Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-07-25
MATHEMATICAL WONDER.
Ignorant Old Tom Cubbage and His AstOnish
ing Feats With Figures.

Ignorant Ola Tom tuDhage ana Ills AStOnlsn-
ing Feats With Figures.
There did in Woodviue, Va, some
time ago one of the most remarkable
characters the Blue Ridge country Of
Virginia ever produced. Old Tom Cab
bage, as he was known, was the mathematI-
cal wonder and the pride of the Blue
Ridge people. His fests at figures and
his calculations were indeed wonderful,
and like Blind Tom, the musical prodigy,
his powers we're Intuitige and innate.
Old Tom did not know figure or letter,
aud never went to school for an hour in
his life. He was q rough, ignorant and
untutOred native of the hills, and yet be
could solve, almost in a moment, any prob
lem read to him from the text books or
from the papers, and give the correct an
sVer. He would add a column of figures
OF any possible length, subtract, multiply
or divide, and do it SO quickly As to sur
prise the scholar who tested his remarka
ole powers.
His answer sometimes will include 2
dozen or more figures, and knowing alb
sulutely nothing about the enumerating
of them he would give the figures beginn-
at the right, and II a mistake had been
made or q wrong figure pUrposely intro
duced by the person taking down his an
sWer, Ola Tom would discover II at once
and give the correct one. He knew moth
ing of the notation of numbers, and his
whole knowledge was limited TO the giving
of his answers, figure by figure, as fast
as they could be written froll the right to
the left. Persons Of fair educanOn who
tested old Tom, say they copld never
stump HIM, though they hunted for the
most difficult problems in the books, and
believe he could give the correct answer
to any possible sum. Problems involving
square and cube roots, completing the
square OF equations, we're as readily solv-
ed by him as simple addition, 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 voc him
self. He was simply sui genertS, and the
only one of his kind ever known to the
people of the Blue Ridge.
Old Tom went once TO the University of
Virginia upon the solicitation of some OF
his admirers, with a view to his education
there in his particular line, but after as
Consisting the professors by his great giftf
and having done all tne sums given him
by the students, he declined all prOffers
made and returned TO his hut ia the Old
Ridge and TO the company of his dogs
and his rife.
The greatest work Of this strangely
gifted man was the calculations and com
puta.ioas for huudredyear almanac,
ads entirely by himself and reduced to
writing by one his neighbors This work
was done by him mentally, and inciudee
ali the eclipss5. as well as changes 10 the
moon, and was calculated specially for
the part of the state in which he lived
It was never published, owing 70 me out
break % the war at the time Of Its com
pletion, but those who nave compared the
manuscript with other published altman
acs say It is a perfectly correct one.
How this unIettered man could under
stand the movements Of the earth and the
heavenly bodies i the strengest OF all bis
surprising achievements, and must re-
main one OF the mysteries known only 20
him who created man fesrfully and won
asrfully. and breathed into him the spirit
of life. On one occasion he was asked
II he could tell the contents OF pile Of
brush. ny some person Who thought to rig
him, and his reply proved Old Tom to BE-