Hatfield The Rainmaker: The Man Who Courted Nature

Hatfield the Rainmaker: The Man Who Courted Nature

By Mr Ghaz, February 16, 2010

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Hatfield the Rainmaker: The Man Who Courted Nature

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They called Charles Hatfield a commander of nature, the greatest rainmaker of modern times. For more than 30 years he practiced his art and won a name for himself by filling lakes, saving crops, and breaking droughts, from the Yukon to Guatemala. He offered to clear London of its fog and to water the Sahara. But the scene of his most spectacular achievement was San Diego, California.

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Hatfield approached the city council in December 1915 with simple offer. For a fee $10,000, he would fill the vast city reservoir at Morena Dam; if no rain fell, he would aspect no pay. The council’s amused reaction: if he did fill the reservoir, they would pay him, with pleasure.

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It seemed a safe bet. The reservoir could hold a staggering 15 billion gallons and had never been more than one-third full since it was built. Besides, as one member of the council pointed out, if Hatfield did succeed, he would supply them with 10 billion gallons of water at a cost of one tent of a cent per 1,000 gallons, if he failed, the attempt would have cost them nothing.

Drawing the Clouds

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On January 1, 1916, Hatfield arrived at Morena Dam, some 60 miles east of San Diego, and set to work. First he erected a wooden tower about 20 feet high. On to of it he placed large galvanizing trays containing his special moisture attracting mixture. Then, through a process of chemical evaporation – the details of which he kept a closely guarded secret – he began “coaxing, wheedling, and courting” nature.