Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-11-29
MARVELLOUS BLIND GIRL
WiIletta Higgins Sees by Smelling
and Hears by Feeling.


and Hears by Feeling.
The most marvellous girl in the
world is just beginning to do marvels
for other girls and for boys, too.
She is Willetta Huggins, of James
vile, Wis, whose eyes are blind and
whose ears are deaf, but who sees by
smelling and hears by feeling.
Willetta is 16 and an inmate Of the
Wisconsin school for the blind at
Janesville
Before Willetta became totally blind
and deaf she was far from marvel;
frankly, her teachers thought her stu
pid and indolent.
Often they lost patience with ner.
They lust couldn't get things through
her head" At 10 years Of age she had
got only so far as the second grade and
was really a problem for her grand
mother, who was rearing her with her
two sisters and one brother.
Then teacher, little more inclined
to investigation than the others, found
by some simple tests that Willetta
couldn't see we'll or hear well. She was
brought to the attention of field agent
for the school for the blind, who took
her to the institution.
For several years, despite the most
sympathetic attention and scientific
methods of the officials and teachers at
the school, Willetta didn't improve
much. Her disposition, If anything,
grew worse.
Two years ago she became deaf; a
year ago she became blind. For a
week she was more morose, If any
thing, than before. Then one day sud-
denly came an awakening-the result
of her sudden perception of her powers
of smelling and feeling.
Today Willetta Higgins, through the
development Of her powers of smelling
and feeling, has become more marvel
Gus than even Helen Keller.
Maybe it is the gift of God in return
for the loss of my sight and hearing,
is Willetta's only explanation. Some
have been skeptical. They thought the
girl still had some powers of vision. To
convince them she was given yarn OF
six colors, in six separate envelopes
and locked in bank vault at Chippe-
wa Falls. In this blackness she opened
the envelopes, smelled the yarn, wrote
the color Of each strand on an envelope
and put the yarn of that color in its
respective envelope. When the vault
was opened it was found that she had
made no mistake.
She can hear by feeling vibrations
If she talks over the telephone, she
merely places the tip Of her finger or
the receiver diaphragm. If she is lis
tening to someone converse, she rests
her finger lightly on the persons
throat, shoulder or chest.
So acute is her sense of hearing by
| feeling, that she can tell what Superin-
| tendent ]. T. Hooper Of the school /!
saying by standing ten feet from him
and talking hold of the end of a wood
en- pole, the other end Of which he rest:
on the top OF his head.
Willetta recently visited Governor
John ]. Blaine at the state capital a
Madison. She listened to him by plac
! ing her fingers on his shoulder, and she
easily told the colors. of his coat by
smelling it.
Major Z. A. Fitzpatrick, secretary o.
the state board of education, said t
Wiletta:
Can you tell the denominations o
| bills?"
Surely" she said.
He tested her with 81, 50, IS and 81
greenbacks. She identified each.
How do you do it?" he marveled.
by feeling the numerals" she said
She tells the number of persons in {
room by her sense of smell. A cat en-
tered the room noiselessly. Who le
the cat,in?" she inquired, Immediately
Il smell it,
She told Governor Blaine: Il an
more happy without my vision ant
hearing than 1 was before. l guess it:
because | understand better, by smell
ing and feeling-and so l make Others
understand me better"
But Superintendent Hooper of th'
school sees far-reaching lesson in al
this. Briefly it is:
"Willetta was miserable for years
because she was misunderstood. Sh'
was being forced to use her senses o
seeing and hearing, which were quite
deficient, while the proper thing woulC
have been to develop her senses o
smelling and feeling, which were quite
! extraordinary.
There is such a balance in every
one. So now, with Willetta's aid, We
are trying to work out system which
will enable us to understand this bal.
ance, and to give the world advantage
OF it for tha training Of other children