Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-07-29
ALWAYS IN THE DARK.
A Blind Man Tells How He Makes His
Way Through the Streets.

From the ST. Louis Globe Democrat.
How does blind man find his way?" re-
peated a sightless instructor of the blind. IA
blind man finds his way Just as you would in
total darkness, for you must remember he is
always in the dark. 1t is easy for him to
get lost in this room as in forest. He comes
in, gets turned around and loses his reckoning
He stops and listens. The twitter Of a bird
through the open window comes to his ear and
IN a flash he is right again. There, he says
lis the window. The door is over here and he
walks straight to it. Blind people are as timid
about venturing into a strange place as you
would be about going into an unfamiliar cellar
in the dark, but after they have been over the
ground once or twice they step with confidence.
only exercising ordinary care lest some unusual
obstacle should have been placed in the
way since they last passed. Iou see
blind men making their way to and
fro in the streets OF every large city.
L live In place of some thousands of
population, and every morning walk a mile TO
my school and back again in the evening.
know every step of the way, and have my land
marks which. to me, indicate the stages of the
journey. Ii is thirty steps from nv gate TO the
nearest crossing and gutter. step over this.
then hfteen stepping-stones take me to the
next gutter on the other side of the street
Then there is plank walk three planks wide
for three hundred and eleven steps. The walk
is about two feet higher than the street. and
people often wonder at seeing me step along
IT so briskly; but, bless you. am IN no danger
keep on the middle plank, and can tell by
the sound about where l am l know when /
pass large house, which stands some feet
back from the walk. and when l get to a tree
which shades the street | know am half way
Then two steps take me down from the walk
to the street level, and ten stepping-stones
keep my feet out of the mud. Then there is
brick walk for twenty-seven steps. and
three steps from the end there il a place
where the bricks have sunk. Then comes a
pavement OF flag stones. and seven steps
from its beginning one flag has shifted Its
place and stands with one end two or three
inches out of the ground. l found this out by
stumbling over II. Now know when | come
to 1t and always raise my foot and step over it,
little fur Their on there is another plank walk.
also three boards wide. and when / set my foot
on a sprlngy board know | am half way over
this part of the journey. / used TO count the
steps, but now 1 know Them by heart and my
feet do the counting. that i step from tho
plank walk TO the steppiug-stones ard over the
cutters without thinking. and have gone from
my house to the school without SO far as re-
member, giving a thought TO my steps. So
every blind man who goes to and fro. in city or
country, can tell you exactly how far il is. in
ms steps, from one point in his route to an
other and what his landmarks by the way
he will also be able by his sense OF hearing
to give you many particulars of the sur
roundings that would surprise you. A stone
house gives different echo from brick and the
latter from WOOD; he can always tell when he
is under or near trees and will name the kind
OF street pavement from the rattle of the We
hlcles. In his walks he measures the distance
by steps; when riding in carriage, street car
or railroad by time. There are watches spe-
clally prepared for the blind. The glasses are
taken out and little points mark the hours By
touching the face carefully here and there he
will find the time and estimate the distance ac-
cordingy. OF course, no blind man likes to
go over a new route unattended, but after he
has traversed it once he knows every point of
importance to him and could walk over it, as
you would say, in the dark"
Mrs. Margaret c. c. Steele, eldest sister of