Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-04
THE COLORED ASYLUM.
Interesting Report o. Superintendent
w. II. Holland.
How the Institute for the Golored Desf, and
Dumb and Blind Has Progressed.
The First Report. ~

The first report of superintendent W /.
H Holland of the colored deaf and dumb
asylum, the only colored superintendent
of such an institution in the Cnited
States, is just out He says:
To His Excellency L. S. Ross, Governor of
Texas:
In obedience to request from the
board of trustees and your excellency, 1
herewith submit my report of the history
| of the institution for the deaf, dumb and
blind colored Youtlfof Texas, from its
inception to date.
APPOINTMENT.
was appointed to the position of SUI
| perintendent of the institution ard quail
| fed on the 18th of August, 1887, and i'm
mediately entered upon the discharge of
my duties
The improvements upon the property
| purchased for Il site for the institution,
with some repairs, were deemed sufficient
| for the accommodation of about forty
children, and the trustees thought it
advisable to put the school in operation
on the 18th of September, 1887.
Having been furnished no data as to
|
blind colored children in the state who
were Of the proper age and otherwise
suitable for admission into such an insti-
tuition, and being unable to procure such
| data from any source, official or other
wise, and knowing that our colored pop
ulatiOn as a rule were not reading peo-
| pie, and that very few would be aware of
the existence of this institution, I imme-
| dately advertised in the leading colored
papers OF the state, and made prepare
! tionS to visit the portions of the state
where the colored population was the
| densest
l visited, at my own expense, eight or
nine of the principal counties having 4
! large coloFed population, and by different
methods succeeded in advertising the ex-
istence of this institution, and making
known to the people the great benefits
| which could result from it.
| L succeeded in securing q sufficient
number of pupils to open school with, but
owing to failure in getting Il teacher for
! the deaf and dumb the school was not
under full Roadway until about month
after the time first appointed. The
! board had fixed the scholastic age from
seven to twenty-one years.
We secured the services of Professor
! Julius Garrett, deaf mute, who had
! been recommended by the principal of the
! North Carolina institute, and placed him
in charge of the deaf mutes. The services
of Miss Cora L. Moore of Waco were
secured for the instruction of the blind
children.
A two-story, two-room stone building,
! few yards northwest of the main build
ing, was repaired and fitted up and the
rooms used as class rooms. Suitable
! books, music and a musical instrument
were purchased for the instruction of
! the blind children.
The children, upon their first entrance,
were totally ignorant of letters, unused
! to discipline; in fact, so far as their
mental and moral culture were con-
cerned l had virtually to begin at the
very BEGINNING. Instruction had to be
| given in the utmost detail in all the ordi-
nary matters of domestic life and social
! intercourse. 1 am much gratified to be
able to say, however, that their progress
mental, moral, social and physical
| has exceeded my expectations. Nearly
| all the deaf mutes have a pretty fair
! knowledge of the sign language-suf-
! ficient for all purposes of social inter-
| course-and can read and write, and, as
a rule, take considerable interest in their
| studies.
The progress of the blind has been even
| better. The New York point system and
Butler raised letters are in use. After
an experience of fifteen years in teaching
school [ am prepared to say that the
progress of these children is fully up to
| that of the seeing children under my
charge during that time. The necessity
for the existence CT such an institution
as this in Texas has been fully demon
cd and ObcpI,Uat iOn dI1riOu NV
| short experience convinces me that great
| good will result from 1t.
The native musical talent of the color
| ed race is well known, and the suscepti-
| bility of cultivation of this in the blind is
even now attended with good results. The
mass of the colored laborers of Texas are
farm hands. The very small amount of
skilled labor among the race is due more
to lack of opportunity to learn than any
| thing else.
There are in Texas perhaps $50 900 col
ored people, yet there are not twenty-five
| professional tailors or dressmakers among
them. There is a larger proportion of
carpenters, but very few who have had
| more than an accidental or occasional OPP
portunity to learn more than the mere
rudiments of their work; so it is also with
blacksmiths, shoemakers and the other
ssems to ne that the field for skilled Ia
Dor among the colored people is virtually
unoccupied and offers the greatest in
| ducements to the educated and trained
experts in this line.
Accompanying this report you will find
| the class, names, ages and residences of
the pupils of the institution together with
an itemized statement of the disburse-
ments since its beginning. l am III pos
session of II duplicate voucher for each
item of expenditure, and will take pleas
ure in exhibiting the same at any time to
any one desiring to inspect the affairs of
the institution
Owing to an increase in attendance the
present session, an additional teacher,
Mrs. Johnson, has been employed She
comes to us highly recommended from the
North Carolina Institution, and is doing
excellent work in the school
The handsome new structure Just COM
pleted is not more than sufficient for the
accommodation of the pupils now in at
tendance, and others expected soon. 1
have the names and addresses of other
children seeking adnittance, and am of
the opinion that the attendance will be
increased to eighty or ninety during the