Omaha daily bee., 1889-05-19

failing the horrible state of affairs on Molo-
kai. He sent letter after letter increasingly.
Finally committees of the board of health
and of the Hawaiian legislature appeared on
Moloka The devoted priest, his eyes filed
with tears pointed out to the officials what
was needed. Medical men in Hawaii began
to pay great deal of attention to the study
of leprosy, and the leper settlement at
Molokai was much discussed. One by one
the bad things at hiolokaI were measuraoly
remedied. He did not relax with little bene-
fits given the settlement, but pushed ahead
zealously, continually demanding govern.
seeing the most hurtful of the evils entirely
removed And when this was done he
found, too, that the leper settlement had De.
come in a great degree God fearing and
Christian community, looking to him as its
head.
All this was the work of years 1t came
slowly, inch by inch, as the result OF mans
self-devotion and ndomitable will. When
Queen Kapiolan visited the peninsula in
July, 1884, her officers showed her the neat
white cottages standing among the cultivated
fields, the barns filled with produce, the or
derly strects-the community showing every
where the hand of industry and religion and
then pointing to Damien, who stood humbly
at distance, said: "He is the father of it
ALL" Later the queen visited the school for
lncurable leper boys and girls, personally
founded by Damien, and heard the children
singing.
Damien was with the leper, of course,
daily and hourly. He was in contact with
lepers OF all grades, including the most Sc
we're cases. He had some knowledge of med
icine and before the advent of the physicians
was medical adviser to haif the settlement.
Until 1884 he felt fairly we'll In that year
PAINS IN THE LEFT FOOT
troubled him. These continued to get worse
and in the absence Of any other signs were
attributed to rheumatism. Toward the close
of 1884 DIR. AIMING, physician at Kalawao,
a l,u,fp nod Nan, 10 tnp, hi Tn.
May, 1885, the doctors, after careful exam.
nation, found no signs that the disease was
spreading in Damien; but in August of that
year leprous tubercies plainly manifested
themselves in his face, and poor Damien
knew that his doom was sealed. But the
heroic priest did not reinquish mis- work. He
still walked and talked with the lepers, MN
stering to the sick, teaching the children,
living the same old life of poverty and hard
ship. and thinking only OF alleviating the lot
of the lepers and caring for their souls. His
only reward was in seeing that he had bene
fitted both the souls and bodies of his charges
III abundant measure.
GOING TO DAMIEN's AID.
In the spring of 1886 arrived an assistant
TO Father Damien, Father Conrardy, a ma
tive of Oregon, and young man in full
health. Father Conrardy, like Damien,
volunteered to go among the lepers, and has
tened his departure when he learned that
Damien had been stricken with leprosy
Father Damien willingly received Conrardy,
| knowing that he himself would soon be too
| sick TO work, and that he must have a sue
| cessor. In a few months there also arrived
| seven Sisters of the Franciscan Order 10
| serve as nurses in the leper hospitals. Two
! of the sisters-Cyrilla and Irene-came from
| Syracuse, in this state. That COnrardy is a
hero Of the same stuff as Damien may be
| seen from this extract from a letter which
| he wrote in 1886 TO Archbishop Cross:
at is true so far, that no cure for leprosy
| has been found. but, after all, we have TO
| die, and TO me u IS matter Of small import
| ance whether die leper or not. | VIII say,
| like holy Job, IL ! ever take IL, my only am
bitiOn is TO i've and die in the service OF the
| lepers of MoOkai: my only regret would be
! that ! came here so late; but may live some
| twenty years among the lepers. My prayer
| has been heard and got what prayed for,
| place which few only cared for on account
| OF the disease itself Time will prove the
| sincerity Of the hope and wIll / came here
| TO live and die. hope with Gods help 10 be
| able to stand To the last Will ever see my
! friends againi This is very doubtful, although
! poor Father Damien, who, few weeks ago,
| seemed to go down very fast, has taken a
| new grasp on life. Every day one might
see him working in the new church
| with blouse, like common lahorer
| He says sometimes that my health
| and strength compared 10 his are
nothing; by that you see how we'll he is, ex.
| cept for the leprOsy, which Is eating him
! up slowly Father Damien aud / are living
under the same roof, but l hope next spring
| " have house built for myself in the cen