The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-01-19

came q martyr to the lot of the man she
loved, and now ministers to him such
sweet consolation as only truc-hearted
woman can give to man in distress and
solitude. But with all its relieving beau
ties and incidents, tho lepers life is stuff.
GENTLY miserable and wretched, some of
them are
THE MOST H1DEOUs CREATURES
the human eye ever gazcd upon. Their
eyes arc glazed and google; their faces
swollen; their features distorted; their
ears, noses, and jaws gone; their hands
and feet rotting and falling OF by piece.
meal their bodies covered with ulcers
and filled with holes and they deformed
and decrepid with age and disease. And
yet these physical horrors are nothing to
the mental suffering attendant upon the
separation of husbands and wives, parents
and children, relatives and friends, and
the everlasting consciousness that they
can never hope for any Improvement IN
their condition, but must expect to be-
come worse, till they finally fall into the
ever'open Jaws OF the king of terrors.
But even in this awful abode Of horrors
these poor victims Of dreadful disease
are not destitute wholly of the life and
blessings of childhood. There are over
twenty children among them, whose merry
play and prattle must drive away some of
the gloom of those who are more conscious
OF their condition. But the poor ignorant
lnnocents are not aware Of their dreadful
condition till budding into manhood they
ind themselves blasted in the bud and
fading out Of life. And who can tell how
crushing such a consciousness must be to
those whose minds have been slowly open.
ing under the educational Influences about
them to take in the full scope and pur-
poses OF life. In one corner of one of
the hospital houses lay parentless babe
1t was half white. Its eyes were CLASSY
blue. Its upturned face and playful
smile, seemed to indicate that it longed
for the kind carresses of some fond and
Loving heart. And how could I do less
than the Galilean who nestled in his own
sorow-bardcned bosom the coy little
heads of the disciple-deserted Hebrew
children A parting kiss. and some
little chit-chat, so precious to baby hearts,
lett the young inocent with sparkling
eyes and chirruping voice soon to pine
and wither like thcs faded and fallen.
flower. In eight years up to April, 1874,
eleven hundred and forty five lepers were
taken to Molokai, four hundred and
fourty'two of them died. As rule these
persons are we'll cared for by those in
charge of them.
WHITE LEPERS.
Perhaps it is not generally known that
there are white lepers on the islands, but
such is the case. Men who have not
been what they should be, and their
children are sometimes infected. Child
rem may take the disease by contact with
native children having the disease, or by
having leperous nurse, whose breath
they inhale. Only short time before
your correspondent left the islands
prominent merchant in Honolulu-a
white man-scnt his wife-a white wo.
man-and his three white leperous
children 70 California, it being optional
with lepers to go to Molokai or leave the
islands. The gentleman's name might be
given, but it is presumable that the cir.
cumstances are sufficiently distressing to
the family without adding to the weight
of their sorrows by duplicity. I believe
it is well established fact that China.
man died some time ago in San Francisco
Of the leprosy. And it can hardly sur
prise anyone if the disease should be
transported from the islands to a port
where there is such frequent intercourse
as with San Francisco. Therefore some
precautionary measures against the in
PRODUCTION of such fearful malady
among SO vast population as ours, and
among such susceptible subjects as the
Chinaman. at least, might not be untimely
or out of place.