Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1885-07-24
A BLIND AGRICULTURIST.
REMARKABLY ACHIEVEMENT OF q
MAN WITHOUT EYES.
A Man Who Cooks His own Meals
and Attends 10 Nearly the Entire
Work .Of His Farm.

Wan Who Cooks His own Meals
and Attends 10 Nearly the EntIre
Work SOf His Farm.
A man with bandage over his eyes
and stout cane in his hand walked
or.skly down an alley of the little village
Of Somerset, Ohio. He walked with the
strong, confident steps of one who knows
where he is and where he is going. At
lis heels followed little black and tan
log, which, according to all conventional
deas of blind men, should have been in
he front, leading his master by a string.
The man crossed the street few steps
nto the alley on the opposite side when
1e hesitated and felt about with his stick
% ascertain the lay of the ground. He
'hen retraced his steps to the street,
Ikilfully stepping over a small pile of
boards and then down the sidewalk to
mall gate, which he opened without
2esitancy and entered. "Yap yap ~
laid the little black -and-tap. finding
himself shut out. "Why, Sam, didn't
1ou get in?" said his master, and again
opened the gate. The man was Benson
Taylor, well known in this locality as the
blind farmer, and the exploits of the
blind flower girl of 1.-The Last
Days of Pompeii were not
more remarkable than some
.hings which are to this farmer every day
occurrences. His farm is between two
md three miles from the village, and he
thinks nothing of starting out, with no
guide but his cane and no companion but
ais dog, to come to the store for grocer
es or go to any of the neighbors on an
srrand. He manages the fam himself,
and while there are a number of things
which he cannot do, such as plowing
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
iarmer. He has cooked for himself for
gears, baking bread and pies with appar-
ent ease, and even allows himself occa-
'ionally the luxury of sponge cake.
His kitchen garden is kept very model
Of neatness aud cleanliness, all the plant
.ng and tending being done by himself
He milks and churns with the ease of a
1airymaid. The almost universal cor
rectness of his judgment of stock and
the skill he shows in raising them are in
deed remarkable. He is gifted with
wonderful memory, seldom forgetting
anything he cares to remember, and is
aever so happy as when some friend reads
20 him. He has a decided taste for the
sciences, being especially interested in
geology and botany.
Not little interested in the man who
has learned so we'll to do without eyes,
the writer called upon him and found
nlm past middle age, broad shouldered,
dark hair and beard and with intelli-
gence and range of general information
much in advance of the average farmer.
''How is it that you can travel over the
nils and hollows of this rough country
the way you do?" was asked. "Oh, /
earned the lay of the country when 1
was boy, and as l didn't 60 entirely
blind until l was about fifteen had
mapped out in my mind the position of
every gate, fence and road almost in the
country. l never was lost but once, and
hat was one day that had been out
with a neighbor collecting some money.
When we got within mile or so of
home told him could go the rest of
The way myself. l got along all right
lntil came to place where there should
have been, according to my calculation,
fence running in certain direction,
but there was no fence there that could
ind. 1t was in the middle of winter,
showing and blowing like all possessed,
and l knew it must be considerably after
lark. | was in quite a quandary and
listened for long time to hear the bark
Of a dog or something that would give
me an idea of where | was; but could
hear nothing, and it looked like it would
Oe my last trip, for if once got bewild
cred l would very soon have frozen to
death. The happy thought struck me
chat perhaps the fence had been moved
and when felt about in the snow with
any cane l found few scattered rails
hat had been left. went on then and
got home all right.
eyes I'll put my judgment on the
weight of stock against any man around
mere. l sod lot of hogs short time
igo 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
we're weighed he found was correct. A
lew years ago began to make study
Of the color of horses from the feel of
ihe hair and now l can tell the color
pretty nearly every time"
GLOW 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 are
darker cooled. Now, roam feels some
hing like bay, only in rubbing your
hands down you'll notice little offsets,
Is if it isn't even. Black horses have
strong names and tails and hair generally
little longer than other horses. In a
gray the hair has dull, dead-like feel
ng-doesn't seem to have the life that
others do. The name and tail of a sorrel
ire soft and fine and hair rather longer,
with soft, smo 9TH feel to it.
81 attend to my stock myself, and
hey are very much attached to me. The
most difficult feat ever performed was
about year ago. There's man lives
about two miles from here who had bor-
'owed a collar, and strap from me and
refused to give them up. | quarrelled
with him one day and was going to fight
nim, for l told him I'd have those things
Or I'd take them out of his hide. The
oystanders wouldn't let us fight, so de-
:ermined to go to his barn and get my
property. I'd been at his house one
time, but didn't know where his barn
was. l wanted some of the young fell
lows to go with me, but they were afraid
Of the dog, and wouldn't even take me
IN sight of the barn, so l struck out by
myself, Just before came to the house,
or where | thought the house ought to
be, there was we'll beaten road turned
| off to the RIGHT and | was pretty certain