The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1873-11-27
WHAT IS LEPROSY.
A visit to the Settlement of Lepers in
the Sandwich Islands.

says correspondent OF the n. I.
Tribune, Is disease of the blood and not
a skin disease. 1t can be caught only, |
am assured, by contact of an abraded
surface with the matter of the leprous
sore and doubtless the habit Of the peo
pie, of many smoking the same pipe, has
done much to disseminate it It's first
noticeable signs are slight puffincss
under the eyes, and a swelling of the lobes
of the ears. To the practiced eyes Of Dr.
Trousseau, the attending physician, these
signs were apparent where | could not
perceive them until he laid his finger on
them. Next follow symptoms which
vary greatly in different individuals but
marked sign is the retraction oil the
fingers, so that the hand comes to reseT
BILE a birds claw. In some cases the
face swells in ridges, leaving deep furTows
between aud these ridges are shiny and
without feeling, so that a pin may be
stuck into one without giving pain to the
person. The features are thus horribly
deformed in some cases | saw two young
boys of II who looked like old men OF go
Iu some older men and women, the face
was at first sight revolving and baboon
like | say at first sight, for on second
look the mild sad eye redeemed the
distorted features; it was as though the
man was looking out of horrible mask
At later stage of the disease these rugous
swellngs break open into fostering sores );
the nose and even the eyes are blotted
out, and the body becomes putrid.
In other cases the extremities are most
severely attacked. The fingers, after be
ing drawn in like claws, begin to tester
They do not seem to drop off, but rather
to be absorbed, the nails following the
stumps down; and | actually saw finger
nails on a hand that had no fingers The
nails were on the knuckles the fingers
had all rotted away. The same process
of decay goes on with the toes 10 some
cases the whole foot had dropped away /;
and in many the hands and feet were
healed over, the fingers and toes having
dropped off But the healing of the sore
is but temporary, the disease presently
breaks out again. Emaciatlon does not
seem to follow l saw very few wasted
forms, and those only in the hospitals,
and among the worst cases. There up
pears to be au astonishing tenacity of life,
and was told they mostly choke TO death,
or fall into a fever caused By swallowing
;he poison of their sores when these attack
the nose and throat. Those diseased give
out soon very sickening odor, and | was
much obliged to a thoughtful man in the
settlement. who commanded the lepers
who had gathered together to hear an
address from the Doctor to form to
leeward Of US. | expected to be sickened
by the hospitals; but these are so well
kept, and are so easily ventilated by the
help of the constantly blowing trade wind
that the odor was scarcely peIceptible in
them
You will perhaps ask how is the dis
ease contracted. | doubt il any one yet
knows definitely not from all heard
Judge that there must be some degree OF
predispositinn toward disease in the person
to be contaminated. | believe | have Dr..
Troussean's leave to say. that the contact
of wounded on abraded surface with the
matter of leprous sore will convey the
disease this is of course innoculation ;
and he seemed to think no other method
of contamination probable. | was careful
to provide myself with pair of gloves
my hands iu case | should be invited to
shake hands; but | poticed that the
doctor fearlessly shook hands with some
of the worst cases, even where the fingers
were suppurating and wrapped in rags.
There are several women on the
islands, confirmed lepers. whose husbands
are at home and sound one, notably,
where the husband is white man. On
the other hand woman was pointed out
to me, who had three husbands, each of
whom in short time alter marrying her
became leper. There are children,
lepers, whose parents are not lepers and
there are parents lepars whose children
are at home aud healthy.
There are three White men on the
island, lepers, two of them in a very bad
state SO far as | could learn the partic
uIars of their previous history, they had
lived fagitiously loose lives such as must
have corrupted their blood long before
they became lepers. ln some other cases
of native lepers | came upon similar his
tories and while do not believe that 10
every case, or indeed perhaps 10 ma
jority of cases. involves such career OF
vice. | should say that this is certainly q
strongly predisposing cause And as to
the danger of injection to a foreign visitor
there is absolutely none, unless he should
undertake to live in native fashion among
the natives, smoking out of thei'
pipes, sleeping under their tapas
aud eating their food with them and
even in such an extreme case his risk
would be very slight now, so thoroughly
has the disease been stamped out 10y
the energetic action of the Board o
Health In short, there is no more risl
of a white resident or traveller catchin.
leprosy in the Hawiian Islands than il
the City or State of New York.
| have heard one reason why this dis