The Dallas express. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1893-1970, 1919-11-15
GENIUS AND TALENT MAY BE
FOUND IN THE PALACE AND
THE HUT "BHIKIN" THE
WHISTLER ENDOWED WITH
GREAT VERSATILE POWER.
His Whistling Power Releaves Him
From Trench Seryice-He Sings
And Whistles With Remarkable Va
riatiOns.
Mrs. Ella Rice-Pratt, The Wonder
full Pianist and Author Speciallzes
In Boston Conservatory Of Music.
By N. W. Harllee.

response among all nations. Art. gen.
ius and talent come to the very doors
of the monarch and his vasal; they
come with equal steps to desk Of the
statesman and the dingy hut of his
peasant; they lock arms at the
of the rich and the poor. such is art,
such is genius, such is talent. These
brush aside illusions, they present
the truth and crush inequality and
shine out as the stars of the first
magnitude in the upper skies of en-
deavor.
Just now, we are amazed at the
whistling prodigy in our city, a
youth endowed with wonderful and
versatile powers possessed only by
this expert in his line. and who is
the expert who uses his mouth as
musical instrument and both de-
lights and pleases all who hears
him render with variations the lat
est fad, the latest waltz. the latest
jazz produced by Europe, the Negro
genius? Well, you will never forget
him once you hear him sing his won
derful whistling tones, warbbling in
variation all parts of the score,
twisting and bending them in and
out, artfully repleting and at the
same time unfolding and manipulate
ing deity the strains of music like
music machine set in operation by
masterful hand, now he sings like
violin, now like harp, now like
bass drum, running the gamute
and enhancing his hearers as they
Green their necks and open their
mouths as If trying to both hear
and in some mysterious way to taste
and test the enraptured tones dropp-
ing from the sable jaws of this Dali
las boy. But who is this lad, you
insist, what is his name? Well, since
you persist, we shall tell you all we
know about his name. Here it is,
"Mr. Bilikin," a young Colored SOL
der that attracted the attention of
the American army officers with his
ability as a whistler, and as an ar
fist in his line. So expert was "Pri-
vate Bilikin" in the armv that he was
released from trench duty and as
signed to other duty safe from the
dangers of the front lines, 1t is said
One of the remarkable occurrences
about "Bilikin" was that during the
time that a concert was being given
for the benefit of flood sufferers that
this artist so delighted the audience
that they took up a purse for him.
Talents find its ready response in the
street urchin, finds its subject among
the unfortunate and crowns him with
the wreath of honor and distinguishes
him and claims him as her own
child, the heir of her fortune
We wish to mention lady whom
we consider one OF the foremost pi-
anists in all the southland, that lady
Is Mrs. Ella Rice-Pratt. a Dallas
product, who manipulates,. the piano,
the guitar, mandolin and the violin.
Mrs. Pratt is also an authoress in
the musical field, having written
'Holy, Holy" with variations; "Utop-
ia" and the class song with both
words and music for the class of
1918, of the Prairie View College.
Mrs. Pratt specialized after many
years experience in the Boston Con-
servatory of Music. Her technique
is peculiar to herself, it is claimed
by specialists, and that her interpre-
tation is original. Her lingering is
said to be skilfully developed and
all these points make with her gen.
ius, the artist that she is. Mrs. Pratt
severed years as the accomplished
pianist of the Bethel A. M. E. church
and as the directories of commence
ment of the Colored high school.
Annie Mae Covington. child of
ten summers, manipulates the keys
of the piano as an artist Of older eX-
perience, and being small of statue
can scarcely reach the key board on
the piano, and performs well and
skilfully for one of her age. she sings
and accompanies herself. Her teach
er thinks she is a musical prodigy
and desires her sent to Boston to the
conservatory, where she can be de-
veloped and trained We had the
child to spend the day at our resi-
dence and watched her every move
ment and was agreeably surprised at
her ability and talked with her teach
er about her possibilities and her
talent, her knowledge of the tech
nique and the like. There is much
musical talent in this city among the
young children that needs only to be
developed and trained. Many Of the
girls have splendid voices that il
they were developed and trained
would be worth while.
We wish to speak of Elisha Will
liams Of Oak Cliff as possessing ma
tural talent as artist and sculptor
This lad has done some excellent
burst work and outlines of states
men including Lincoln and Douglass
Douglass. His landscapes are almost
perfection and are models of arts
that have been shown to experts who