The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-04-21
Blind Tom.

an event that will long be remembered by
our citizens with pleasure and wonderment
combined. Everybody had heard of the
wonderful performances of Blind Tom, but
| they had not realized what real wonder
he was until they beheld him with their
own eyes and listened with their own ears
to his enrapt,lring and soul-inspiring melo-
| dies He performed in McCully's Hall to
| a densely crowded house on Saturday night,
and for more than two hours delighted his
audience with both instrumental and vocal
music, interspersed with humorous recita-
tions and exhibitions of his remarkable
memory and acuteness of hearing. He
was in charge of Mr. Bcthunc, son of
his former owner, who lived near Colum-
bus, Ga, where Tom was born and raised
Just now the following extracts from a
biography Of Tom will be perused with in
terest, and will give our readers all idea of
his general character and history:
Tom was born blind and, learning moth.
ing from sight, manifested in his early in
fancy so entire want of intellect as to in
duce the belief that he was idiotic as well
as blind. His imbecility and helplessness
secured for him the sympathy and care of
the family in his infancy; when he began
to walk and run about the yard, his anus
ing peculiaritics made him pet. His first
manifestation of interest in anything was
his fondness for sounds the first indication
of capacity, his power of initiating them.
Musical sounds cxerted controlling intlu-
ence over him; but all sounds, from the
soft breathings of the flute to the harsh
grating of the corn-sheller, appeared to
afford him exquisite enjoyment.
He talked earlier than other children
and he talked no "baby talk" He uttered
his words clearly and distinctly, attaching
no meaning to them, but seeming to con-
slider them merely sounds, which he imi-
tated, as he did all others that he heard.
Whatever words were addressed to him,
whether in the form of question, COM
mand, request, or rs matter of informa-
tic1, he simply repeated in the tones in
which they had been uttered; and would
repeat not only them, but conversations he
had heard-sOmetimes for hours at time;
yet, long after he was in possession of
vocabulary, with which, if he had known
its use, he might have sustained respect
he never attempted to express by words an
idea, feeling or want. His wants he ex-
pressed by whine, which those about him
had to interpret as best they could.
He exhibited his wonderful musical pow.
ers before he was two years old. When the
young misses of the family sat ON the steps
of an evening, and sang, Tom would come
around and sing with them. One of them
one evening said to her father:
"Pa, Tom sings beautifully, and he don't
have to learn any tunes; he knows them
all for as soon as We begin to sing, he
sings right along with u.s."
Very soon she said:
HE sings fine seconds to anything we
sing"
His voice was then strong, soft and melo-
dious. Just before he had completed his
second year, he had the whooping-cough,
from the effects of which his voice under
tinued for years exceedingly rough and
harsh, though it did not affect the taste or
correctness Of his singing.
He was little less than four years of age
when. piano was brought to the house.
The first note that was sounded, of course
brought him up. He was permitted to in-
dulge his curiosity by running his fingers
over and smelling the keys, and was then
taken out of the parlor. AS long as any
one was playing he was contented to stay in
the yard, and dance and caIer to the music;
but the moment it ceased, having discovered
whence the sounds proceeded, and how
they were produced, he was anxious to get
to the instrument to continue them. Ono
night the parlor and the piano had been
left open, his mother had neglected to fasten
her door, and he had escaped without her
knowledge. Before day the young ladies
u,olyo ar6 fo fhoir oetnrfch noY,f honr6
Tom playing one of their pieces. He con-
tinued to play until the family at the usual
time arose, and gathered around him to
witness and wonder at his performance,
which, though necessarily very imperfect,
was maryelously strange; for, notwith-
standing this was his first known effort at
tune, he played with both hands, and used
the black as well as the white keys.
After awhile he was allowed free access to
the piano, and played everything he had
heard. He soon mastered all of that, and
commenced composing for himself. He
would sit at the piano for hours, playing
over the pieces he had heard, then go out,
and run and jump about the yard little
while, come back and play something of his
own. Asked what it was, he replied, ut
is what the wind said to INC, /" or "what the
birds said to me-" or what the trees said
to me-" or what something else said to him.
No doubt what he was playing was con-
nected, in his mind, with some sound or
combination of sounds proceeding from
those things, and not unfrequcntly the rep
resentation was so good as to render the
similarity clear to others.
1t has been stated that Tom was born
blind; in his infancy and for years the
pupils of his eyes were as white and appa-
rently as inanimate as those of a dead fish.
But nature pointed out to him remedy
which gradually relieved him from total
darkness, and in process Of time conferred
upon him, to o limited extent, the blessings
of vision.
When he was three or four years of agc
it was observed that he passed most of his
time with his face upturned to the sun, as
if gazing intently upon it, occasionally
passing his hand back and forth with
rapid motion before his eyes; that was soon
followed by thrusting his fingers into his
eyes with q force which appeared to be
almost sufficient to expel the eye-balls from
their sockets; from this he proceeded to
the blood would run down his face ALL
this must have been pleasant to him, or lie
would not have done it; and there is no
doubt that he is indebted to the stimulus
thus applied to his eyes for the measure of
sight he now enjoys. When five or six
years of age, a small, comparatively clear
speck appeared in one of his eyes, and it
was discovered that within very small
space he could see any bright object. That
eye has continued TO clear, until he is now
able to see luminous bodies at q distance,
and can distinguish small bodies by bring
ing them close to his eye. Persons that he
knows well, he can distinguish at the dis
tcnce of q few feet and it is hoped that in
process of time his sight will so far i'm
prove as to relieve him from many of the
difficulties to which he is subject.
4 u ~ y q q
Tom has been seen probably by more
people than any one living being. He has
played in almost every important city in the
United States and in a great many of the
smaller towns-Paris and most of the prin.
cipal cities of England and Scotland; and
everywhere he has astonished and pleased
those who have heard him. Those who
have observed him most closely, and at
tempted to investigate him most fully, pro-