The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-12
LEPROsY IN INV YORK.
Not at All Confined TO the Chinese
Who Are IsoIa Ted
From Loslie's weekly.


A genuine leper. a Chinese named Sam
Sing, died recently across the North river
from New York in New Jersey aims
house Rather, he passed away in the
| lazaretto adjoining the Hudson county
almshouse at Snake Hill. After ten years
of suffering he lies buried in a lonely grave
marked with the number 2.0lS in the middle
of what is known as the Hackensack
meadows
Sam Sing was a laundryman who for
| four years has patiently awaited the end
| in the little shanty-like structure, built for
his especial benefit directly to the rear of
the smallpox hospital of Hudson county.
Sam had been leper for six years before
that, but the terrible disease was not dis
covered by the authorities of New Jersey
until four years ago.
A victim of leprosy dying thus in New
York suburb has shocked the finer sensi-
| billtes Of the average New Yorker and
has awakened in the big metropolis re-
newed interest in the disease. There are
lepers in plenty to-day, walking the streets
Of Gotham, but the late Sam King was the
last of three victims quarantined in the
vicinity Of New York. Three years ago
there was a settlement of two Of them in
an old army tent on North Brother Island
These men We're Ong MOy Toy, Mott
street fanta player and Tsang Ding, a
| iA4SA tAloAll- NfudlAeu 50 tndL lneN could
not make their escape, they led lust such
life as did Sing at Snake Hill Ding was
a man of education, who had little in com
mon with the gambler, Toy, but the two
| became very friendly. Toy wanted to play
| fantan but could find no one to play with
Ding being too much dignified Toy tried
to induce the doctors and the nurse to
learn the game, but they would have moth
| ing to do with it either. Ding died in
| ADpil 1892 Toy mined from that time ~,
and died in June, 1893. Thus the leper set
| tlement OF North Brother Island passed
out of existence.
! A physician in New York hospital
/ estimates that there are nearly 100 ca
ses of genuine leprosy in New York and
| Brooklyn at the present time. A no.
| ticeabe case is that of a woman who
was seen in Park row the other day ell
bowling her way through a dense throng
of people. She was indeed a repusive
object. Her ears We're almost as large
| as ones hand, thick, purple and hang
ing down an inch; her lips We're thick
and seemingly hard; her hands were stiff
and covered with scales, the fingers being
! drawn and puffed up, and her nose was
| abnormaly developed. the nostrils proba-
! bly, being closed. As she passed along
at a rapid gait her big. white, scaly hand
| lay carelessly on the shoulder of iO-year-
/ old girl, whom she was pushing along
| through the crowd.
For thirty years certainly, and no
! telling how much longer, leprosy has
| been present in New York. By refer
enee to charts Of physicians who make
skin diseases a study one will see that all
| localities which produce leprosy subjects
are designated by a red tracing This
red tracing envelops the metropolis, and
the records of physicians will show that
more than one person who lived here all
his life has cfr
disease. It is very diflcult to get the
! actual facts in such cases, because the
anllcted persons are very sensitive and
| the physicians who attend them as much
as possible protect them from exposure.
Among the leaders in New York is a
! nne-looking, still young fellow, of pCa,haps
y. He is educated, refined intelligent
bon vivant, ana worth 100000 His social
connections are the very best. His feat
ures are little distorted. He lives in fash
ionable quarters on Fifth avenue, goes
driving, mingles with his fellows freely. IS
an enthusiastic yachtsman. He drives.
walks, rides on the elevated railway, the
morse cars and ferry boats, and goes to
the theater when he chooses.
There was a new case in BROOKLYN a
few months ago in the person of an old
woman. At hospital, after she was ex-
amined by the physicians she stepped
down and took her seat among the rest Of
me patients, who may or may not have
been aware Of the nature of the disease.
Here was genuine case of elephant
asis." As a few laymen know what ele
pnantiasis is, and as she generally gave
the Information IN a jocular way. she
was secure until one Of the friends looked
up the word in a medical work, and then
she was Stunned by even her best friends.
Some Of the New York hospitals receive
lepFous subjects IN their wards. but there
is SUI serious objection on the part Of
many OF the directors TO such receptions.