The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1878-03-08
vol. XIV. NO. 4.

nom his lamp fell on the fable one night
and he put it on without experiencin,
any pain or inconvenience He did thi
again and again, and openly declared thai
he had the leprosy. As ttere were nc
outward signs of the disease, he war
!. regarded for some time az laboring under
a hallncinstion, but an examination by
physicians demonstrated that Ragsdale'.
1 tsuspicions were correct. He voluntarily
gave up his profession and bis property,
and, leaving his family, was sent 20
/ Molokai.
r Mr.. Ragsdale had studied the history
| OF leprosy to some purpose. The consti-
tuition oithe Knights HospitaIlers Of st.
Lazarus "a military order composed Of
lepers established by the Crusaders in
the Twelfth century, required that the
grand master should be leper that the
organization might the better devote its
energies to relieviDgthe distress of men
similarly afflicted. With the history of
Aa.fe seeietS N srnind, aad familiar with
their plans for relieving the unfortunates
Mr.. Ragsdale went TO Molokai, ambitious
TO ameliorate the condition of those who
we're fated to be his companions for life.
Hefound on the island about 800 people,
all oiwhom, except tseventy-fve, we're le-
pers. h7 was made governor of the colony,
and begah at once the work of reform.
The government gave him all needed
support, and It has been said many times
that by tact, kindness of heart, and ad-
ministrative ability, he made one of the
saddest communities in the world one of
the most cheerful. Great as was the
promise of his career a the capital, he
entered upon one more useful at Molokai.
and soon became known the world over
as a man who had mastered the leprosy
problem, so far as the comparative COM
fort and happiness of those afflicted was
concerned. The distinguished lepers of
the olden times in many cases gave way
TO despair, and simply waited for death
to release them. Mr.. Rsgsdale en-
ployed all his talent and gave all
his time to the work of perfecting a
system that would contribute to
the comfort of those like himself
unfortunate. That he succeeded, the
condition of the leper settlement of
Moloksi shows.
In the Sandwich Islands, as in the
older communities, laper is allowed to
marry leper, but must give up his own
family. Soou after Rsgsdale established
himself at Molokai, a young native
woman, healthy herself, but who had
lost two husbands by leprosy, fell in love
with him, and became his wife. She
was the beauty of the settlement, and,
her association with
leperg, still lives in perfect health. The
natural successor to Mr.. Ragsdale rs
governor of the lepers was Peter KaO, a
relative of Queen Emma, but he was
allowed to leave the island some months
since, and q successor has not been
appointed.
To rightly appreciate the work of
~ Ragsdale, it Is necessary only to
,y sprreH uRat In lssREQsx sR is 8 disease that has
md entailed upon those afflicted much
needless suffering. Liveling, defining |
eprogy IS an incurable constitutional /
disease of adult life, especially prevalent
n tropical and sub-tropical climates,
divides it into three forms: Macular
eprosy, characterized by an eruption of
he skin, accompanied by a diminution
,r loss of sense of feeling; anesthetic
eprosy, characterized By loss. OF sense o.
Ieeling, discoiorizations of the skin
atrophy of the muscles, with liberation
and mutilation Of the hands and feet,
leprosy, characterized by
and differentiated thicksDing of
he skin, especially OF the face, ears,
hands and feet, ending fatally in from
TWO to fifteen years by intercurrent dis I
,ase in some vital organ Chicago
Inter Ocean.