1939-12-09 — Page 15

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THE CHINA MAIL, DECEMBER 9, 1939

TO-DAY'S STRANGE STORY OF REAL PEOPLE

'BLIND TOM' THE IDIOT-PHENOMENON

BY VINCENT TOWNE

A Negro Slave, on a plantation near Columbus, Ga., gave birth, about 1850, to a nearly blind, idiotic boy, Tom who at the age of 3 was sold to J. N. Berthune of Fauquier County, Va, Almost from the time he was an infant in arms the child developed He wonderful genius as a mimic. imitated the cries of animals, the call

the sounds

the of birds and

of elements with such skill that he was

called

to

the in

entertain He Bethune household.

was often found with his car pressed to the wall of the house listening. to the sound of the piano within, and he would sing or whistle any complicated air once. Once, after hearing it but

soon

JENON

TOM'S MANNERISMS AT THE PIANO WERE GROTESQUE,

City and that the two were subsisting on charity. Finally, in 1904, after he had been almost forgotten, he reap- peared upon the stage in New York

concerts with " City giving several much of his old-time vigor.

This uncanny phenomenon seemed to possess the feline characteristic of having nine lives. He was reported as having died at least that number of times. Once it was announced that he had succumbed to consumption, again that he had jumped off a bridge In St. Louis and had committed sui- cide; also that he had been killed near Cincinnati and that he had been drowned in a flood in Pennsylvania.

At last, in 1912, came what was heralded as "positively his last ap- On pearance" in the death notices. June 13, of that year, a Negro dying in Hoboken was alleged to be "Blind Tom" but upon the burial certificate his name was given as Thomas Wig- gins, although during his professional career he had been known as Thomas al Bethune. One account published

the time stated that he had spent his last days subsisting on charity and another that he had been cared for during his declining years by the widow of his former master.

when he was caught stealing into his master's house and imitating in un- dertones upon the piano-forte some melodies he had heard played during the day by others, it was discovered that the child had a wonderful musi- valuable racing stable. After his court decided that the idiot was en-psychologists all over the world. None

be-titled to $70,000 of his earnings, cal genius.

manager's death, "Blind Tom"

After leaving the stage, Tom When 4 years of age Tom astonished came refractory and declined to ap- the Bethune family by executions on pear in public performances. Law relapsed into stupid idiocy. the piano that were trully phenomen-suits were brought in his behalf, but time he became lost to the world, but

Bethune al, and his master decided to turn the

family successfully later it was announced that he was this talent into gain. So, when the fought them, until finally the Virginia living with his mother in New York

lad was 8, Bethune toured the coun- try with him, later Europe, when

Tom

taking him to played before

the crowned heads of the Continent. More than $200,000 was realized from this first tour.

After J. N. Bethune had enriched himself on "Blind Tom" he had his son, John G, Bethune, appointed by the Virginia courts curator of the blind idiot's person in 1870, and from in 1883, that time until his death young Bethune exhibited the Negro phenomenon throughout the country.

"Blind Tom" had a big, uncouth, face of an ungainly frame, and the

at the imbecile, His mannerisms piano were grotesque and suggested those of the trained apes that we have

At seen in recent years.

the con- clusion of his performances, he would wildly jump about on the stage, clapping his hands for self approba- tion. His music was destitute of in- imitative. vention, but marvelously One of his feats was to play a melody with his right hand and, simul- taneously, another with his left, at the same time whistling or singing a third-not merely popular airs like "Yankee Doodle"

ΟΡ "Sailor's Hornpipe," but the most intricate classic compositions of Bach, Chopin

Tom and Mendelssohn.

could play with his back to the piano-forte, could name any combination of tunes, could imitate the sound of almost any musical instrument and could deliver complete oration in almost any foreign language without understand- ing the meaning of a word that he spoke.

a

from Out of his earnings made "Blind Tom", young Bethune, like his father, had established a snug fortune and had maintained in Kentucky

a

TO-NIGHT

IN THE

GALA NIGHT

9th

For

a

never

"Blind Tom" was a sphinx riddle to-

of them could ever fathom his pheno- mena.

Probably there will be an explanation of the remarkable freak of nature which gave the black idiot his mastery over the world of sound.

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