The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1891-02-11
BLIND KNOWLEDGE.
The Remarkable Powers of -Four SiqhtIess
People.

fOVPfCt
A remarkable story of blind
knowledge vas told to a Pittsburg
correspondent of the New York Sun
by an oil man who is operating in the
West Virginia petroleum fields.
Between Pone Town and Statler's
Run Postoffice, in Monongalia county,
live four blind persons-George, Ma
linda, Elizabeth and Beulah Tenrant
who can do some of the most Won
Iertul things | ever heard of. George
can tell the color and breed of horse
or COW by feeling its hair, can tell the
size and complexion of a man after
he has talked to him few minutes,
describe his features quite accurately
and tell his age. This man was born
blind, but he works on his farm much
the same as il he could see, and even
drives to mill with his grain, dis
lance of about a mile.
The girls are no less remarkable
They are known, either personally or
by reputation, to every body in Mo,
nongalIa and Marion counties as the
blind girls. They live in modest,
two.story brick farm house, where
their parents lived before them, They
90 about their household duties much
as other women do, sewing, cooking
washing dishes, spinningr~fo the old.
fashioned wheel has not alto ether
disappeared from West Virginia
and baking. In fact they do every
thing for their own comfort, and help
some in the billy fields of the home
stead farm which was willed to them
by their father.
George is married and lives with
bis wife and three bright eyed child
rem, who can see as well as you can,
on one end of the farm. One sister,
who is not blind, stays most of the
time with the three blind girls. Their
father was well to do farmer and
stock dr0yer, considered wealthy b.
his simple neighbors, and he sent
these blind children away to school.
They can and do read and write quite
readily, which is more than many OF
their neighbors with good eyes can
do. Altogether Noah Tenant and
his wife had ten children, half OF
whom were born blind. George was
The first. The next one could see.
Malinda, The oldest of the blind girls,
was born next, and the next was
boy with good eyes, and so on
every other child was born blind.
One blind boy, Edward, died when
he was young man,
Naturally, was very skeptical
about the stories | heard of the blind
girls and their brother George and
so we're my fellow oil men. However,
they were vOuched for by the most
responsible people at Warrington,
and Fairview, and one day FIVE of us
rode out onto Jake's Run to see them
ourselves. We knew they had all
ready leased Il cir lands to Charley
Ford, and the leases were held by the
South Penn Oil Company, but We
thought an effort to buy thir royalty |
would be excuse enough to introduce
us, and possibly we might get the 10Y
atty, too, which by recent develop |
ments about Fairview, looks valuable. |
| was riding a sorrel, which, though'a |
fine saddler, was kicker in harness.
One of my companions bestlod bay
Hambletonian, The Others were
riding livery horses Of mongreI breed,
one gray, and one chestnut brown
and one a sorrel. We stopped first A.,
at Georges house, and he came out to |
the road to talk to us. We talked
business for seine time and then ap,
preached the subject of his blindness.
He did OF consider II very great
misfortune, as he was still able to
work and enjoy life.
"Some one suggested he could Lot
ave the pleasure Of knowing how
things looked, but he said he had a
mental vision and could tell colors
by touch, He first passed his hand
over the fink OF my horse and lit.
lie way down his leg. then went to
his head and rubbed his nose. This
horse, said he, lis Kentucky qorrel,
md is little vicious. lie kicks some>
times We were stupefed. lie hap,
pened next to get hold of the other
sorrel, and at once told its color, but
said it was no particular breed. We
III ielt the two animals as he did, and
could detect a difference In the
breed, but none of US could detect
my similarity to indicate the color. |
lie pronounced correctly on all Of
our horses and then turned bis atten,
Jon to ourselves, telling us how we
looked. He was 50 accurate that
we all looked all around for confed>
crate hut there was mana IT., 49,