The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-02-17
A WONDERFUL TEXAS GIRL.
Although Deaf, Dumb and Blind, She
Has Many Accomplishments.

Has Many Accomplishments.
Mrs. W. w. Rice is a widow living at
the little village of Wyatt, in Ellis
county, Tex. Her youngest child is
little Ruby, just past her tenth birthday
anniversary. In the fall of 1889, when
Ruby was little tot two years old,
that fearful plague, cerebro-spinal men
nights, with the spotted fever accom-
paniment, became epidemic in the
neighborhood of the Rice family. Her
father, two brothers and herself were
stricken down, the father and one
of the sons soon dying with il.
Little Ruby fingered between life and
death for five weeks, when she began
"a slow recovery. At the end of three
months she could sit up, and from that
time on she had to learn anew to walk,
just as she had learned in her babyhood.
Her illness left her totally blind and
deaf, and she has never since been able
to articulate.
In spite of her great misfortune,
Ruby is a bright, intelligent and pretty
child. When the News representatives
called Ruby and another little girl were
seated on the floor before the fire, eat
ing pecans. Although unable to see or
hear, she, by some means, seemed to
know that a stranger was in the house,
and began at once to find him. Having
located the News man, she grasped his
hand in welcome, then reaching out for
her brother and sister, drew their
hands to his, indicating that they
should shake hands with the stranger
Some of Ruby's performances are in
deed remarkable. While the News man
was present her sister handed her a
needle and spool of thread. The child
put both the end of the thread and the
eye of the needle in her mouth, and
taking them out again, quickly passed
the thread through the needles eye
She seemed to locate the eye of the
needle with her tongue. AS in the case
with most blind persons, Ruby's sense
of touch is remarkably acute. Her fin
gers are soft and slender, with a pc
culiar velvety feeling, and they serve
| for her eye as well as fingers.
Her sense of smell is very keen. Ruby
| seems to be as fond of dolls as the aver
age little girl, and displays wonderful
skill in cutting out and making dresses,
| aprons, capes, etc, for her mimic
| babies. She has a habit of inspecting
the trimming and style of cut of the
| dresses of lady visitors, and she shows
great ingenuity in so cutting and
trimming her dolls wardrobe.
Her sewing is not confined to her fin
gers by any means. She is equally ex-
| pert with the sewing machine, and IS
very fond of operating it.
Ruby's accomplishments do not stop
at plain sewing. After cutting and
sewing her dolls clothes she also cuts
| and works the buttonholes and sews on
the buttons. She is, for the most part,
self-taught in these manipulations. She
keeps her clothes in her own trunk, and
does not allow anyone else to put any
thing in it. Not long ago her sister put
some aprons in Ruby's trunk, but they
were soon discovered by the little miss
and were summarily cast upon the floor
Ruby, while affectionate and amiable
in disposition, is by no means devoid OF
| temper.
| Besides her doll, she has a cat, of
which she is quite fond, and she also
loves to play with chickens. Not long
since she got up in the night when all
the rest of the family were sound
asleep, went to the fowlhouse, where
she found a hen that was DESTROYS OF
sitting. Ruby procured box, in which
she fixed up nest of straw, and, gath
ering up all the eggs she could find
some three or four dozen, she set the
hen up in business, placing the box
upon the sewing machine, where her
mother found it next morning
She sometimes goes into the fowl
house-always at highland catches
chickens, which she puts into a coop
Next day, after amusing herself with
them awhile, she turns them out. The
chickens do not seem to be afraid OF
her. AS may be supposed, little Ruby
is very much humored and, as far as
possible, she is allowed to do just as she
pleases, and amuse herself as suits hel
best.-Galveston (Tex.) News.