The Progress. [volume] (White Earth, Minn.) 1886-1889, 1889-04-20
OLD TOM CUBBAGE.
An Ignorant YirgSnian's Astonishing Feats
with Figures.

OLD TOM gCUBBAGE
An Ignorant vir s5nian's Astonishing Feats
with Figures.
There died here some time ago one
of the most remarkable characters the
Blue Ridge country of Virginia ever
produced. Old Tom Cubbage, as he
was known, was the mathematical
wonder and the pride of the Blue Ridge
people. His feats at figures and his
calculations were indeed wonderful,
and like Blind Tom, the musical prod
ICY, his powers were intuitive and
innate. Old Tom did not know q figure
or letter aud never went to school tor
an hour in his life. He was rough,
Ignorant and untutored native of the
hills, and yet he could solve. almost in
a moment, any problem read to him
from the text books or from the papers
and give the correct answer. He would
add a column Of figures of any possible
length. subtract, multiply or divide,
and do it 80 quickly as to surprise the
scholar who tested his remarkable
powers.
His answer sometimes will include a
dozen or more figures, and knowing
absolutely nothing about the enumerat-
ing of them he would give the figures
beginning at the right, and if a mistake
had been made or wrong figure pur-
;posely introduced by the person taking
down his answer, old Tom would dis
cover it at once and give the correct
'ope. He knew nothing of the notation
of numbers, and his whole knowledge
was limited to the giving of his an
swers, figure by figure, as fast as they
could be written from the right to the
left. Persons of fair education, who
tested old Tom, say they could never
stump him, though they hunted for the
most difficult problems in the books,
and believe he could give the correct
ans wer to any possible sum- Problems
involving square and cube roots, COM
pleting the square of equations, were
as readily solved by him as simple adj
dition, and yet were you to ask him
what cube root meant he would tell
you he didn't know. No one knew the
way old Tom did these things, indeed
he could not tell you himself. He was
simply SUI generis, and the only one of
his kind ever known to the people of
the Blue Ridge. .s,. ,ss.s5s
Old Tom went once to the University
OF Virginia upon the solicitation of
some of his admirers, with view to
his education there in his particular
line, but after astonishing the profess
sors by his great gifts and having done
all the sums given him by the students
he declined all proffers made him and
returned to his hut in the Old Rag and
to the company of his dogs and his rife.
The greatest work of this strangely
gifted man was the calculations and
computations for a hundred-year al
manac, made entirely by himself and
reduced to writing by oneof his neigh
ibors. This work was done by him men
tally, and included all the eclipses as
well as changes of the moon, and was
calculated specially for the part Of the
State in which he lived. It was never
published owing to the outbreak of the
war at the time of its completion, but
those who have compared the manu-
script with other published almanacs
say it is a perfectly correct one.
How this unlettered man could I'M
derstand the movements of the earth
and the heavenly bodies is the strang.
est of all his surprising achievements,
and must remain one of the mysteries
known only to Him who created man
fearfully and wonderfully, and breathed
into him the spirit of life. OH one oc-
casion he was asked if he could tell the
contents of pile of brush by some
person who thought to rig him, and his
reply proved Old Tom to be at home
where figures were concerned.
Yes said he, putt into water and
measure the water it displaces and you
will have the solid contents
His measurement of land by simply
walking around it, no matter what it's
shape, and making his own calcula-
soAOAo, hcIVO O0OA piOV0u W Dc COrr0CG,
and there are those who would take a
survey made by Old Tom in preference
to one made by compass and regular
surveyor. Outside Of his peculiar gift,
Old Tom Cubbage was a sad failure,
and he died as he had lived-as poor
and shiftless as his mountain neigh
bors. He did not even own the small
piece OF land upon which his hut was
built, save by the rights Of a squatttter,
and work. to him, was not known and an
unsolved quantity. Yethe was a quiet
and a contented man, and was never
better satisfied than when copiously
supplied with apple-jack or mountain
dew. He would do the sum given him
by way Of pay for the liquor. ood-
vile (Va. Cor. N. Y. World.
The Provocation Was Great.
s'The officers say you attacked and
pounded the complaining witness