, 1874-01-18
The History and Character ofthe Disease,

1rdce Asher Bates, = well-known citizen, died in
~. ianer's hospital at San Francisco only short
linn since. Furthermore. the writer Gays that
-. aoO Cinnamon are known to be infected,
~ fron the facts that the disease ia easily con-
...,ad in it's fret stages, and OF the sec1etiye
t,ht Of this race, it is thought that it may DO
MUCH MORE PREVALENT
..,, aprearances Indicate. The presumable
.,n,ce OF the contagion is the Sandwich Islands,
r.hsoco, in accordance with the easterly current
,heory. it was transported to San Francisco by
.ons Chiuamen. that had been domesticated
,vbin with tile Hayaiians aud from this foot
to,a in California the alarmist would have us
h.1ere the gane1cne will cut it's way clean
tbronch tie nation, and make lep1osy a. COM
mon pith us as in Orlcutal countries.
Sons fo,:y years ago, alorg with the intro
dnctiou of Christianity, Of trousers, Of whisky,
and otEer institutions as civilized. nations, the
eecds Of tie plague were implanted among the
rentlc natives Of the Sandwich Islands. As the
st,ry ,rns, German from China, with the
disease fastened On his bones, settled among
tbe ipbabl1ants, and, marrying native wife,
handed down through his posterity this dire in
leri,arcc. About uiue years since, the disease
lad become go alarminGly frequent that
+. law was framed designed to
i, CHECK IT'S D1ssEM1sATToN.
/ seclnded nook ia 3lolokai. girt round about By
tue ses, and walled out from tho main portion of
the island by Preciplce QUO feet IN height, WAS
selected Tor tcpeTs' settlement. To this place
She law banishcd every one infected With the
disease: and one Of the most heart-rending
scenes It is said ever Witnessed in these iaands,
II The separation OF friends and kindred from
he tainted wretches whose Fate it is to be trans
ported to Molokai.' And terrible CAUSE there is
10 bewail this separation: To be q leper Is to
&4n 1;1-pr 1aa{h al ~ lp}
taken away from the infected man his vie
d etanicd an absolute divorce; and the re-
mainder Of his days must bo m1seTAbly
spent in a desert nook in companlonsh'p
md miseiablo IS himself. This decree Of eepa-
rston vas almost dead letter till the death Of
the late King, who was himself suspected OF
being leprons. Recently, however, the law has
been releni1essly enfo1ced, and there are no"
Sl3 lcpers coloulzed at 3Io1okai; and, according
to the renort OF Dr.. Trousseau, who has the un-
pleasant task OF searching out and branding the
mclean orcs, there are nov no tnore than ffty
cases scattered about the island at larEe. out ct
confinement; and the doctor thinks tnat with
ei1 months more of vigilance OIL the part OF the
authorities the pest Will 6e
ENTIRELY EnADIcATED.
In recent letter from Charles Nordhol TO
the New York Tribune. We have this vivid de-
scription Of the isolated spot on Molokai lnhab.
