Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1867-08-27

A LEpER VILLAGE. "A writer in the Corn
hill Magazine describes a visit to Chinese
leper village near Canton. He says
"Itis situated about two miles and halt
from the suburbs OF Canton, on slight emil
nepce, III the midst Of cultivated fields and ac-
commodates between four and five hundred
lep.rs with their children born in the asylum.
All persons recognized or declared by the au-
thorities to be lepers are sent to these asylums,
of which there are three in the neighbo:hood
Of Canlou Neither husband, wife, nor chill
dren are allowed to accompany the leper to the
asylum but they are allowed to choose them
selves new coniugal mates from the inmates OF
The same The children born from these
unions remain in the village. | saw of them
a great number, varying from the age of infancy
TO twenty-five years, and, in fact. Judging from
the great number of sound people in the estab-
lishment, the offspring would seem to be as
numerous as the legitimate occupants of the
place Only one leper admitted he was the
son of another leper then in the place. AS a
rule, they try to conceal their descent from dis
eased parents. gE a.a& -
THE village itself forms rectangle, sur
rounded by brick wall, twelve feet high, with
u gate which is closed every night. The fol-
lowing description may give you an idea OF Its
inner arrangements. A street about fourteen
feet wide (wider than any street in Canton,)
leads from the gate straight up to the tenn
pie or joss-house. From this street, branch
out at right angles on each side about
fourteen narrow lanes, three feet and half
wide, each two separated by one single low
building, partitioned again by wall along It's
whole length and crossways by twelve to four
teen crosswalls, so as totorm twenty-tour mar
row apartments. In these small holes that
whole mass Of population is slowed away every
night. Of course, | cannot speak with praise
of its state of cleanliness the reverse.
During the day the gates are open, and tue
epers roam at liberty, to beg through the
streets of Canton. They receive besides a
small daily allowance from the government, and
the monopoly OF the trade Of coir-rope making,
by which they earn something in addition
The lepers leave the village in the daytime at
pleasure, and their friends enter as freely TO
visit them, circumstances which so tar to de-
monstrate the popular opinion that the conta-
gon is not volatile or diffusible, or that it re-
quires prolonged actual contact TO communicate
itself from one person to another.
''We had taken the precautionary measure
to send message to the village on the day
previous that We were coming to distribute
aims among them. In consequence OF this,
the greatest portion of the lepers remained at
home that day, and had an opportunity OF
examining great number. AS result OF ms
investigation of cases, DR.. Hi!Iebrand satisfies
himself three distinct varietles-the tabercular
form, the erysipelatous and the simply paretic
or paralytic The latter form is often accom-
panied with inveterate psoriasis and he had
frequently seen this type Of disease in the
Hawaiian islands, but had not previously re-
cognized it as lerrous." .:.E.5 Eat.5it