The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1859-08-12
WHAT A BLIND MAN CAN DO.

bic achievements Of blind genius now
living in Ludlow:
He is Il young man, twenty, four years of
age, who has been blind since he was two
years old, and who docs not remember that
he ever saw. The circumstances which at
tended the loss Of his vision are almost too
horrible for hvlicf. yet we have no reason TO
"uh, ihc,n as they have been related To u>.
: His widowed mother married Il lr,nkard,
and this stcl-'n;hcr, concciving II spite
against the child, un,!rl!onk when inioxi-
carel, TO put his eyes "Ht. Coin. further
in his daholiral purpose, he WAS ah"u, to
run a rc-hot poker down his throat. when
the frightened but desperate ,no,hcr inter
(rrc,l auL prevented it. The child WAS then
thrown down il cellar, where h. lay all night
taking Il cold which 50 far aggravated the
preceding inflammation of tn" eyes that the
sc|rrotic coat of each WAS bust. OF :ll
Ibis he has no memory; and Il blessed thing
it is for Him. At nine years of age he |,
his mother, and in that loss became pc
frc:ly frIcndrss. From that day TO this, he
has mainly taken care Of himself, and now.
although cheated 10y ra>callv agents and la
boring under every possible disadvantage,
has money at interest.
Now let Us see what this man has done
He is a mechanic, an:l knows every part OF
stcam.cngnc as well as if he could see
He Is an engineer, and has not only charge
Of stationary engines, lut has run AS an en-
@ucrr on the Mad River Railroad in Ohio
OF course he ran with look out, and be-
tween this look-"u, and himself he had ar
ranged Il series of Authorizations of Ian
gua-", SO that he could learn from him the
position Of any Object on the track instan-
tanr"u,iy. He WAS engineer, let it be re-
mcmhrrci. Of Passenger train! What i
more remarkable than all, is that he has
made a beautiful little steam engine with
his own hands, SO small that he can carry
: the whole of it in his pocket, and oct up
steam with pleasure. This might well be
considered accomplishment enough for one
blind man, but this is but beginning.
He has a great genius for music, and pos
scSses voice which, in maay characters.
tics, is without doubt the most wonderful
voice in the world. On Tuesday evening
of the present week, he was invited TO a
private house in this city to give an cxh-
h.;on Of his musical abilities, and Il few
musical men anI women were invited to
, hear him, all Of whom will bear testimony
to ihrir establishment and delight. We
suppose that all u.u,caI people will shrug
their shoulders with incrc,!mty when we
tell them that his voice has the compass of
five octavcs; yet such is the fact that he
demonstrated To this company. OF course
The lowest notes are gnt!cral, and are the
= hig ghest falSctto: bu, the falsptto notes are
pleasant and good. and the gu,crals true
tones, and as musical as such tones can hc.
We are not sufficiently verscd in musical
terms to tell what his lowest note is, but it
is the lowest note in the piano, arranged
upon the usual scale, or iple G. as he calls
it. Ills chest tones are excellent, and al
though Carl FormcS may have more power,
his quality is 10 better, while IN his lower
note, he goes down "out Of sight" Of Carl
Frtmcs altogether. We can give no idea
Of this voice by any comparison, for we
have never heard voice with which to
compareit.
OF course, with such voice as this, the
8 owner is tempted to try tricks. The most
interesting of these was the application of il
TO seven purposes. He hogan hy singing,
in delicate soprano the first lines Of ''ojt
in the Silly nigh, :" then, as he proceed
he slid into the alto, then into the tcnot.
then into the base, and then into the
double base" an ortavc below. This fin.
i>l,ed the tune. when he rose, and, turning
his back to the audience. executed some
most excellent frats Of ventriloqusm, and
, wound off by initiating an old fashioned
: spinning wheel so perfectly that the whole
assembly was thrown into roars of laughter.
IL; usutiy " III
lodeon, to which he has added swell of
his own invention. that produces all the ef.
fects Of the swell in the organ.
One of the most deli ightful Of his per-
formances was solo on the cornet, he play
ing it with one band, and accompanying
himself on the piano with the otEer. Up
on this instrument, and in his own way, he
9 played few airs with great sweetness and
{ taste, and executed some velv difficult vari-
] atious. The instrument itself has been the
e subject Of his improving hand, but in what
f respect We know not. Added to all this,
J. he plays the guitar and other instruments,
= and is leader and teacher of bands. He
! seemed to take great deal Of interest in
: explaining bis steam engine to the compa-
q nv, and 10 be thoroughly versed in mechan-