Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-04-19
WITH FINGER TIPS.
wv HELEN KELLER WAS TAUGHT
THE NAMES or THINGS.

Her Tfreless Tnstructress-A Face That
Mirrors n Soul Which Knows Naught of
the Appearance of SIN.
The most interesting feature of the ed
ational congress was the appearance
Helen Keller under the kind and skill
u guidance of Miss Annie M. Sullivan,
III teacher. When a babe, Helen Keller
came blind, deaf and dumb. When
ISIS Sullivan, a young WOMAN of mus
j beauty of form and feature, stood
fore the audience beside a girl who,
cept for the sad sign of blindness in
o large eyes, gave promise of still
eater beauty, her face g~listening with
rapture that painters try to express in
Q ecstacy of angels, hearts seemed to
md still. 1t was a face that had never
nsciously looked on the distortions of
ssion or pain-the mirror of a soul
at could not imagine the outward ap-
aranceo of Sin nor remember any of the
scords Of life.
In her presence it was hard TO appre-
! lte the fact that her world lay within
rs, without sun, music or speech. Nv
| g who saw it will forget the impulsive
ttering of her young, white hand as
sought her teachers face or round,
I lite throat; the satisfaction when the
intact of her delicate white finger tips
We her what sight gives us; the fash
light over her face when, with her
refinger resting on her teachers lip,
. read the answer to the question she
d asked by the twinkling digital move
snts in her teachers palm. There
sre those who wept when she repeated
dibly, with a depth of feeling she
me a feel:
Tell me not in mournful numbers
Life is but an empty dream.
All were invited to ask questions, yet
many did so. The occasion seemed
i cred.
How did you teach her the first
nordT' some n ventured at last.
Her first word was DOLL" was the
swer. II gave her the doll, placed
r finger on my lip and spoke the word.
hen she wearied of the doll, i took it
pm her, and when ! returned it again
We the movement of the lips. The
,ond word was mug fused the cup
is,m which she drank, but became con
need that she had not a clear idea OF
ID name, but that it meant to her also
ster or drink. So / one day took her
the pump, and as the water was flow
> into har cx,n boI ha~ A1lJ H. L1~l
the stream, and then putting her FIN
{ on my lip gave her the word water
en- / again gave her the word mug
10 idea that everything had a name,
, comprehension Of nouns, was agreat
relation to her and came then and all
once. She was greatly excited. A
rse, with the baby sister in her arms,
8 standing e Helen Immediately
t her hand on its face to know it's
me. told her baby, and she caught
ut once. Then she stopped down and
tied the ground to know what it was
led. She learned many words that
y, and those words she never forgot
How soon after she learned words
she frame sentencesg'
4 Immediately"
Were verbs harder to learn than
lnss"
lfNot at all. / began with such words
Sit stand and the like chat were
y to illustrate. Propositions troubled
most"
How does she get an idea of the ab-
u act?'
i cannot tell. 1t seems to be vita
81, or it comes."+
Has she any distinguishing sense OF
steal vibrations"
Yes, very distinct. She likes music"
Is her vocabulary larger
Very large. She expresses herself
entity and is choice of words
! What books does she like best?'
Every now and then the white fingers
! tered to tho teachers face for Just
D delicate touch-a finger look it was
nd now they rested Oh Miss Sulli-
rs lip.
sTen-the - people - what - books
l-like-best."
Ielen's face was an open book of her
ntal processes. She repeated each
I'd after Miss Sullivan. but hesitated
tile on the words "tell' and .'you,"
brightness of her face dimming for
instant. As soon as she compre-
lded the question. which shedid in i'd
ICE of its completion, the flash OF intel
irnce came, and when she turned to-
I'd the audience, for she did not seem
my time to lose her location, she said
b spirit:
Oh, / hive read so much that it is
y hard to say what / like best, but
ting amoment-" Little Lord Faunt-
y"- and then followed rapidly
names of several works, some of
Oh, it would seem, could hardly be
erstood by any n who cannot know
nd and color.
How DO you read?"
BY raised letters and by my teacher"
4 noticed when you pronounced for
yoH artsculated with an exaggerated
ion of the lips" said one. us not
necessary
Her teaching was begun i'll tha; wi