, 1869-08-06
THE LEPERs OF rHE PACIFIC.
A TERRIBLE STORY OF LEPRosY IN THE
SANDWICH IsLANDs-rHE CHAMBER OF
HORRORS AND THE DANCE OF DEATH.

After . few days of very quiet life in
Halain, l began to look with no little curios,
ity toward low peninsula to the westward.
on the north coast Moloakai. 1t is the home
Of the lepers. A swift and fortunately smooth
sail under the shadow of stupendous cliffs,
that make beautiful and terrible this side of
the Island, brought one safely to the shore !;
there, watching its chance, the canoe plunged
in upon the beach, over the breakers that
render landing in this neighborhOod very uu.
safe and often impossible. The peninsula,
perhaps three miles broad, spreading couple
Of miles toto the sea, is so completely isolated
that you could hardly imagine a more ap.
propriate aud secure retreat for the poor vic
tins of leprosy. At his home, if he have any
worthy of the name, he is more or less re-
garded with suspicion, or treated with res
serve. Many of the natives are quite afraid
of the contagion; l believe the disease is
generally considered as contagious Here be
is better cared for than he could be else
where; his food, clothing and shelter, are
certalnIies; they were peradventures before
"FIRsT, THE WORST"
Forty years ago, a foreigner who visited
the Islands, communicated this most horrible
OF diseases to native woman, aud from them
! have sprung the seeds that even at this late
day can hardly be eradicated. Every island
il the kingdom is haunted with the misera.
BILE victims, so terribly branded that no arti-
Gle under heaven can mask their deformity
Silently, but with dead ly certainty, he is at>
tackled by slow degrees, and almost uncon-
scious y surrenders his faculties to the tyran-
ny of the plague. As the doctor aud were
travelling natives came to US from time 10
time, reporting supposed cases of leprosy in
this or that valley. They were at once sent
for, aud usually made their appearance after
little hesitation. They dread being carried
from their homes, fearing some sort of inns
prisonment. A few the doctor sent for we're
not to be found, having been secreted by
their friends, who could not be persuaded to
confess any knowledge of their whereabouts.
One leper was hunted for about six months,
aud was still at liberty, his immediate rela>
tive keeping him concealed, and running the
risk of infection rather than give him up to
the authorities. At this time he is Stunned
by man and ridiculed by not few.
A SINGULAR TRAIT.
It may be one of the instincts of our ma.
ture to laugh at deformity, but fortunately
civilization re6nes away this barbarism. The
natives are at least natural-as natural as
children. To them any sort of deformity is
constant source of merriment. As we rode
one day through small village, our atten.
tion was attracted by O swarm of children,
apparently just out of school, They we're
gathered about young girl who stood like
statue in tkeir midst her chin resting upon
her breast, her hands hidden in the folds of
her coarse gown. As we drew nearer, the
children turned from her to US, calling our
attention to her in the most heartless man.
ner, holding up her hands and pointing to
her feet with boisterous shouts Of laughter.
The doctor quieted their unseemly mirth,
and taking the poor childs hands, found the
the fingers quite destitute of flesh, and her
feet in pitiful condition. She was an un.
doubted leper, and her melancholy state was
the occasion of the strange scene we Witness
ed. A boy with a crossed eye or turned
foot is generally brought out and exhibited
to the Haoi with the greatest uncticn, as
one would show double headed chicken, or
a cat With two tails. Usually the unhappy
creatures are named from their deformities,
as " Cock>ey or CrOOked-toe."
THE LAzAR HOUSE.
was the guest of a most amiable couple,
Mr.. and Mrs. Walsh, who have charge Of the
2S4 lepers now in the settlement. | found
mine host living 10 little cottage, surround
ed BY the various hospital wards, dormitOries
and smaller buildings, in fact, right in the
midst of the peslilenGe. Here, seldom meet
ing with foreigners, whose curiosity Is gems
erally not equal to their caution, continually
at thu mercy of the multitude around them
themselves, possible victims OF the same ter
rible malady, patient, long suffering, merci-
ful, their life is indeed worthy OF all praise.
Mr.. Walsh showed us through the hospitals,
four fair-sized buildings of one room each,
with plenty OF windows, and fortunately
plenty of sea air almost always blowing over
the place.
Il is almost like misfortune added to mis-
fortune, that the leprosy is not more swift In
its work of destruction. One may live fifteen
or twenty years, growing slowly but surely
worse the whole time. The following bnef
statistics made some time since at the settles
meut show the number of cases in propOrS
tiOu to their standing: Of III lePerS-s
cases were of Is years standing, lot IA years.
2 of I3 years, I of II years, 9 OF ~ :eats'
7 offs years, 50 of 8 years, "a Of 1 70 . : years years,
Is under year. In some distances n. !. seems ems
to have been hereditary, but not always. Inc
youngest @ Iepsr nov at the settlement is about
s;T wear. Of acc, and there is an old man sup
no.sS T% to b. in bis eightisth year. The set set
iIoms.s IOSo g was established 10 January, 1866;
Since Since" that tine 365 lepers have been cared
for for by the Government; of these eighty-fOur
have died, not large proportion Wnen you
consider that some among them had Deep
Iepers ten or twelve years. Lads between
the ages of twelve and Is, girls from 10 TO
l8 seem to be the worst cases. Atte5"ar9
the symptoms are, in measure mooinso' suu
the patient gradually passes away. 80 t9F,
no relief has been found in this part oil the
,.o-ld mineral and vegetable p1armancy