The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1895-05-03
A MUSICAL MARVEL.
Blind Tom, the Pianist, and His
Wonderful Talent.
Ihe Discovery OF His Remarkable Gift
and Its DeveIopmeBt-Eccentr
OF the sightIess Master of
the Piano.

the original owner of the musical npprp
slave boy known as Blind Tom" has
aroused much public curiosity as To the
disappearance of Tom from view. The
best information l have been able To
obtain Is that he Is passing the closing
days of his life in a lunatic asylum mis-
VagarieS having taken on too dangerous
a form To admit of his going freely
about as heretofore.
Tom was born in Muscogee county,
ga, says a writer in Kate Fields
Washington. His fathers name was
MIngo. and his mother was called by
her owner Aunt Charity. While he
was still Il boy. and supposed To bc
mere idiot well as sightlcSS. hc used
To conceal himself in his masters house.
and after midnight creep into the par
IorS and play the same airs with
which his young mistress had enter
tanned her guests u few hours before.
being cautious to suppress his notes 10y
holding his foot on the soft pedal. lie
was soon detected. however. and repri-
manded- \ mildcr view was taken of
his shortcomings when his master dis
covered that the boys gift might hc
turned to profitable account: mean
while, the children of the household.
delighted with his marvellous powers.
had not hesitated to defy the discipline
of their elders and encourage him To
play for them on the sly.
Besides being a remarkable player of
other peoples music. Tom was a com
poser himself. He was near enough To
one of the battlcficldS of the civil war
to catch the sounds from il. and these
he wove into piece which his mana
ger. entitled. for popular effect: The
Battle of Manassas" In it the piano i5
made to initiate the music OF the flies
and drums. the charges Of the cavalry.
The thundcrs of battery. the groanS
Of the wounded and dying, and all the
Incidents of a great fight 50 faithfully
sS 10 call up panorama of the scene
before the minds eye of the listener.
one of the fcatS which Tom was ac-
cu>tomcd tn perform in publi. To the
amazcment of his audiences was the
imitation of any piece of music per
formed i'm his hearing by a stranger.
some of these piece, made 50 great
oppression on him that he carried them
in his mind for a long period and then
could reproduce them at will. 4 story
which seems somewhat apocryphal was
told me by teacher OF music IN
--ouug ladies seminary in Maryland,
representing Tom as having carried in
his memory for twenty-onr years, note
for note. a German waltz which had
been played before him by my inform
ant in order to test his ability.aud which.
a. far as known, he never attempted
again during all that period. When /
suggested that there was possibility
of Toms having heard the same piece
played by other hands in the interval
and thus kept his memory refreshed.
the professor assured me that this could
not be 50, because before playing it to
Tom he had rewritten the waltz. adapt
ing it from its original German form to
one which contained a number OF varia
tiuns and fancy touches of his own.
Tom reproduced all these incidcntals
with absolute faithfulncSS.
The theory that Tom must bc of a
gentle disposition because so given to
music would Ice very misleading. Sound,
rather than harmony. was what APP
pealed to his intellect, such as it was,
and his reproductions We're governed
bv the rules of accuracy rather than
inspired by artistic genius. 1t used to
be said of him that the crying of
child afforded him keen delight, and
when he could not draw forth as much
sound as he wanted from his young
companions by ordinary processes. ne
would bite and pinch them for the pur-
pose of hearing their shrielS of pain
As he matured he developed a power
full bone frame and great muscular
strength which he eXertcd To the Sc
rious discontinue of anybody who np-
posed his wishes. If kept awgy from
piano when ne wanted to play he
would bang his head against the wall
and throw chairs around the room.
Once. while staying at hotel on one
OF his concert tours, he insisted on
Tlaving loud piece of music IN the
middle of the night. regardless of the
comfort of the other guests. His agent
attempted to check him. but was
seized by Tom and thrown out of the
-,-.m with great violence ON another
aston in Washington he WAS visited
',y a man whose presence was dISta~t"-
-uI to him. and he manifested his dis
Ike by pitching the poor fellow down
stairs.
Possibly Toms present secluSion has
other reasons behind it besides his in
.-caSing ccccntricitivs. The legal con
,ol of his time and services has been
for some years the subject cf litiga-
ton in the courts Gen. Bethunr
:uIned the care of the boy over 1" ms
son at one time. and the sons wife
claimed her husbands rights after the
.lttcr's death. | believe the ease has
never been finally settled, and 1T may
be that one or the other party to the
controversy has thought it wise to keep
Tom out of sight until his fate can be
decided.