Manifestations"