The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-08-09
BLIND THIRTY YEARS.
First Sight of the World by One Who
Was Born Sightless.
lChicaE0 Jnurnal.

IL il were possible for person TO be
born with all his faculties ready de-
veloped. the sensations OF that person
probably would not be unlike those OF
John CarTutE. the @-year-old Scotchman
who. having been blind from birth, has
Just received his sight as the result OF, a
remarkable operation at the Glasgow
Ophthalmic hospital. Since he left the
hospital, Carruth. who is the son Of
farmer OF Weir. has been getting &C
quainted with the appearance of persons
and things. and as he IS an unusually in
telligent man. many OF his comments
thereupcn have been remarkably inter
esting.
It was largely through accident that
CarTuth came to be operated upon. As
ne had been born blind, none of his ae-
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 eyeSiCht. and the
result 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 of them. He grew
flowers. picked them. ard was able. to
arrange them in bouquets that It would
have been hard for an expert in the
grouping Of colors 20 have beaten For a
year and half this blind man drove the
delivery cart of the village grocer and
distributed its contents to the customers
Sometimes he would have as many as
thirty parcels in his cart. but his wonder
July developed sense Of touch enabled
INN 10 DICK our every and deliver
il at the right address.
Through the agency of a young ply
stefan CarrUth was taken to Glasgow
TO be operated upon. Eleven days after
the operation he got the first signal that
sight was coming 10 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 saws 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 recog-
nized her as a woman. Il knew she was
a woman he says. because her face
was pale and smooth Then he asked
ing that her sons sight had been given
to him, and sat down by his bedside. 81
had peep at her sideways, says Car
ruth, and then asked her of how many
wrinkles she had on her forehead. You
can see she cried, or how could you
tell? Can you count themI We'll. I could
not see aye enough for that, but / could
Since then Carruth has been Teasing
mis- eyes on all sorts of wonderful things
Everything strikes him as beautiful"
color He had been told that there was
difference between things in this re-
spect. but he could form no idea of whar
was meant. Green especially is his de-
light. Strangely enough. he says that
II is only since ne could see that he has
known what it was to feel tired. He saws
100, that whereas he used to ride a horse
tearlessly. he now would be afraid OF
being thrown A small and rather flimsv
bridge over river which he fornerls,
crossed without tremOr now worries
him considerably 10 negotiate.
ships were surprise to Carruth: in
fact., he had been able to form nothing
more than vague idea Of anything that
he could not feel with his hands OF
women he says ne had no idea they were
sac beautiful and bOnny.' He meets "a
friend without having the slightest idea
who he IS until he speaks. then he saws.
Oh, it's So-and-S0r At first. he went
into roars Of laughter over the sieht OF
peoples jaws moving as they ate But
he IS ambitious, and SAYS that he wants
70 study ana TO learn languages Per-
maps the most significant remark that
Carruth has made. however. burst from
him when he stood and looked over a
fields iIl the foreground backed ~
set. ny sun
this he said. a.