tied by these teprous out casts, their method OF
Life, ard treatment by the Government:
From the edge Of the p.n rrecip,ce, tho plain te
INV which contains about IT, oc1 acrcs looks like
absolute Dat bounded on tmee sides by me bue ,
Pacific The whole great plnin is composed OF lasa
Eonct and to one unfamiliar with the habits Of tie
Sandx1 Islanders, would seem to be an absolutely
% sro considerable population, who have lefi the
ma,ks Of almost incredible industry In numerous
fields ncoscd between rails Of lava rock, well laid up;
ths iadrpws Of hay in gTass-fell at home evident
krdled there in order to secure room in the long,
beds partly cleared ct s, which aT *sn To-
MoIok.i, the Government provides him q n1, house,
ind he receives, il IN adult, three re- pounds 1rs
sz.. p1 1ouns. nmtaed II at Ro ssen Rsf oa a ra
pounds q fresh beef week Beef is genefay pre-,
na md asa ter pr PRODUCTS are fought y tho Health
Dosrd but tic disease quickly attacks the feet aud
bands, and disabes the sufferers from labor There
ire two churches In the settlement one Protestant,
With = nAtive PASTOR and one Catholic with white
Priest, youne TrcnchInan, who has had tas ourage
ore a'i kent * By the I Board are of HEALTH t.. articles in
which a1e sold for cost and e1penses Tue people re-
cei7e good deal Of money from their relatives at
mon; a.o supplies Ill Ii: cpers with clothing There
also Post0Gcc and tito little schooner which csr-
ricd me back to Honolulu bore oFcr 2oo let'ers LIE
weekly mall from the leper seteement-
TIE CHARACTERISTICS OF TIE HORRIBLE DISEASE
Ere thus described by the eane writer:
The leprosy Of the Elauds is disease OF the blood
snd not = sfin disease. It be cnught only, am
absuIeQ, DJ CoHk1Et Oh I'll AOIAae4 bu4AA@o eAS
matter Of The eprous and doubtless the habit Of
the people Of many smoking the same Pipe mas done
much to disseminate it. 1ts first noticeable signs are
aslight putness under the eyes, and swelling Of the
lotes Of the ears Next follow symptoms, which rary
greatly in different individuals: but marked sign is
The reraeon q the fingers 50 that the napd ~ CONES mes
sEells IN RIDGES leaving deep burrows between ana
these ridges ehny and without feeling 80 that
PIN may be stuck into without giving Pain to tho
person. The features are thus horribly deformcd IL
some saw two or three boys OF Il sho looked
hie Old men Of Co. At later stage Of TIE disease
ese rugous sWeings break open into fostering sores
t5e nose and even the eyes are blotted oot, anu
the body becomes putrid In other cases the exreml-
ties most severely attacked The fingers after BE-
ing drawn nko claws begin to Tester. They do not
seem to drop OF, but rather to be absorbed the nails
following Inc stumls down and 1scsnany eaM nnses
On the knnckies; the fingers had al .otted away IAe
sa'e process nj deca, goes with the toes in some
The hands and feet were healed over. the fingers and
toes having dropped off, But the healing Of tile sore
but temporary the disease presently , breaks ou.
sesy few wasted form; and those only In the hos
pisals and among the worst csscs There appears to
1oh9g tsnc 81 s and rs1 w2' csused sSa 81
the poson Of their sores when these attack
THERE ARE PLENTY or PATHETIC DISTANCES
o. the fe1yent attachments and selt-eacritee Of
shese beathen islanders for kindred or friends
"lo msy have been dragged away to this living
entonbment at iiolokai. ANY clean person who
pe1sists in following ]cper to his bauishment
must PROMISE never to quit the settlement, and
ret toolhardy rs it seems, there arc numerous
eases Of individuals who have joyfu4ly accepted
thla terrible remuneration in older to contln1e
u u conpaEicnship with nome dearly loved one.
Ill: Cha11as Warner Stodda1d notes romantic
incident Of this kind in all interesting artcle on
lhe Lepers Of Molokai." in a late number OF
Inc 0rerland Mon1hly. He says:
defr Wiz ayoung nat;ve, who WAS perhaps 20 years
1ge spiendjdly devc.o1ed, and with very attractive
shne1s had chosen. he might have passed 1fe OF
ane9atned sensuaty, for it 1s next TO Impossible LOT
s9eh fellows to be decent; but he had seen woman
sss1 face Ike cobra-a hdcous 1.-the creature pos
sseshshg tho charms Of Meausa-there wns something
tee1nat1ng In the very dnttcr OF her garments as
taorgn enc wcrG not wholly human woman, WHO,
nef beat days, had belonged to the Kings mouse
toa. and wto get preserved air Of royalty, but VINO
a been hsniehed to Nolokai With the shadow Of the
goe upon her. Sooner latc1, that youth e1pecteo
otas1ce lis body to the plague. At any rate neFer
ieaa could he hope to quit that village-"hefc' r.
a- he was quite cousentcd, and in noW1se rcgfe1ul
the temptations Of his island world He seemed 70
nnder some singular ale: for be was familiar ~a1h
ao7oss Of the place. associated with lepers OF n'en
tal~ dcgFre, and 1T the sano time preserved 1gns
LETT md cheerful spirit that bordered on fr1SoatS.
4eTTosy In it's various forms is as