The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-28
SMELLS HIS WAY ALONG.
The Blind Pedestrian Literally Fol-
lows Eis Nose.
From the New York Advertiser.

From the New York Advertiser.
THE Blind as Seen Through Blind
Eyes IS the title of little volume pub
lished in France in which the author
speaks OF his own personal experience
when he describes that compensating
action of the other senses which enables
the trained blind TO pick their way. to
recognize their neighbors and generally
to realize the visible world. Smell, touch
and hearing are all exceptionally ncute,
and all three senses combine TO keep the
blind man informed in way that can
hardly be understood by seeing mortals
Thus, if he walks in the streets he
knows what stores he is passing Fresh
meats, pomade, damp tobacco, new
leather, fish hay, medicinal plants, the
air blown over cooking truules, paper
newly printed, have odors which makes
known to him beyond the shadow
of doubt whether he is passing before a
butchers shop or n hairdresscr's, a tobac-
consists or u shoemaker's, the great mar
ket or a cavalry barracks; whether the
pun that comes through the air-holes is
from the laboratory OF a druggist or the
office of a physician; whether he is op-
posite newspaper stand or the tiowe
stall on the corner.
Similarly, if he ismin the country, he
Now, reSluOuS smell comes from the
evergreens, the sweet breath of newmown
hay floats over the meadows, or a sudden
Whit is blown from a cluster of broom or
wild honeysuckle. His ear catches the
murmur of the brook through the trees
and bushes. The ilacs do not say the
same things as the oaks. nor is the rustic
of their leaves quite the same in May as
in October
Euf how 1one bn (a
crowded streets withoutia guide NJ de
laSEeraune tells US from his own ex-
perlencc; He may walk fearlessly so
long as he hears nothing. But when the
sound reaches him of footsteps approach
ing from the opposite direction, he turns
little TO the right, and passes by with
out delay and without collision. Far
Their on he meets children. filing the
streets with their games. Children are
easy to recognize; their noisy prattle and
their irregular steps betray them Now
the blind man, knowing that it is diff
cult TO count with any degree of GER
tainty upon the actions of these little peo-
pie, judges it prudent to leave the side
walk for the narrow footpath or the
street until the group is passed, when
he returns to the side most convenient
to him"
In many thoroughfares there is a grad
ual declivity whore the streets cross.
This gives the blind man his cue and tells
him the exact point at which he must
cross the street. Here he waits carefully
until he is assured that no vehicle is near.
More curious still is his method of ascer-
tanning the presence of stationary OBJ
stacle. On approaching a wall. u sta
tlonary wagon or simply tree, the blind
experience q sensation at once auditve
and tactile The steps have a different
sound when near large object Of any
kind. The air, being more compressed,
reacts upon the sensitive nerves of the
face, so that a new presence Is actually
felt. This last sensation is exceedingly
subtle but it does exist, and it is much
more difficult for one without sight TO
find his way about, if his hat is drawn
over his face, than when he goes with un-
covered head.
The blind find darkness and fog no OBJ
stacle to Their progress, and curiously
enough, they find their way about better
under such conditions than in the full
light of day. Vehicles roll along more
slowly and pedestrians walk with greater
care and hesitation. BY all this the
blind people are less exposed to injury
But, on the other hand, when the sun
shines brightly, and especially when a
| brisk wind smothers the sounds, which in
so large a degree aid the blind. they are
utterly confounded. In word to those
who replace sight by hearing, obscurity
lies not in the absence of light, but in the
confusion of sounds.
If you watch a blind man in the street
without a guide as a regiment Of soldiers
passes by with beating drums, you will
see him slacken his pace and walk with
great caution, especially if the street is
narrow and shut in by high buildings, for
| the reverberations win deadon all other
sounds. A number of large bells ringing
together Il heavily loaded wagon, com
pany of artillery rafting over the road