Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-01-08
LAURA BRIDGMAN.
HoaC Dr.. Samuel G. Ho,Ue's Celebrated
Blind Deaf Mate PtpiI Vas Taught.

Hosc DR.. Samuel G. Hoave's Celebrated
Blind Deaf Mate PstpiI Vas Taught
In the forthcoming annual report of
the Perkins institution for the blind the
history of the wonderful case of Laura
Bridgman is told again as follows:
can account of this institution would
be incomplete if it failed to mention the
remarkable success achieved in the edu
cation of Laura Bridgman. Cases Of
combined loss Tor lack) of sight, hearing
and speech are so extremely rare that
able writers and philosophers had dis
cussed the possibility of teaching beings
so deprived of the senses necessary for
communion with their fellows any sys-
tematic language for such intercourse.
But no such person seems to have come
to the knowledge of these teachers
and philosophers, and it was
considered an open question whe Their
such education were possible, when DR..
Howe, having frouod in little vii lage
in the mountains pretty ana lively girl
about six years old, who was totally blind
and deaf, and who had only very indis-
tinct sense of smell, resolved to try the
experiment of establishing a means of
communication between the human soul
thus buried in darkness and silence and
the world outside.
Laura Bridgman was born at Hano-
yer, n. H., December 81, 1929. She was
bright, pretty infant, but very delicate.
and subject to fits uutil she was. eighteen
months old, when her health began to
improve, and at two years of age she was
bright, intelligent and healthy child
She was then suddenly Frustrated by a
fever, which ragged violently for several
weeks, and deprived her entirely Of the
senses of sight and hearing, and
blunted those of taste and smell.
For five months she lay in
darkened room, and two years
had passed before she was fully
restored Though thus deprived of most
of the usual means of communication
with others, she was interested in things
about her, and showed desire to learn
She soon began to make language of
her own, and had a sign to indicate her
recognition of each member of the fam
lily. Her power of imitation led her to
repeat what others did, and by means of
this faculty she had learned to sew a lit
tie When DR.. Howe first saw her he de-
scribes her as having a well-formed fg-
ure, q strongly-marked, nervous-s san
guine temperament, a large and beauti-
fully shaped head land the whole system in
healthy action. Her parents were will
ing to allow the trial Of DR.. Howe's plan
of teaching their unfortunate child, and
on the 4th of October, 1887, she was
brought to the institution.
'sThe first lessons were given by taking
small articles of common use, such as
key, a pen, etc., having labels pasted
upon them with their names in raised
letters, and allowing her to feel of these
very carefully, over and over again, until
she came to associate the word thus
printed with the article itself, and when
shown the name apart from the object,
would at once bring the object which the
name called for. In order to teach her
the value of the individual letters of
which these names were composed, short
menosyllable words were first selected,
such as pin and pen, and by repeatedly
examining these, she came to perceive
that they consisted of three separate
signs or characters, and that the middle
sign of one differed from the middle sign
of the other. The task of teaching these
early lessons was very slow one; but Lau-
"a began by being willing and patient
imitator, even before she had any con-
ceptlon of the meaning or object Of these
lessons; and when, by degrees, some idea
Of this Specification dawned upon her.
her delight was so Enthusiastically mani
tested, and her zeal and interest became
so great, that the slow progress became
pleasant work. After learning to asso.