Daily camera., 1898-02-23
DEAF, DUMB AND BLIND.
A Little Texas Girl Who Nearly
Equals Helen Kellar.
In Spite of Her Great AMiction She
Has Many Accomplishments
Some of Her Wonder
full Acts.

AAA ACtSs
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 fail 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
neignbcrhood of the Rice family. Her
father, two brothers and herself We're
stricken down, the father and one
of the sons. soon dying with it
Little Ruby fingered between life and
death for FIVE weeks, when she began
slow recovery. At the end of three
months she could sit up, and from that
time on she lad 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 ar1icuiate.
In spite of her great misfortune,
Ruby is bright, intelligent and pretty
child. When the News representatives
ca1,ed Ruby and another little girl were
seated on the floor before the fire, eat
irg pecans. Although unable to see or
hear. she, by some means, seemed to
know that Il stranger was in the house,
and began at once to find him. Having
located the News man, she G-rasped his
hand in welcome, then reaching out for
lo,, l, c,e ho;,.
hands to his, indicating that they
should shake hands with the stranger.
Some of Ruby's performances are in
decd remarkable. While the News man
vas 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 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, aud is
very fond of operating it.
Ruby's accomplishments do pot 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 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 al
the rest of the family were sound
asleep, went to the fowlhouse, where
she found hen that was desirous 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 her
best.-Galveston (Tex.) News.
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