The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-02-02
TIE ISLE OF DESPAIR.
The Leper Settlement on the Is
land of MOlokai.
THE SAD STORY OF ONE VICTIM.
A Spot Of Ground Which Seems to Have the
Word Cursed" Written on Every
Part of 1t.


lst, has just returned from the Sandwich
Islands, where he went especially for The
HERALD some months since, to personally
visit the leper settlement of Molokai, To-
Gated on the island of that name. Mr..
Phillips is perhaps the only white man, ex-
cepting the late Father Damien, who Wis
tied and interviewed the lepers. He has
written for THE HERALD four startling let
tiers, the first of which appears today, the
second to follow next Sunday.l
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 80, 1S9O.-TSpecial
correspondence of THE HERALD The is
land of Moloaai, the third in size in the
group that form the Sandwich Islands,
stands alone il the Hawaii isles, tabooed,
dreaded by the natives and rarely visited
1t is good days journey by water from
Honolulu. Not many weeks ago, after a
days rough sailing from Honolulu, [
landed on
THE ISLAND or DESPAIR
and timidly approached the gates of Mo-
lokai
My coming, unlike that of the average
visitor to the settlement. was wholly unan-
| nounced. Except for black-visaged and
evll-eyed sentry, who leered upon me from
wicket opening in the great black wall.
no human being was aware of my approach,
until he, marching straight up to the gate,
| grasped the big iron knocker in both hands
and brought it down against its metallic
drum with will. Through a tinv peep-
hole in the wall made note of the electri-
cal effect of his emphatic summons Only
one house was visible through the narrow
aperture. Before the resounding clang of
| the knocker had died away its front door
opened and there came forth priestly fig
ure. He walked rapidly toward the gate.
On his way thither he was joined by half
| dozen emaclated, half-clad creatures who
came from all directions. All these paused
some distance from the gate, and the
priest, for such he proved to be, proceeded
alone.
Through the grated opening in the wall
THE ODDLY PRIEST AND I.
the ungodly intruder, consulted long and
earnestly. At times the good father
froWned blackly, stamped his foot imua-
tiently, and was heard to mutter: ''Impos
| slble, utterly impossible; you cannot enter
here" But l had not crossed a watery
wilderness 5000 miles in width to be
stopped at the very moment of the attain
ment of my object. st is not at all limos
sible,' persisted. Nothing but good can
flow from my inspection of the workings
OF this Ieper settlement. [ am sent here for
this special purpose by an American news
paper and you cannot in justice to the poor
unfortunates confined in this plague spot
for life refuse to admit me''
But as the reader cannot be supposed to
have an interest in the precise arguments
used in this unusual discussion, the result
only will be given. At the end of an hour
the big gate swung upon its hinges, and the
unwelcome visitor entered that blighted
dominion, where
DESPAIR is KING
and where bitter misery dwells within the
breasts of every subject
1t is not the writer's intention in this in
itial letter to set forth the workings of the
Molokal leper settlement. That will be
done at future time. If shall succeed in
reproducing some of the scenes which are
| first presented to stranger within the
gates, | will have accomplished my present
| purpose.
There are upwards of 1000 lepers cor.
fined at Molokai. Of this number at least
two-thirds are native Hawaiians, $50 are
Chinese, 100 are Portuguese, and the re-
naming fifty, or thereabouts, are whites.
| OF the latter eight-tenths are from the
United States. The lot of these poor crea-
lures, consigned to a living death in
noisome tomb, cut off from home and loved
ones forever, bereft of everything that
makes life happy and chained down to all
that breeds misery and discomfort, is more
than pitiable; 1t is horrifying.
THE GROUNDS COMPRISE SEVERAL ACRES.
and are roomy enough for those of the in
mates who are physically able to take out
of-door exercise; but it is an arid sandy,
rocky spot, as de3olate prospect as ever
the eye of mortal looked out upon. 1t
seems to have ''cursed' written upon is
face and to exhale disease and death from
its cracked and seamy surface
There are enough buildings, such as they
are, to house all the involuntary citizens of
the blighted place; but it is safe to say that
no one, OF his own accord, ever enters their
wa ped and heat cracked doors except for
the purpose of shutting himself in from the
heavy gloom and desolation which abounds
without.
BUTT was not of these things that [ gave
my first attention. 1t was to the poor
human creatures themselves-the illclad.
the unclean, the Sad-eyed and hollow
checked wretches who stroll about aim
lessly and detected, each one prey to de-
spondency and despair | noted that they
did not gather into groups, as people con
signed to common lot usually do. They
held aloof from each other; each Stunned
the society Of his fellows.
WHAT DID THIS MEAN?
L made inquiry of young white man
whom | found lounging upon rickety
bench alone.
why do we shun each other!" he began.
repeating the question | had asked. ssWell
because we hate each other: because we
are disguised with everything and every
body about the place. Aside from this. our
humanity has been crushed out of us-We
M of
disgusting, abhorrent, living lump of
human carrion, into whose loathsome flesh
the monster disease has fastened his talons.
Does ally one want TO look at me. talk with
me. Leaving out of the question the fact
OF our mutual loathing for each other. to
what end might we cultivate each others
society. To kill time, you say! Why man
don't you see that time is killing US and we
don't care one fig how soon the lob is done
We are a wholly passive people and are en-.
tirely free from care OF any future happen
ing Maybe you can understand this when
tell you we are absolutely without hone
The old saying that, Hope springs eter
nally in the human breast is all well
enough in the world in which you live, but
1T is GLARING LIE
when applied to u.s." Here the Door wretch
grew savage and smote the wooden bench
With ms list. Its lie, tell you, for we
are without hope-ohl did l say we were
wholly without hope! Let me correct nv
self, for that cannot be literally true while
we nave one thing to live for, and that we
have: My good friend we live for death.
Think OF it; we live for death.n
How long have you been here.n
SIX years. had a darling wife and the
sweetest babe; but what do you care for
the story of such wretch as /! Is it inter
esting! Well was the happiest of men.
My name is, or was John w. Gibson. 7
came from the home of my parents
In New YORK CITY to San E,rancicnn ard