, 1879-04-23
A LEpER HOSPITAL.
Charles Warren Stoddard 1nspeets Its
Inmates~.-Tha Horrible Sights
He Saw.
llow Lprosy Breeds and Spreads...The Danger 10
California; ilaid Of tho Disease
upon laWaif. ..,


n,,tl follow me in tho strulght AMI narrow way
that ends abruptly At the Lazarct, ! will shuw
you wllat manner of man We hayo received from
China nn.l fostercd In tho heart OF the City Of
Snn Francisco, It Is dreary dEfro orcr tho
htila 10 the Pcsthousr. Wo have dropped In
upon the Health Officer nj his city Office. Our
proposed ylsitntfon lias been tclcphpncd to tho
doctor who ts imprisoned With his 1cprons
patients on thu lopcsomc slppo Of suburban
hill. As wc Ecs into thu ragged cdge Of tho
city, among half-gradcd strccts, bits Of ,nhrsl
land and sem!-ruatlc population, wc ask Our
way. Yonder it lies. Tint high white ieuce, On
Il hill sowcd thick with stone, above marsh
oncc clouuet1 With clanosous Waterfowl, but
nov NIL, all under The spell OF the quarantine,
and ucsolato beyond measure. The fence tint
surrounds the dcstl's mere, II mny call It
sncb Ia solid, even TO the great cato that is shut
across the road. We ring tho dreadful bell
the pussing bell-tllat Is seldom tuug aavo to
announce the arrival OF nnothcr fatcful body
clothed In living death The Doctor welcomes
us to m tnclosure That Is utterly wh!tcwashed.
The detached houses within It arc kept neat aud
clean. Everything connected with
TIE LAzAREr
Is Of the cheapest description; there Is prfni.
ttro simplicity, a modest nakci1ness, an insula.-
island. Cheap as 1t 10, and unhandsome, tho
hospital ia sufficient to meet oil the reaurc-
mcnts Of the plague IN It's present stage Of
deyc1optncnt; 1t las done good service In the
smallpox cpidamics; 1t may be DESTROYED By
fro In the shortest possible ttn1r for the water
privileges orc limited. But In TINT caso the
whole establishment might be rebuilt for
less money than It takes TO keep private prop
| crty In Tnr Flat tenantahlu -.durlng single
season, Thu Dnctor Inns wccded ont the III
| closure, ptnntcl It, hcGLcd It about with the
eucalyptus, mud has already llttlo pint IT iiow-
crs by The office window; but this ls not what
we came to see. One ward OF the Pest tfluusc,
the only one now occupied, Is set apHrt for tt's
| exclusive a.a OF tho Chinese 1epcrs, ttat have
| only recently been isofnted. We arc introduced
| to tEcso unfortunate creatures one after nh
otller and then we take them ali IN at n glance,
Or group them according to tic various stages
| OF decomposition or the peculiar character Of
present writing fifteen living, llvll 1cpers III that
Lnzarc.. Thcse rcpul6tre ind dangerous fel-
lows were, until qu{tu recently. at liberty in this
city. They arc not all alike; some VI them llaye
begun to srulc;
| THE FLESH IS wlrnER1Ea;
they arc distorted slightly: they arc still cheer
ful; Us fatn[sts, 1t makes very little difference
| tn tlicm how soon Or fn what fashion they nro
| translated t1 lie other life. There Is one youth
| who duubtlcss suffers sotnc Inconvenience from
| the clumsy development Of hs tagc. tllNt Ind,
aged abolit il ycnrs, has face that ia swollen
llko d sponge saturated with corr1tpti1n; 1lis
cyclids so boatetl that 1e canno. rnisc them,
md hc Is obliged to look dowt-tlll over llls
checks. There Is u dry lcper who surprised tho
Doctor onc morning BY taking n dnls inrk-knife
and wll.ttlIng of hls EFcnt-toc: he felt no pan
acad before ,e parted viii, ii. One Of t,e lep-
crs Inns eharfel ruin wticru thu nose should he
It looks rs II 1t had been DESTROYED by fire!
but there arc two Of tho fifteen who are as cx'
ccllont specimens as have come under my eye
lnpE they have been ripeninE; ! knotS
that II tllrso two human tnonstrositcs
could BE- IT., ntrGaacc & 10 W., nand''as hr1ok!yn IN
might preach until doonlsday anl I,e would
never spirit away from the memory Of his neo~
pie tho shadows Of these g|ionIa. They harc
cakml; thslr blood las curdlet!; tnnsscs nt pu-
like ths hide Of tho rhfnoccros, lapnng told up
on foil moist With rAeutn. Tie lnbcs Of thu.
cars ang almost to tile shoulders aud rcsenlhle
amukcd honey.comhs;, tic eyes, when visible,
with horror; their hands nro s!lnpelcss etumps
that have lost n1i human cxptcsslonI
ONE or THESE LETTERS,
but Il few weeks ago. was selling cigars In tic
Chinese quarter. Tho !fftcc1 lcpcrs ut The
] sty y . tG eq m ,ssas ees to a cSps 1nG : M
good VI ynur scnsIlnE mo to ChinR3 There they
will starya mt to tleatl!" Doubtless there arc
many lcpefs still in the Cll!ncse quarter. sis
to Ss sa i na sn tap H
Thu interior. 1t was rulnored that there
were lepcrs In tlio camp. went thlthcr. alst
! fottnsi " Chlnrsc village Of ono strect, nnl per
lievc The only white ouu il, tho place, to!a MT
that they lind Ind Mt ono tin,e teu cpers In lhs
camp. No onn seemed to know from whenc.
they game. They Lodged on tue Opposite b. 6anl
came t!uw1, to tic strcum tweu day and crct
for bread; not the snr,c number ut nit ttn,cs
but ut o',e time as many as ten, Their q, nw' =
, pcop'c turned dcaf eur TO their cry. TIL
y!sions Oh the l'anK a,ul rutIr!ng, whom the lepcr
crossed the stream, received their food IN
withdrew to the quarantine. eomc, Of theI
died; ultimately they MI disappeared aMl III
premises were burned to tliu ground. When
ever you siml Chinese camp Of my coneidcsi
blu stzo sou lnuy sniely look for leprasy tu oI,
, stage o. another; hare Visited lsner scttlt
lcprrs tint were falling 10 p!cccs lcIoEc my ysr
: uyes, rafting away fisibly. ind here III 50
! Franctsro
TWO SPECIMENS
tlat nre'l not fear to compete for the champto!
{. ship with any two lcpers Oh w face OF u
t glot,s. The u'urous climate Of California mn
4 lIave something to do With IL; hit TINT II
il lepsnsy is with us, nnsi ,onTIsacs ls' bcyoa
n question. Let tlle little klng<lom Of Hnwa
t haoliul d peonlo, scarcely c&ouEh to iii
! tiith.ralB city, hut III " VIC Sec Tin astoulsi
. uni trsgtsful spaetaelc o. whole tayu strepe
i lion"iulu, a resIdent since is5l, wrItcs th'
II ieprpsy was thought to 10 slnknown IN 4
u Sandwich lllawniianl Islands until lSSs Q
y I'll. closest scrutiny u cannot hp traced fsrth'
!. Chinese. the most aetlvo sowcrs Of the seed.
= spreau Immediately among thu native pupul
J. ttoE. who .ukc every sort Ut epitieln;c roll
J. to,!sly, a,ns sink under diseaso 'ikc. hclp1e
| E,F. fNt. flF fhNi F,ut}f Ia III n1 .