Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-08-08
DREAMS OF THE BLIND.
Visions Which Come to Those Who
Never Saw-In Dreamland TO
Them the World Never Grows
0l3-Peeuliar Experiences.
Strange Indeed Must Be the World
to Those Who Dwell in
Darkness.

Darkness.
The experience of the blind in the mat
| ter of dreams IS contradictory. They
never dream of seeing things they have
never seen, Just as the man born deaf
never dreams of hearing. The blind man
may know of foreign countries. but seldom
| dreams of them, and when he does. dreams
only of reading about them. or of hearing
| them spoken of. He never sees as vivid a
| picture as would have been presented to
! his mind if he had seen them. A notable
case Of reminiscent dreaming was that of a
| blind man of Boston who lost his sight at
| the age of s. He frequently dreamed of
| the city streets as he remembered them,
but never saw the country in his dreams,
because he never was in the country previ-
ons to losing his sight. Another boy, of
| New York state, had never seen the city,
! but previous to losing his eyesight lived
in the country. To him, in dreams, coun-
| try scenes were constantly present, while
| he never dreamed of the city. Blind peO-
| pie frequently dream of things they have
! heard mentioned, but never dream of see
ing them A blind girl of Indianapolis
once attended large church, the music of
which was in part furnished by superb
! organ. She was greatly impressed, never
! before having heard a ch Irch organ, ana
afterwards frequently dreamed of hearing
| it. but not having the falntest idea what 1t
was like, she never dreamed of seeing 1t.
| While blind people often dream of hearing
band of music. they never dream of see
| ing the performers. unless blindness came
on subsequent to having seen a band play.
| A young girl of Ohio, who was born blind,
IL. J.,
one day where she heard the birds sing.
| She described the songs of the birds, and
on the piano endeavored to initiate them,
but could not describe the birds themselves.
| Having, however, gained the idea of
| bird from a description which she once
read of AN ostrich, the birds of the wood
had to her mind the general characteristics
| of ostriches.
WHAT THE BLIND DREAM OF.
! There was lately an inmate of a Mis-
| souri, institution, says a writer IN the
| Globe-Demccrat, who read great deal,
and, though his reading included poetry,
romance and history, he was particularly
/ fond of travels Though his mind was
| filed day by day with accounts of what he
had read, he never dreamed of the subject
! matter of his reading, which was a rather
that his reading would revive itself in his
dreams. 1t did not however for he
| dreamed of noises he heard In the street
of the cable cars which passed the door,
of dogs barking, of horses neighing of the
voices of boys shouting at their play, of
the sound of tire-craCkers on the Fourth
of July. Of the voices of his associates i'll
the institution of incidents that might
happen in school and home of his daily
lessons and exercises. of questions asked
by teachers ard of answers given by
pupils. But never did he by any chance
dream of seeing, for he had been born
blind.
THEY DREAM OF THEIR SPORTS.
The blind frequently dream of their
amusements, for although deprived of
sight there are still sports and games
which to limited extent are open to
them all When they once thoroughly I'M
derStand the limits of the play ground
they are without fear; but when not
thoroughly at home they act as would
man walking in the night, for they are
perpetually in the dark. Their games,
however, are more varied than might be
supposed. They wrestle, run races, a GER
them, and the limits of the race grounds
being kept in mind; they play cards, the
different cards of the pack being designat-
ed by holes pricked in them; they play
checkers, the squares being alternately
raised or depressed; and all these amuse-
ments furnish matter for their dreams
| They also dream of their empioyments,
their household work; the women, of their
sewing; the men Of their 6roommaking, of
their weaving, earding and spinning
They dream Cf business intercourse and
disputes with their customers, and with
persons with whom they have have bust
ness dealings, but never of seeing them.
A gentleman who was formerly an in
mate in this city says that In his dreams
he met with his inmates of the institution
and saw them as clearly as though he had
always seen; and, what was remarkable
recognized them by sight even before they
spoke from the description he had had of
them He dreamed of scenes he had once
witnessed, and in his dreams attended
picnics and outdoor gatherings in once
familiar sports, rode on the Street-cars.
recognized acquaintance, and never in his
dreams was conscious of his blindna
Very justly, therefore. he pronounced his
dream life the best portion of his exist
enCe.
A blindman some years ago in this city
gained his subsistence by begging on the
trains He frequently dreamed of his
business. of the cars and of the people
he met, but never dreamed of seeing an
engine, and from the familiar name given
the locomotive, gained the idea that it had
head like horse and pulled and whistl
ed through its nose. A. blind boy in this
city who has never seen any thing has no
idea what a Street-Car looks like but. when
he steps into a Winter car, thinks it must
| L..
must look like a church, for it has rows of
benches like the churches which he has at
tended.
DAILY LIFE REFLECTED IN DREAMS.
The dreams of people born blind re-
feet their daily life just as those of a man
born deaf ana dumb never transcends the
limits of his experience. The latter
never dreams of people talking to him
save by signs, nor of ever learning any
thing save by sight and the use of the fin
ger language. He dreams of what he
sees, but even in dreams he is compelled
to rely upon the sign language. A deaf
and dumb man in this city recently dream
ed that being in a street car he saw the
people talking and laughing about him
He knew that the conversation and Laughter
were with reference to himself, though he
could not tell what was the matter until
after he had left the car, when he ascer-
tanned he had put on his coat wrong side
out Another recently dreamed of an in
teresting lecture be had heard about the
Jeanette expedition to the polar regions,
the lecture being illustrated 10y magic
lantern views, and given throughout in the
sign language Like the deaf and dumb
man. the blind man who was born so car
ries his intirmitv into his dream life. He
wanders to and fro in a dream-worId
where he learns only by hearing, touching
tasting and smelling. He gains new ideas
from the senses only. and even In sleep he
is as blind as in his waking hours.
Our sight Is the most enjoyable of our
senses, and the loss of it our greatest de-
prigation. The man born deaf and dumb
can acquire much information with his
eyes alone. and it is well-known fact
that deaf mutes have generally more in
telligent look than the blind. Around the
congenitally blind the world Is in great
measure closed for even in their dreams
they must depend on their other senses for
information and pleasure. The man who
has once enjoyed the gift of sight has,
whether sleeping or waking. a great adj |
vantage over men who never saw; the for
mer knows nothing of the world. except /
Such uarfS As he comes in Immediate rom