The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1884-02-12

ling it in its horro read t g lie, rs
which boar date up to wit0n two days of
the wrctchcd mans dca.h. In them 80
can fo' ow Che Vice ng and tn, traced
them, even it the graphic and too t,uthfui
desc, pton of his own decay did not point
out the horrors OF his condition. ''c was
an educated Ian, ready with bis pen, a ID
drawing upon a w lie rGngo OF general read
ing and obsc}V; ii i. ! remember in one of
his letters he WE a.
Perhaps you wonder that don't take
my own fife. | have seen niue !, read a
great deal, and had become Wcsc. | would
not have chosen rprosy as anew sensation,
but nov that am Il Ieper fl d myself of
growing interest to myself, and put my
witIering body at ne side and ny mind
W,th it and study ~ Che hour. | am
Watching it tbrou.,h its valio s stages.
Some, mes tie n':md eludes e, a I'd know
that it, in sy, pa. with my body, is rot
ing away too. ! wonder which viii give
way first; if | can hold on to the mind
when the body fails finally, and t I can by
any possibility retan my senses I'll death
comes, wa 1t to W tie y~u all / feet
| would not in oducc lis morbid incident
except for the re on that | find it is fairly
illustrative of the minds of all dying lepers,
whatever their condition. They have q
continual fear that some life may be left in
their bodies when they have Lost the know
ledge Of living, and that they should lie
rotting and sense!css ,eforc de III comes
But The Salem leper, whose name | could
mention but for the fact that he had as i,
tons in Australia that would &c unncc IS
salily disturbed, kept the only record was
able to hear of. The Hawaiian Islande S
can all read and write their native language e.,
but their letters are filed with words of love
to their families, and rarely have any al
lrsions to Themselves; therein they show a
| finer sentiment toan the one who made him
self study.
The numbers Of white men and women
who commit suicide are less than five year,
and for them there is rarely expires ed any
they have come 20 grief through their own
vices. Doctor George l.. Fitch, an earnest,
self-assertive man, who has charge of the
| lepers at Honolulu, and is the chief of the
Government medal staff, told , of his
oWl impressions On an occasion when he
had made an autopsy on dead leper, and
had reason to fear that he had noculated
himself. He had drawn up his shirt cuffs,
| Niiolli "ii thSt VI Cilc SiccFt DullOl Gu - IL
up the skin, making scratch in the fore
ann which brought blood. He had pro-
ceeded with his work b2fore no. cing the
wound, and then, from cel tain indications.
he feared that he had received the fatal
poison. For many months he scarcely slept
lie wrote a letter to his wife, to be found
with his will, settled all his worldly affairs.
and then set about preparing TIE way he
should commit suicide if the loathsome
disease should appear. He planned to &C
in steamer, that has daily sailing from
Honolulu, to take a place upon her stern
shoot himself with one nand while he took
a dose Of quick po7on from the other, and
falling i'll the water, ensure his death by
drowning should the other mea ures fail
The eprosy has appeared on him yet
and probably will not, for a considerable
period has elapsed. Fitch i, man to whom
the idea Of suicide per SC is as ab.lorent as il
could possibly be TO any of the readers Of
this sketch.
4 4
We were toss; up and down on the
long, rolling pillows off Kalawao when
closed my last article, and the sun is wei
up when we hcavn to off the poor Iiitle cove
that is called harbour, and wait the change
Of tide that VIII reduce The SUI { SO we eau
land. AT last naive canoe put5 off from
the shore, and the occupant as he draw,
near we discover to be French Ca loli,
priest, whose history fits in here.
Twenty years or more ago the Sandwich