The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-04-12
sTAUNTON, VIRGINIA, APRIL y, 1883.
Lepers Banished.
A SAD, SAD STORY OF A BEAUTIFULIsLAN
KINGDOM IN TIE pACIFIC-''TIIE CHI
NESE SICKNESS.

SAD, SADSTORY OF A BEAUTIFULI ISLAM
KINGDOM IN TIE PACIFIC-''TIE Gil
- NEsE SICKNESS.
BY joaquin Miller.
More than two thousand miles away t
IL the west or rather southwest, of Sa
Francisco, almost as far indeed rs Londo
is from Boston, lies the strangest, the mos
perfectly beautiful yet saddest little king
dom in all the circuit of this earth
Almost in the centre of the bollndles
Balboa Seas, eight little islands start III
suddenly out of the vast world of water
and reach in some eases above the clouds
The mountains are covered in everlast
e ing snow. The valleys are paradise o
e flowers, OF fruit, OF beautiful birds, cool
sweet waters and tall, refreshing palms.
" You can stand in the snow on the sum
!. nit OF Mauna Loa and see the bread-fruit
/ grow far below, yet almost at your feet
; AS your shipglides over the peaceful waters
far away at sea, you can sometimes read by
: the midnight fire of great volcano.
e What Il world Of waters How far away
, from all the trouble and tumult of the busy
world lies this little kingdom of less than
two thousand miles to their nearest neigh
Dor.
Yet at one time more than three hun
bred whalers touched here every year.
Missionaries came from distant nations.
and the islands were populous and full of
promise. Now the whale-ships come no
more. Monthly steamers touch here on
their way further on around the globe, and
the islands have become ChristianiZed and
cultured
These islands, called the Sandwich Isl
ands, OF more properly the IIawaiin Islands,
are to-day in some respects in advance of
other civilized countries, and / wish to
emphasize the fact. | assert that there is
hardly among the natives, q man, woman,
or child of sufficient age, in all these islands
that cannot read and write, at least in the
native tongue. In no other part of this
globe can YOU find a people who are so uni |
verSally educated.
And yet this little kingdom in the sea,
with all its beauty, its seeming prosperity |
! its peace, and the gentleness of its patient !
people, is slowly, but certainly, passing |
| away.
The natives are very Clearly, and not at |
all INDECENT when compared to natives of
their latitude in other lands. They are not
q poor people by any means. This little
Government of less than one hundred
thousand people, pays its king almost as
much money as we pay our President. In
deed, with the revenues from the royal
lands, he receives almost twice rs much.
And now come to speak of the awful
blight that hoyers shadow-like over this
mildly beautiful little world in the sea.
That is the leprosy, or us they call it in their
native tongue, Mai Pdke, literally trans
lated ''the Chinese sickness. .
About the year 1868 leprosy began to be
so prevalent that the authorities of Homo
lulu became alarmed, and steps were taken
to prevent, if possible, the spread of the
loathsome disease.
The west portion of the Island of Mo-
lokai was set apart for lepers, and all who
had the disease were ordered to surrender
might be taken to this district, there topass
the remainder Of their lives. d
This portion of the island is cut off from s
the otheriportion by impossible mountains, |
and asIit can only be reached by the sea, it
is impossible for any one to ever reach |
them OF escape from them except by vessel {
The Government ship touches there three
times every week. and brings rations of t
beef, etc., for the dwellers there t
There are now about two thousand of | t
these hopeless and heart-broken people t
there, waiting slow, but certain, DEATH g
Some of them are mere babies taken from Q
their mothers arms; some are newly-mar- d
ried brides; some are brave and cultured i
young men, only last year full of heart and f
Of hope. h
The first Governor Of the leper settle v
ment, Mr.. William Ragsdale, was at one t
time reckoned the most brilliant young b
man in all these islands He was most C
accomplished scholar, q good lawyer, and t
an eloquent debater. He stood very near
the head Of the Government, and was uni v
versally respected. S
One day he found a finger had grown f
numb. Then another finger lost the sense p
Of feeling, and the awful truth burst upon
him that he was aleper. His fingers began p
to decay. He wore gloves, and for a time il
Tried to conceal the hideouS truth. But at 81
ast, heart-broken and hopeless, he went to n
5he authorities and confessed himself II
eper. He was appointed Governor of the h
unhappy settlement, and sent forever from b
jhe scene of his achievements to die. tt
He was of English descent, and | am
old was loved and looked up to in his mel g
lncholy little kingdom Of exiles, as much Ia
Is he was at home. II
Two more names | will mention before tt
with my story. The first is that v
u aCathOic priest, Father Damiens. This II
GOOD man, seeing there was no priest or tt
spiritual adviser Of any kind among the Of
Wo thousand lepers, voluntarily chose to
20 there and live and die with these poor st
Outcasts. tt
He was i'll good health, cultured. and as
owed by those who knew him. But he saw
duty before him. He set his face for it, fl
moving that if his feet once touched this OF
pot, there was no turning back for him u
ny more this side of aleper's grave. Yet cl
e calmly, bravely, went to his work Oh, Lon
here are true and good men who can give W
themselves for others in this world al
The third and last man | shall mention Sc
efore going on with my narrative, is DR..
emerson. He is Il man Of great culture &c
nd capacity, and q graduate of one of our of
rst medical institutions. fe
This brave man is giving up his life to an he
Undertaking that seems impossible of tn
chievement. His mighty task is no less OF
han an attempt to entirely cure leprosy.
When we consider that leprosy has been, to
onsidered incurable in all the ages past. ! w
We may conceive something of the utterly T.
orlorn hope that must sometimes keep la
ompany with this brave man. al
The separation Of families here is some tn
ines heart-rending indeed. The islanders al
re an affectionate people; and it is more
han ordinarily hard for them to give up tn
hose they love. Mothers Try to conceal he
heir little ones who are diseased in their ST