The Washington times., 1903-07-15
CARRUIH, BORN BLIND,
IS NOW ABLE TO SEE
Thirty-Year-0ld Scot Begin
ming New Life.

GLASGOW, Scotland. July 15.-If II
were possible for a person TO be born
with all his faculties ready developed.
the sensation OF that person probably
would not be unlike those of John Car
ruth, the thirty-year r-oId Scotchman
who, having been blind from birth. has
just received his sight as the result of
remarkable operation at the Glasgow
Ophthalmic Hospital Since he left the
hospital Carruth, who is the son of a
farmer of Weir, has been getting ac-
quainted with the appearance of persons
and things and, as he is an unusually
intelligent man, many of his comments
thereupon have been remarkably inter
esting.
It was largely through accident that
Carruth came to be operated upon. AS
he had been born blind, nGne of his ac-
quaintances ever had supposed that he
could be made TO see. Neither did Car
ruth himself. SO, even as a little boy. he
determined to get through life as best
he could without eyesight, and the re-
suit was that he accomplished things
that seem almost incredible.
For instance, he tended cattle. of
whose appearance he had been able to
form some idea by feeling them. He
grew flowers. picked them, and was able
to arrange them in bouquets that il
would have been hard for an expert in
the grouping of colors TO have beaten
For a year and a half this blind map
drove the delivery cart of the village
grocer and distributed it's contents to
the customers. Sometimes he would
have as many as thirty parcels in his
cart. but his wonderfully developed
sense OF touch enabled him TO pick out
every one and deliver it at the right ad-
dress.
Through the agency of a young ply
sician of his own town, Carruth was
taken to Glasgow to be operated upon
Eleven days after the operation he got
the first signal that sight was coming to
him when he made out a red rug which
lay over the foot of his bed Then he
was able to distinguish the face Of his
surgeon. He says that he did not know
what it was at first, but that when the
physician spoke he realized that he
must be looking for the first time on a
human countenance. Afterward he saw
his nurse and recognized her as a wo-
man. Il knew she was a woman" he
says. because her face was paleN and
smooth"
Then he asked to see his mother. who
came. not knowing that her sons sight
had been given him, and sat down 10y
his bedside. 'I had a peep at her side
ways" said Carruth. land then asked
her how many wrinkles she had on her
forehead. You can seel' she cried. 'cr
how could you tell? Can you count
them?' Well. 1 could not see well
enough for that, but / could see her
dear face"
Since then Carruth has been feasting
his eyes on all sorts of wonderful things
Everything strikes him as beautiful, {"
but he says his greatest surprise was
color. He had been told that there was
a difference between things in this re-
what was meant. Green especially Is
his delight, Strangely enough, he says
that it is only since he could see that
he has known what ii was TO feel tired.
He says, too, that whereas he used to
ride horse fearlessly. he now would be
afraid of being thrown. A small and
rather flimsy bridge over a river which
he formerly crossed without a tremor
now worries him considerably TO lego-
tiate.
At first he went into roars of laughter
over the sight of peoples jaws moving
as they ate. But he is ambitious, and
says that he wants TO study and 70 learn
languages. Perhaps the most significant !
remark that Carruth has made. however |
burst from him when first he stood and /
looked over a quiet Scotch country /
scene, with green fields IN the fore /
ground, backed by river and a 'ange /
Of hills against the sunset:
There's bound to be a creator for all /
thisi' be said.