The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-08-29
HE HALLS FROM HAWAII.
From the Land of the Kanaka-Edu-
cation in the Pacific.
A Talk About Lepers and Leprosy-The
Cases of Charles Derby aud Henry john
sOn-Currency of the Realm.

mere Twelve years ago, Is again IN the city
Tor few days, visiting old friends. For six
years the Doctor has been a sugarplanter IN the
Sandwich Islands, in the northwest part of the
island of Hawaii, the largest of the group, and
as he is an educated and intelligent gentleman,
and, in addition thereto, a medical man. a Jour-
nal representative held brief talk with him
yesterday, which will rot be found uninterest-
| ing. He employs, on an average, $50 hands in
cultivating the cane aud in grinding 1t and in
manufacturing sugar, the number sometimes
being as large as 400, aAd so has had ample OPP
portuuities for studying the natives. al nave
never" said the Doctor, "seen q native that
could not read and write. There may be some,
but have never seen or heard of one, education
there being compulsory. The natives, Kanakas
as they are called, are, like the American Indian,
but from different causes passing away. There
are now only 44.O0O of them, where there
once were hundreds of thousands. There are
$4,000 Chinese in the Islands, and about 10000
Americans and Europeans, the majority Of the
white population being Americans. The white
| population there, those born in the islands, will
| show larger proportion of college graduates
than can be found anywhere else, believe, in
the world. The young men of American, Ger
man and English parentage nearly all Of
them sent to Europe and the United States to
receive college education. By the way, the tele-
phone is there, too, and as fine a system as can
be found anywhere. The Kanakas are hospita-
bic, innocent. jolly people, aud as race are
| physically fine locking, being tall and we'll
| formed, with small hands and feet"
"What kind of currency is in use in the
| islandsl" inquired the reporter.
ave have no currency OF our own except gov
| eminent paper, so all kinds of money is current
there. The United States mint is now
|
which will be the first silver cur
rency of our own that we have had.
The gold and silver coin of the United States
and England form the bulk of the circulating
medium. A fve-franc piece, Mexican dollar
| and the trade dollar all pass for one dollar"
LEPRosY IN THE ISLANDS, a.. a
"Tell me something about leprosy in the
! islands," r..-..P u les ...~+r RS.
although not in practice-that is not as pro-
| fesson and business-zI saw large number of
cases OF what is called eprosy. 1 hold that it is
not true leprosy, elephantiasis,s as do many
others, while other physicians hold that it is,
medical sentiment being divided on the question.
| The name of the disease in Kanaka Is mai
| par-kai, meaning that 1t came from the Chinese.
Its origin lies in the Intercourse of sailors with
the natives many years ago, when it was the
great whaling station of the Pacific The disease
tions, has become what it now is, a change
brought about by peculiarlties of race, climate,
| diet and want of proper medical treatment.
| The diet allude to is raw fish and farinaceOus
foods. These changes through generations have
produced disease that no one can rightly say
| Is elephantiasis or leprosy. have never seen
case of this sO-called eprosy there that 1 have
not seen its counterpart tmaking allowances for
peculiarties OF race, climate, etc., in this cOun-
try, either in private in hospital practice. The
| disease has not been spread by ordinary mixing
with society; were it communicated in that way
| would have had 1t myself, AS l have treated
| hundreds of them"
SIS it true" inquired the reporter "as have
seen il published, that the disease is everywhere
over the islands. and that the afflicted are con-
cealed by their relatives, and that the dread of
| going to the epers' settlement is so great that
the sufferers wonld rather die than go therel"
THE LEPER SETTLEMENT.
'There may be some such cases, but not many.
The government ply sicians in each district find
them our, and they are sent, not directly to the
| leper settlement, but first t. the hospital at
Honolulu. Here everything Is done for them
that can he DONE. Some restored to their
families cured, while others, incurables, sent
to the settlement. True eephantiasls is incnr-
| able. The leper settlement is on the island of
Molakai, about $50 miles from where / live,
There about 500 lepers there who live in
houses built by the government and who by
| the government are provided with food, cloth
ing and medical treatment. Father Damion, n
heroic Catholic priest. lives with them. He has
been there many years, and has given his life to
| this service. Here the lepers do what they please
| TO pass away their terrible existence.
| Their cnief employment is raising
vegetables and tropical fruits. The
settlement has the ocean on one side an a semi
! circular range of high mountains on the other,
completely isolating the lepers from all com
| munication with the surrounding country. Their
| supplies are brought to them by government
steamer. One of their number Il cannot recall
| cides, which are common on the Pacific coast,
| are Infrequent IN the Sandwich Islands. even
| among the unhappy lepers, and insanity, too, is
| rare. No white person has ever had this So
| called leprosy, except through marriage or Illicit
intercourse with the natives, or as descendants
| of natives or of mixed marriages."
A CELEBRATED CASE.
"Do you know anything of Charles Derby who
died a few months ago, as leper, at Salem,
MassT"
| "Why, I knew him well. He was nv patient
| for u while He was a clean-skinned man, bot
anst and lngust. He knew the Ian guage and
legends of the Polynesiaus better, probably,
than any man in the Pacific. 1t got about that
he had the leprosy. fought the doctors there
on that, holding il TO be syphilis. He was to
have been sent TO the settlement, hut escaped,
and was taken on a vessel, the Jane A. Faulkin-
burg, to Portland, Oregon. From there he went
| TO San Francisco, where he stayed for time
| two years or more-in a bird and seed store.
! From there he went to Salem. Mass, where his
case got into the newspapers, and was sent
over the world. He died there In the
county house. Another that became
| celebrated through the newspapers was
| that of Henry johnson. He was the judge of
| my district in the Islands and afterwards clerk
| of the court at Honolulu. He was called a eper
and went TO DIR. Gross, offhiladaphia, for treat
ment. He Gould not be cured and is now.
understand. in New York City, in business. The
disease lit Is a year and half since saw him.
| is chiefly on his lega am told thar his
eyebrows are dropping off, His case Is similar
IN its nature to the other sO-called of lep-
rosy"
| Affairs of the Banking Company.
| Receiver Ritter, of the Banking Company, ap-
! nearad hafnrh Inh0A raylnr with the a ttnrzeus