The National tribune., 1884-12-04
Can any one solve the mystery?
ARMLEsS WOMAN'S FEATS.
Writing, Threading Needle and Feeding Herself
With Her Toes.
Detroit Times

"Now let me show you what / can do Din
ner'll be here in just moment. Thread q
needle? Of course / can-see?" and suiting
the action TO the word, Mrs. Thomson picked
up fine needle with the large and second toe
of the right foot, held it tightly between the
tips, and taking some red yarn in her left foot,
rolled the end deity on small, smooth stone,
put it to her mouth by bending her body al
most double, and deity inserted the yarn in the
needle, more easily than a bachelor threads q
large needle with very fine thread. Next she
took up handsome tidy on which she was
crocheting, and with remarkable deftness held
the work with her right foot while with her
left she guided the needle in and out, catching
the threads with ease and fashioning the figure
as fast as my lady" in her sitting room does
with her soft hands. Her right eye giving her
some trouble during this work, she deity
pushed back the SpectacleS which she wore and
with the second toe rubbed the eyelid. Then
she bent forward and brushed back a few stray
hairs from her forehead. Taking up the pen
between the large and second toe of her left
foot, and holding slip of paper with her right
toes, she wrote in a feminine hand, small and
rather neat: " He that lends to all shows good
will but little sense Ann E. l.. Thomson.
Born without arms Dec. %, 1889, Ga" This
written, she put the pen down, took up blotter
with her left foot placed it over the writing
and dried the ink. Taking up pair of sharp
scissors with the large and third toe Of her left
foot, she cleverly cut off the portion of the
paper on which she had written.
Here comes my dinner. Now you can see
me eat-not that it's such sight, but you may
find it odd to see one eat with toes instead of
fingers"
Mr.. Thomson spread out a napkin on the
platform, and placed on it the dinner OF a per-
son in good health. Mrs. Thomson turned
around in her seat, took up cup of tea in her
left foot, stirred it with spoon held in her
right toes and half bending, half raising the
cup to her lips, drank Off the tea, and placed
it on the platform. Then she grasped fiat
handled silver knife in her left toes, caught
fork between the first two toes of her right foot
and cut some steak into pieces Part of it was
tongh, but she had no more trouble in cutting
it than an ordinary person would have. A
piece of the meat held on fork was trans
ferred to her mouth, and was followed by
piece Of bread broken from a slice by her
large and second toes.
As soon as she had finished this novel meal,
Mrs. Thomson continued: :" | forgot to tell you
about my schooling. Oh, yes, | went to school.
The pupils were kind, and l had little raised
platform for my use. / held my books in my
toes, and read and studied as well as the rest of
the girls. l held a slate in my right foot and
the pencil between the toes of my left and
managed to figure as well as any one. My
right limb is shorter than my left, and l
learned to write with my left foot as you have
seen. L learned ali thatJwas taught in the
common schools of Georgia before the war"