The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-21
LEPRosY IN THE MIDST OF Us
How the Chinese Conceal Their Lepers
From the Board of Heslth.

How the Chinese Conceal Their LeperS
From the Board of Health.
NEW YORK Oct 20-The recent discovery
Of Chinese leper, named Sam Ling. over
in Newark, and the consequent local excite
ment thereupon have had quite a ma ked
effect in reawakeniDg New Workers to a
consciousness that there is vast deal of
this horrible disease wherever there are
Cinnamon, and that his city has a large
Chinese population Out of prudent consid-
Grafton for the preJudices OF white people,
who generally believe the disease infections
an opinion not shared by the Chinese
our Mongoiian neig bors generally take
very good care to hlis away their lepers.
Only a few weeks since, an American
! physician here learning from a Chinese
CO vert where there was lsper in far
advanced stage of disease, sought to view
the case, for the purpose Of making study
Of it. He found the house on Mott street,
where the man was secreted, but was met
on the stairs by couple Of Chiaamea who
made him understand by signs that they
| would chop his head with a compile of very
! ugly looking hatchets that they brandished
| If he persisted in trying to penetrate any
! farther. He fed but returned the next
| day, accompanied by health officer armed
! wish authority to search the house. 1t y as
| 100 Ia -, uOHGNbI. 4 u6 IbpoE Ddl Dttl
spirited away during the night, whe her he
is still kept somewhere in the swarming
hive of Mott street, or was shipped OIL to
| Bel eville or Newark, none but ChinamsI
know, and they will not tell.
Whether leprosy is really infectious or
not, Californians- who have hal more op-
portunities to study Chinese life than We of
the east have eGjoyed-think that it is, and
certainly good many white people have
iaI ,fi no Pacific Glnno /
fectly cognizant of one such case that was
painfully tragic A Young man, treasurer
and general manager of q Furnishing
brewing company. iii which he owned an
| interest, boarded wEe! q | did on O'Farrell
| street. | do not think that / ever knew a
| more genial, generous, clever and popular
| young fellow than he was. Ole day he
| called me into his room and directed my at
! tentiol TO a singular spot on the right side of
| his neck, where the collar ordinarily covered
| it. 1t was about the size OF a dime, round. and
| looked as IL painted With zinc-white, or
rather as if ali color had been extracted
| from the tissues there do you know
what that isl" he asked me. / hesltated.
| While | believed that | knew-for | had al
ready been examining leprosy considerably
| it seemed too awful a thing to think
| that my handsome, talented, hllthe
| young friend, whom we all liked so much
| for his manly worth, had upon him the in
effaceabls brand Of that most horrible doom.
| II believe you suspect what it is, as do,
| he went OH, but we will see no it pro-
crosses. We may both be wrong"
| Some six weeks later he called me in
again to look at the spot. 1t had grown to
the bigness Of silver quarter! And
another spot was showing. No doubt was
| possible He was doomed. ~ know when
| ] caught il; three years ago" he remarked.
| We waited no words discussing the situa-
tisn, for we both knew that his condition
was hopeless. He simply pressed my hand,
saying, "Don't mention it TO anybody"
said, SNa" A few days passed, in wnlch
he seemed as light-hearted as ever. Mean
wsile, as we afterward Learned, he was
quietly and systematically closing up all
his business affairs. Then one night as we
met in the hall he shook hands and said
| "Good-by" | understood him correctly,
but could not, under the circumstances, dis
approve OF his purpose. He went out-and
did not return. Two or three days elapsed.
| The landlady-a pretty little widow, as
| good as she was charming, to whom he was
| engaged to be married-was very anxious
about him. AT his place of business there
was much wonderment over his disappear
ance. His friends, and he had many, were
all exercised about him. The news reached
us that away down in Santa Rosa, in q
lonely place by the bank of stream, had
been found the body of young man hand
some and well dressed, but without anything
about him to give any clue to his identity
A bullet hole was through his head aud q
| revolver with one chamber empty, wal
still clutched In his right hand. 1t was oul
| friend He had put stop to his leprosy
the only one poSsible-death.
| JAMES ii. Connolly.