The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-03-06
A STORY OF PEPEEKEo.
Leprosy ON Sugar Plantation as Seen by
an Oyerscer.


There is little danger Of oyer-drawing the
picture Of the leprosy horrors of the Sand
witch Islands. Information gained from
every quarter only adds to the gloom of the
picture and shows that state Of affairs ex-
isis in the toy kingdom which not even the
glitter of burlesque coronation can gloss
over. The wonder is how the plague can
have made such Roadway as it has,
without attracting more attention, the
only explanation being that King David s
volcanoes lie remote from civilization and
the world. Each day some new man is
either heard Of who has new light to shed
upon the subject or comes voluntarily TO
this office to relate his experience and re-
cord his observations in the leper settle
meut. Under the latter head is Thomas
Moore, temporarily residing in San Fran
cisco, and formerly an oyerseer on two
sugar plantation in the islands Mace was
but short time on the Hakelau plants-
ton, but had quite au extended STAY on the
Pepeekeo plantation, which lies ABOUT ten
miles from Hilo, on the island of Hawaii.
DISEASED MEN IN THE SUGAR FIELDS.
From him was learned that on the
Pepeekeo estate there were altogether 400
or 5O0men, the number varying considera-
bly,, according to sickness. Ofthis number
the overseers generally manage TO keep up
a working force of So Kanakas and 325
Cinnamon. Questioned as to what might be
| the prevailing sickness among the Chinese,
Mace replied that it was All affection of the
| legs, which manifested itself in swellings.
! There were always two or three sick III
this manner, he said, while every month
those were looked upon as either lncnrable
or incapable we're shipped back to Homo
| lulu, their future disposition being some
thing of which he claimed entire ignorance
At one time the. steamer took away eleven
Chinsmen so afflicted, one patient dying on
| the passage. 1t would not appear that the
disease which attacks these unfortunate
Cinnamon is elephanuass since their legs
| break out and in about month kills them
unless shipped away for treatment.
| Neither is the disease one of steady
growth, for Mace cited cases in which
| Cinnamon had been unable to stand one
/ day, and able to work in the fields on the
next.
THE PE,T AMONG THE KANAKAs.
! The kanakas, on the other hand, were
not afflicted with swelled or tumelied legs,
but showed their disease in pUstules and
blOtches. The eX.Overseer mentioned in
! particular one man named Luau, who was
employed in the mill and who, coming to
him for leave Of absence on the plea Of sick.
ness, rolled down his pantaloons and
showed, rs an excuse, thigh which looked
like hook Of underdone beef. Another
kanaHa named Iiliwaii was suffering fronl
raised blotches, extending on both legs
from the knee down, the erUpuOns varying
in size from that of dollar to that of :
dime. This man was said by the doctors tc
be victim of the lepro-syphilis and
was employed in the scow at
the landing stage, stopping the
| bags OF sugar with his naked
leet as they came sliding down the shoot
The millman Luau had woman, or wife
| who was also afflicted with leproGs dis
order, her corrugated face being so crowdeC
with pustules that she was finally driven of
the plantation as being too horrible an OBJ
lect ior even kanakas and Cinnamon to looE
upon. Connected with the plantation sale
Mace were ten or fifteen women, all o
whom were martyrs to some form of the
cankering, cancerous disorder. The name:
OF two men have been given, not because
they were they were the only sufferers or
the plantation, but because they were re
memberet by Mace as showing the tw,
forms OF the disgusting malady which &C
tually prevailed among 80 per cent. of al
| the kanaka workmen-[San francisco
| Chronicle.