The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-08-05
A BLIND FARMER.
Sightless Ohioan who Succeeds Better
Than Many who See.


Sightless Ohioan who Succeeds Better
Than Many who See.
A letter to the Philadelphia Times from
New Somerset, O., gives an account of Ben.
son Taylor, well known in that locality I'd
the blind farmer. He manages the farm
himself, and while there are number of
things which he cannot do, such as plough
ing and seeding yet there are SO many
things about the farm which he can and
does do that he is fairly entitled to the
name of farmer. He has cooked for him.
self for years, baking bread and pies with
apparent ease, and even allows himself oc-
casionally the luxury of a sponge cake.
His kitchen garden is kept very model Of
neatness and cleanliness, all the planting
and tending being done by himself. He
milks and churns with the ease of dairy.
maid. The almost universal correctness OF
his judgment of stock and the skill he
shows in raising them are remarkable.
YES" said he, "I'll put my judgment
on the weight of stock against any man
around here. 1 sold n lot of hogs short
time ago and told the butcher they would
average over hundred and fifty apiece.
he laughed and said they wouldn't go over
hundred and forty, but when they were
weighed he found 1 was correct A few
years ago i began to make study of the
color of horses from the feel of the hair,
and now can tell the color pretty nearly
every time"
g How do you do that ?"
Well, you'll notice that bay horse
generally has smooth, short hair, evenly
distributed over the body. If the hair OF
the legs is coarser, it shows they arc darker
colored. Now, roam feels something like
bay, only in rubbing your hands down
you'll notice little offsets, as if it isn't even.
Black horses have strong names and tails
and hair generally little longer than other
horses. In gray the hair has a dull, dead.
like feeling doesn't seem to have the life
that others do. The name and tail of o sor.
rel are soft and fine and hair rather longer,
with a soft, smooth feel to it.
" attend to my stock myself, and they
are very much attached to me. owned at
one time very intelligent horse of Arabian
blood. called her Julie and could ride
her to any part of the country almost. If !
put on my best suit, she took me to church.
If was dressed in my working Clothes she
would go to the store or the blacksmith
shop. When came where I thought was
near the road wanted to turn off at a
slight pressure ON the rein of that side was
all she needed, and she would turn If when
she came to the road. But think one of
the most intelligent things she ever did was
one time when the boys of the village got
to making sport of me as l went to church.
She would put back her ears and look mad
At them, people said but it was no use.
They got worse every Sunday. There are
two roads from here to the church, you
know. The nearest is through the village,
and the other is more roundabout. Well.
one Sunday when we came to where the
other road turns off, she struck into it.
thought there was something up, but lei
her go, and sure enough, she went away
around to the church. Wouldn't go through
the village to be made fun of, you know.
She died few years ago, and / have
aever been able to find another one as in.
selligent. Even when she was dying she
was considerate of me. heard n noise out
| in the stable about the middle of the night
| and went out. She had got down crossways
| in the stall and pushed the boards off at one
| side. tore down the other side so as ia
give her room. noticed that in her strup-
giles she would throw her head up SO that |
was afraid she'd knock her brains out, but
if held her head, she would only strike
out with her feet for fear of hurting me,
you know.
Her colt, Toae called him, was also q
very intelligent animal. He would come to
the fence just inside of the field over there,
where he could look right into the window
here, and call me time and again when he
thought was slow about coming out. II /
went into the field, he would gallop toward
me SO that you would have thought he
would have run over me, but he would gal
lop past little piece and come and put his
head over my shoulder. would never
have sold him but at the advice Of my
friends, who feared couldn't control him.
" The most difficult feat / ever performed
was about a year ago. There's man lives
about two miles from here who had borrow
ed collar and strap from me and refused
to give them up. I quarrelled with him
one day and was going to fight him, for
told him I'd have those things or I'd take
them out of his hide. The bystanders
wouldn't let us hight, so determined to go
to his barn and get my property. I'd been
at his house one time, but I didn't know
! where his barn was. l wanted some of the
young fellows to go with me, but they were
afraid Of the dog, and wouldn't even take
me in sight of the barn; SO struck out by
myself. just before came to the house, Oh
where thought the house ought to be,
there was a well-beaten road turned of to
the right, and was pretty'certain that il led
to the barn. found the barn, went in at
the big doors, thea down through the trap
door to the stable. The horses were all out
in pasture, SO I had nothing to fear
from them. / found the collar without
any trouble, but think the strap
was the last thing of harness kind that ]
came across in the stable. I got home all
right again, heard nothing from the dog,
and to this day the man doesn't know how
got that collar aud strap"
MONKEYS ON 4 RAILROAD,
The following story was related TO cor
n 4.