Help with Privy Digging

[coled18]

Hello!

Today I tried privy digging, I’ve dug dumps for a while but never asked a homeowner to dig a privy. Today I asked 6 or 7, all said yes (to my surprise, one of them was even excited I asked). I probed each place according to the period appropriate Sanborn maps (1885-1905) but couldn’t get my probe to sink through. I dig Northeast Kansas if that helps, and was using a 3/8 inch steel tube to probe.

What am I doing wrong? Are there outhouses that have been filled in with super hard packed dirt or grout? A lot of the places I looked were near the alleys behind the houses, they should’ve been very close if not the same to the sanborn map indications.

 

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[villagenut]

first....you need to have a proper probe...48+ inch, spring steel with a T handle and a balled tip.

 

[coled18]

first....you need to have a proper probe...48+ inch, spring steel with a T handle and a balled tip.

first....you need to have a proper probe...48+ inch, spring steel with a T handle and a balled tip.

Would the tip make a big difference? Thanks