Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-07-29
INGENUITY or THE AFFLICTED.



Painters without Hands-The Tongue Not
Necessary to Speech
Few examples of human ingenuity
are more interesting than the devices
which have been employed by Grip
pies to enable them To pursue some
calling, and there are few subjects
more Interesting and curious than the
means by which the deaf have heard
what was passing around them, ana
the dumb have made themselves un
derstood /.
Passing over the we'll known case Of
Miss Biflin, who, though born without
hands or arms, attained considerable
eminence as miniature painter, II
may be noted that there are abundant
instances recorded of persons who
could not only write, but paint toler
ably well. with their toes.
There was, for instance, ct Cogges
hall, in Essex, man named Carter,
who was so thoroughly paraly zed that
he had quite lost the use of his hands,
and was obliged to be on his back.
He partly supported himself by his
beautiful drawings, which he did with
his mouth; and he could copy an old
wood cut or plate SO closely that II
was difficult tc distinguish it from the
original.
Sir Charles Bell, too, tells Us of
Russian beggar born without hands,
who frequented the high road to Mos
COW, and committed many murders
before he was discovered and exc
cuted. His method OF work was pc.
culiar He used to throw himself
against person who was giving him
aims, and, having stunned him, pro
ceeded to seize him with his teeth, and
so drag him into the wood. There are
therefore many occupations which can
be followed even If person have no
hands
To prove that the tongue is not alb.
solutely necessary for speech would be
an easy matter, since there are many
authentic cases OF persons, who. hav.
ing lost their tongues owing to some
accident or operation, have vet man
aged to speak distinctly But to con
vey thoughts without speech, to speak
without words is another matter. Per-
haps the most curious example Of this
form of ingenuity either in fact or
fiction--is the means by which the
paralytic old Noirtier, in Monte
Cristo," was able TO speak to anybody
who understood his system. He, il
will be remembered, had sight and
hearing left TO him, and he expressed
appreciation By closing his his re-
fusal 10 any proposal by winkine
| them several times, and if he had
some desire or feeling TO express he
raised them to heaven By this code,
together with the aid of a dictionary
so arranged the. BE could see page
as finger was rapidly run down it.
he contrived to hold converse on any
subject.
After such examples of devices tc
supply the places OF missing senses OF
members of the body as those we have
mentioned, ii would be indeed surpris
ing if there were no natural way Of
overcoming the many disadvantages
incidental to deafness. But as mat
ter of fact there is method, and !
very simple method, by which man,
deaf people can hear, and that, too
without artificial instruments. Ii
king John, Hubert says:
! saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus
The whilst bis iron did on the anvil cool.
With open mouth. swallowing a tailor's news
Scott, too. has passages TO the SAM
effect, and we often hear of a particu
lar person swallowing it all in
j. e., listening with his mouth Wild
open. Now. there is a sound physio
logical reason for opening the moutl
under such circumstances. There ar
two opposite openings i'll the ear
namely, the external opening, whicl
is known TO all of US, and the inteina
opening, called the eustachian tube
which passes from the internal audi
tory organs TO the back of the mouth
just where the nostrils open into it.
IL therefore follows that a persoi
who opens his mouth has a bette
CHANGE Of hearing than if he keeps
shut. IN short, the inner opening
an auxiliary TO the outer one Their
Is al least one case in which the latte
opening alone has had to do service, Il
the following advertisement from
copy of The Daily Post of some thirt
years ago will clearly show: "Missin
on Sunday afternoon, a young man q
weak intellect. The lobes of his cal
are closed, but when spoken to h
opens his mouth, and is then able I
hear" 1t is clear, then, that the a,
cidental destruction of one or MOI
parts does not necessarily destroy til
sense Of hearing, provided that III
injury does not reach the more esser
tial part of mechanism, the brain.
London It'd Bits.