Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1894-05-04

| horses, cats, dogs and other domestic ami
mails, and some of them cultivate small
gardens. When Kanaka gets leprosy,
he regards it as a dispensation of Provi-
dence, burys his hopes and ambitions and
goes to Molokai to die. To be sure, the dis
ease is only feebly contagious, but conta-
| gious it is, and the slovenly, unhealthy
| lives led by many natives are conducive to
its spread.
| Huddled together in small damp huts.
existing on insufficient and improper food,
eating with their dirty fingers from single
dish, smoking the same pipe, it is no won
| der the Hawaiians have been decimated by
leprosy and afflicted with other terrible
diseases. One may live with lepers for
many years, however, without contracting
leprosy. 1t is said that native woman of
Honolulu sent three husbands to Molokai
with the disease before she developed it
herself There are several other churches
in the colony besides the Methodist, includ-
ing Catholic church and Mormon church,
L met on the island a gentleman named
button, who had been an officer in the
United States army and had lived for
time in Cincinnati. He was formerly
wealthy and stood high in the social world.
Five or six years ago he was converted to
the Catholic faith, disposed of his fortune,
gave up his social position and went to No
lokai to devote the remainder of his life to
the lepers found him good looking and
extremely intelligent man, about As years
of age, with black hair and beard and
pleasing address. He lived in "A distorted,
3-roomed cottage, surrounded by high
stone wall.
Every morning this good Samaritan puts
on an old blue blouse and pair of overalls
md II 10. L.. IL. Ia
shop" a small frame house with a veranda
aro!nd which are arranged a number of
benches and some dishpans filled with
warm water. Miserable, decrepit lepers
come hobbling in until the benches are
filled and standing room is at premium.
Mr.. button, with true religious courage
and sympathy, bathes the sores in the pans
of water and applies fresh salve and band
ages. A Cincinnati lady has presented
him with large music box, and while he
is attending to these poor people this music
box plays waltzes by Strauss genuine
piece of sarcasm. Mr.. Dutton is nobly car
rying out the work inaugurated by Father
Damien, who lived some l6 years among
the lepers and finally died martyr to the
disease, the horror of which he had endeav-
ored so long to mitigate.
l remained in the leper colony two nights
and nearly two days and was Just as glad
to get away from the place as was to get
into it. l never before realized how dreary
landscape could be in spite of beautiful |
scenery and perfect climate if suffering hui |
manity formed the background. Although |
strictly speaking the people do not suffer |
much, a characteristic of the disease is the |
early destruction of sensation, so that a fin |
ger or even a leg might be hacked off with |
out much discomfort. They never commit !
suicide. 1t would be easy to climb the |
preclpice that guards their prison and jump
off. but they do not do it. The Truth is, |
they seem comparatively resigned and |
happy There are so many of them that |
they do not lack society, and the worst
cases appear to mingle freely with those in
the earliest stages.
The sisters were just opening some
Christmas boxes, filled with large, colored
rubber balls, dolls and presents of various
kinds, and thought to myself, il the peo-
pie in the outside world knew how much
things were needed on Molokai, there
would be not only few pitiful little boxes
to open, but whole steamer loads of them
1t was with feeling of relief that took
my macintosh under my arm babe farewell
to the kind hearted doctor and climbed the
winding trail up the pail. / stood on the
top and took last view of the leper colony.
There was the same little tongue of land far
below, green with moist grass and fringed
with lines of snowy breakers, rolling against
black, volcanic rocks. There was the same
multitude of cottages, shining white in the
clouds. But the beauty of the spot, its
the same blue sky and feecy
place appearance, was gone /
knew what dreary, fostering ulcer of a
hole it really was, and felt deep love and
for the sisters of charity and the
fathers and for Mr.. button and the good
doctor who were devoting their lives and
energies to the lepers in order that their
living deaths might be little less hard to
bear.-Catholic Telegraph.