Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-12-20
HERE'S A BUNCH
OF SURPRISES
Editor KIinefelter of Obar
Progress, Tells Where
and How
WONDERFUL TEACHERS, PUPILS
Visit to School at Alamogordo
Shows How Blind Are
Taught to See.
BY L. L. Klinefelter.
editor Of the Obar Progross.)

I wish to call this story a bunch of
surprises. What are they?
Surprise No. 1: A few days ago l
heard a full blooded Indian lad of
about -, recite a humorous selec-
ton, and his delivery indicated that
he thoroughly appreciated the humor.
had always understood that the
American Indian was devoid of the
sense Of humor. But here was a case
OF original, not to say, aboriginal hui
NOR
Surprise No. 2: l learned that this
Indian boy could not speak word Of
English or Spanish year ago and
now he speaks and reads and writes
both remarkably well.
Surprise No. 8 This Indian boy is
totally blind.
Surprise No. 4: 1t was in New
Mexico that l saw and heard these
things. | had somehow got the idea
into my head that it is in the East
one must look for up-to-date progress
in education. This is clearly mis-
| take, however, since this boy was
born at Laguna, New Mexico, and
never has been outside of the terri
tory.
About year ago he was placed in
the New Mexico Institution for the
Blind at Alamogordo and his entire
education dates from that time.
heard him read the same lessons that
are read by boys of his grade in our
public school. saw him write, and saw
him do sums" in arithm etic.
All these things did Yiacero Cash
tea, the Indian boy, learn to do by the
use of his fingers instead of his eyes.
A little further on, l will tell you
something about the way he does
this. But just now l want to say that
Yiacero not only reads and writes
and ciphers but he works, and plays
and sings and dances and marches
and drills, and takes care of his
rooms and when l say that Yiacero
does these things, mean that about
thirty other unfortunate blind boys
and girls ranging from little tots of
six to gentlemen and ladies of % or
over, all do the same And when
these young people leave the school
after few years, most of them will
be able to earn their own living at
some trade or occupation on which
they have been taught and while at
school.
Broom Making.
| BrOom-making is one of the handi-
crafts in which blind people become
proficient and | have been told that
the best judges of the quality of
brush" as the broom straw is called,
are blind persons.
But they learn to do many things
The boys learn to drive nails and saw
boards; the girls learn to sew, to
cook and to take care of house.
Ii they care for music, they learn
to sing, to play piano, guitar, mando-
| lin and other instruments. They learn
department and you will not find in
any public school a better behaved or
more earnest and willing body of
young people, nor a more cheerful
one either.
The old notion that blindness. some
how is associated with feebleness of
intellect is a grievous mistake. The
! Of
proof OF that.
But I said l would explain how our
Indian boy (and all the resU learned
to read with his fingers.
Of course we all know that for
many years books have been printed
with raised letters like those of ordin-
airy print and that the blind learned
to read these by passing the tips
of their fingers over them.
But that is not the way they are
taught nowadays. A page of blind
printing as is used today is made up
entirely of small raised points. The
system was invented by Louis Braile,
a French teacher of the blind. 1t is
called "Braile." In this country a
modification known as American
Braile'' is general used.
If you or | were to pass our fingers
over page of Braile in the dark, we
might think we had come in contact
with flat nutmeg crater, except that
the points are not sharp enough to
hurt the fingers.
Now the very simplicity of this sys-
tenn makes it hard to explain. But IL
you will take lead pencil and mark
two more dots directly under these,
and two more under these, you will
then have the six points which form
the foundation of the Braile or
point system, and with these six
points and their positions, not only
the entire alphabet but all the numer-
ais and seventy-two contractions or
sign words are expressed. Every one
of these dots or points is numbered
and these numbers never change. The
upper left hand point is one that be1
low it is two; and below that is three.
The upper right hand point is four
with five and six below it.
For each letter a different combina-
Continued on Page Fve.)