The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-02-25
Wonderful Blind Boy.

would sing merrily at his work if he
could, but that is one of the few things
that are out of the range of his accom-
plishment. In lieu of it his comely face
shines with joy and satisfaction when he
takes piece of wood in one hand and
a tool in the other and begins to fashion
some simple article of use or ornament.
Tom is deaf and blind, and his means
of communicating with other people are
confined almost wholly to the use Of the
manual alphabet. Nevertheless, he has
been attending the Lloyd school i'll Bos-
ton for the past year, where he is taught
with ordinary pupils, most of whom he
eXcels in the neatness and accuracy of
| his work. He goes twice a week. being
accompanied from the Kindergarten for
the blind, in jamaica Plain, by his teach
er, Miss Conley, who is his compa Mon,
| confidantc, interpreter and protector, as
well as teacher.
These days are as good as holidays to
Tom. He never has to be reminded of
them or cOaXed or scolded into going.
The trip in itself is an event fraught
| with as much interest as if he could
see the sights along the way and hear
the cries and the music of the street:
and, in a way, Tom does see and hear
more than many a boy would in passing
over the same route.
| "How many. people are in the carp"
he spells with his inquisitive little fingers
into the palm of his teachers hand.
'What kind of lady sits next: to me.
and what does she wear? What: street
are we on now? Arc the buildings high
dows?"
These questions go on from the time
he starts until he arrives at his destna-
ton. He knows the route so thoroughly
that ne can make diagram of it in the
sand he uses for his geography lessons,
manning the streets over which he passes
without a mistake, and could doubtless
find his way alone if it were safe to trust
him without protection. on the crowded
streets.
His Skill with Tools. =:
He uses tho same kind of tools in his
woodwork that the other boys do, ex-
cept that his rule has to have raised fig
ures Oh it, and in marking off he uses an
awl instead of lead pencil. Tom is
neat. orderly. careful and exact in his
work, and rarely makes Il blunder of any
kind. His intuitions are so keen and his
two senses Of touch and smell, upon
which he depends. are SO highly developed
that he can detect the slightest variation
from the model. If his work does, not
match the rule and square perfectly he is
miserable.
Tom is Il most successful driver of
nails. Every blow Of the hammer falls
with unerring aim full upon the head of
tho NAIL and he can send it through the
thinnest piece of wood without splitting
it. Seeing boys who smash their fingers
and splinter the wood in their en:leavor
feat. '>
Tom began his woodwork with a. sim.
ply-constructed little stool. in which he
used only saw. hammer and nails Since
| then he has made Il score Of articles, in
GLIDING boxes and other knick-knacks
suitable for Christmas presents for his
friends. One of his most ambitious eff
forts. and one in which he manifested
the greatest interest. was a birlhouse
i'll making which he used twelve different
/ tools.
Acute Sense o: Smell.
| When Tom is in doubt about the kind
Of wood he is handling, he helps out his
fingers by smelling the wood, and by
this sense alone is able to distinguish
eight different varieties. He is not only
painstaking and careful in his work, but
keeps. an accurate. and systematic record
that he makes and setting down the
length of time he was occupied on it and
other details.
! His mechanical bent finds expression
even in the summer vacation. which he
passes on a farm. He spends consider
able part of his time in fitting up con-
trivances which require skill and pa
| thence. Last summer he rugged up an ele-
vator in the barn without assistance or
direction from anyone. getting the materi-
ais. consisting of rope, pulleyS. blocks
and chain. together himself, and so adj
justing them that he could pull himself
up and let himself down again. He is
extremely active and vcnturcsome. but
seldom gets hurt. He climbs trees as
has been discovered OH the roof of the
! house measuring the chimneys and MAX
ing. other Investigations to satisfy his
Ecuriosity. =.
| His Interest in Mechanics.
| One of the first Indications that Tom
ever. gave of his mechanical ability was
i'll connection with Il mischicyous prank
at the kindergarten Il few years ago. 1t
| WAS discovered that the water had been
| turned OH in the dressing room and the
! faucet taken apart. The matrOn called
up the little blind boys and questioned
them about it., hut one and all denied
thought of Tom. He chcerfully confessed
that he was the author of the act and
| produced the missing pieces Of the faucet
from among his. .playthngs:
| The natrOn endeavored to impress him
with the sense of having done wrong.
and told him that he ought to do all he
could to repair the mischief he had done
/ He responded to this appeal with prompt
alacrity, and to her surprise replaced the
pieces in their proper relative positions
with the celebrity and dizziness of a skilled
workman.
On the lot adjoining wherc Tom lives
a. new building is being erected by the
kindergarten. and he has followed the
course of its construction with the keen
est interest and enjoyment. AS soon as
! lessons are over he wants to 20 ut once to
the new house. and he knows as we'll as
any one of the workmen just what sort of
| materials have been used and how they
have been put together.
| His highest ambition at present, how
ever. is to travel. This. desire was in
spired by the tales that were told him
hy two of the teachers from the kinder
garten who took Il trip to the Pacific
coast last summer. He manifested the
greatest interest in the places they had
visited and wanted to know about all
the things that they had seen that diff
fered from his own experience and sur
roundings. Among other things, they
told him that they had travelled 5000
miles since he had seen. them last.
! Well Tom observed calmly. "when
l am a. young man, 20 years of age. l
will travel 5000 miles,
Rescued from Sioux Indians.
In a home in Sioux Falls, s. D., as a
ward of the government until such time
as she shall find home elsewhere, is a
beautiful young white girl-once pro-
tege Of the famous Sitting Bull-whose
antecedents are shrouded in the deepest
| mystery. She was taken from the Sioux
| Indians through the efforts of Rev. o. H.
| Sproul Of Pierre and Senator Kyle, and
an endeavor is now being made to find
her relatives Had her Presence among
| the Indians not been discovered when it
was, she would by this time have been
| the SUuaW of one of the members of the