The child was born of mulatto parents at Waco, Texas, on August 19, 1885, and when only thirteen months old manifested remarkable mental ability and precocity.

S.V.Clevenger, a physician of Chicago, has described the child as follows:-- "Oscar was born blind and, as frequently occurs in such cases, the touch-sense compensatingly developed extraordinarily.

It was observed that after touching a person once or twice with his stubby baby fingers, he could thereafter unfailingly recognize and call by name the one whose hand he again felt.

The optic sense is the only one defective, for tests reveal that his hearing, taste, and smell are acute, and the tactile development surpasses in refinement.

But his memory is the most remarkable peculiarity, for when his sister conned her lessons at home, baby Oscar, less than two years old, would recite all he heard her read.