The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-05-28
CAN'T HEAR, SEE OR SPEAK.
REM ARKABLE PROGRESS OF 4
 MUCH HAMPERED YOUTH.

orris Benson Lost Ills Powers When
 Three Years Oid, But as a Pupil nt n
 ed In All About Him and Shows
 Great Adupiabllity.
 The most interesting pupil of the
 New York Institution for the lnstruc-
 ton of the Deaf and Dumb, and the one
 who gives the least trouble to the teacli-
 CTS is a boy to whom the outside world
 is an absolute blank, says the Sun of
 that city. Deaf. dumb and blind, Orris
 Benson lives in a world of silence and
 darkness. Under ordinary conditions,
 left to- himself, he would have gone
 through life desolate soul wrapped in
 Cimmerian darkness, knowing nothing,
 thinking nothing, hoping nothing. For tunately scientific methods and pa
 tient endeavor are capable of helping even so afflicted an individual as one
 deaf, dumb and blind indeed, so many advantages and resources have been
 brought into his life that it is not much exaggeration of the facts to say that he
 is little incommoded by his affliction.
 At the institution Orris seemed to be
 one of the most cheerful boys of all the silent crowd He was holding an ami
 mated conversation with one of the teachers, making use of the sign lam l guage by the sense of touch alone the
 pressure of the finger on the boys col 1 lar or the back of the hand, or a few ! rapid-touches on the palm being suffi
 eient to convey to him an entire sen l tence, A tattoo on the finger tips in- l formed him of a visitors mission. At
 once the lad faced about with an ln- ! quiring look on his features. The prin-
 cipal of the institution, Enoch M. Cur i Tier, asked him question with the rap ] idly moving finger tips beating on the 1 hand. To the surprise of the visitor, i the answer came in queer sound from l the boys lips. It was not hard to make out that he was saying, or trying to say, In my pocket" At the same time a hand went into the pocket, and, with @ laugh, Orris brought out a pocket knife. The principal explained that be had asked the boy what he had done with knife that had been given him Orris Benson lost both sight and 1 hearing when a child of three, the di- rect cause of his affliction being spinal meningitis. In the fall of 1889 he was taken to the New York institution and placed in the male kindergarten at the Mansion House At the time of admis- sion he had no remembrance of the gen eral appearance of persons or things, but had a somewhat indistnct idea of black and white
 Tho fret ,o 1aor f1 cnol1 hy means of the manual alphabet was key the object having been previius- ly exhibited to him. Then little by lit- tle step by step, he learned the names of other common objects. In the same slow, tedious way he was later taught the clements of speech. The strain upon his brain was si great that at first he was not hequired to do much at a time, but the task of learning gradually became less arduous, and in time he could understand easy conversation, and compose a few simple sentences, After being transferred to the main building he was taught to converse by speech. He now generally makes use of this accomplishment when with hearing persons with whom he is acquainted.
 He shows great fondness for history Anecdotes of the exploits of the makers of the nation arouse him to such an ex- tent that he has several times expressed regret that he cannot be q soldier He also enjoys studying geography with the help of raised maps. After getting a clear idea of numbers he began the study of arithmetic, but as yet he is not far advanced in this branch
 homo bo ictc father who is carpenter Last sum mer he helped a friend during the hay ing season. In the trade school of the institution he learned to cane chairs, and in this and various other ways he manages to earn his spending money during the long summer vacation. When alone he thinks and plans and tries to invent something useful. His chief aim in life is to fit himself to earn a comfortable living when his school | days are over. Orris has become an adept in the use of the typewriter, | rarely making a mistake in the work he l does It is possible for the teachers to dictate letters to him by means of the sign language used in the way ex- plained above,
 He is especially fond of wood carving, ] and he has made several creditable | pieces entirely without help. He also | models in clay, and has made a recog- | nizabe copy of Grants tomb on River side drive. The form of the building | was explained to him, and he modelled | it with surprising faithfulness, At | chair caning Orris is particularly skill | full, and works quickly and carefully. When not working at something he sits patiently for hours going over and over in his mind the lessons he has learned. |
 Nothing pleases him better than to be questioned on some matter of interest | that he has studied during the school l session. He has thoughts of his own current questions, and the teachers are glad to talk with him and watch the steady growth of his intel lect According to the testimony of his teachers he is the happiest boy in the 
 THE BANANA TRADE.
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