Charles Hatfield

Charles Mallory Hatfield (July 15, 1875 - January 12, 1958) was an American "rainmaker" who claimed to have caused over 500 successful artifical precipitations with his secret mixture of 23 chemicals.

The "Moisture Accelerator"

 * Raised in Kansas.
 * Sewing machine solicitor.
 * 1904, "RAINSTORMS AT $50 EACH".
 * by 1907, Hatfield held ongoing contracts across Southern California, including Stanislaus, Merced, San Joaquin, and boasted contracts in Oregon and other states.
 * 1915, San Diego flooding, legal controversy.
 * 1920, farmers in Washington state counties Grant, Douglas, and Lincoln contracted with Hatfield at a modest $3000 per inch.
 * 1921, farmers in Medicine Hat, Alberta (Canada) paid out $8000 for four and a quarter inches of rain.
 * 1931, farmers in San Bernadino county propose an offer of $10,000 (or $1000 a foot) to fill Big Bear Lake.