The Redwood gazette., 1896-03-19
party, this to keep them awake
until breakfast. When invited

party, this to keep them awake
until breakfast. When invited
to have a acup of coffeeI announ-
ced that | did not drink coffee.
maybe you prefer beer" said
one of the newspaper men.
Il never drank a glass of beer
in my life" | answered.
"That is more incredible than
any shark story told this morn
ing" the senator declared.
Then l offered, if he would pay
the expenses of the party to the
United States, to show them
the country in which [ had lived
without drinking coffee or beer,
and if 1 did not, | would pay
the expenses of the voyage
myself.
When the day dawned we
were at anchor off Kalanpapa.
The lepers were aware of our
intended visit, and, soon after
daylight, the shore was lined
with these unfortunate people
straining their eyes to catch the
first glimpse of their visitors.
The band, composed of leper
boys, played several airs of wei
come. Bishop Ropert, Father
Pampile, and the other mission
aries, went ashore in the first
boat and were greeted with
cheers. To get ashore we had
to climb down a swinging lad
der over the ships side into a
boat, both bobbing about and
in opposite directions, which
added the spice of danger to the
expedition.
On landing we found on the
shore two or three hundred
lepers. Some of them were but
slightly affected by the disease,
and some so disfigured as to
hardly resemble human beings.
The disease seems to attack the
extremities first. Usually it
first appears in the lobes of the
ears, and they begin to hang as
if there was a heavy weight in
each. Then it appears in the
face in great Jumps, and the
cheeks swell. The fingers lose
all feeling and wither away or
drop off, until the hand is finger
less and the foottoeless. Often
the headis earless and noseless.
The unfortunate often loses his
eyesight, the balls entirely dis
appearing. It may take years
for the disease to accomplish
it's deadly work, but there is nc
hope for the victim when once
it seizes him.
And yet it is not uncommon
to see a leper on horseback gal
1oping over the settlement, sc
MANNED that one cannot under.
stand how he holds the reins
Their ears often become sc
elongated that they interfere
with their riding. A doctor
who was for three years in the
settlement, said:
81 have often had them come
to me and say: Doctor, won'1
you cut my ears off; they are
getting in my way"
There is a house set apart fol
visitors which no leper is per
rnitted to enter. We went tc
this house to wait for the horses
which were to convey us across
the island to the Boys Home
The lepers, to the number o.
several hundred, came to the
fence and gazed at us so long
ingly, so fondly, as to almost
melt one to tears. To them WE
were superior beings, loved
friends, from whom they were
forever separated.
Senator Waterhouse, who
possesses a world of moral cour
age and a heart as tender as {
woman's, was everywhere
among them, not hesitating tc
grasp the fingerless hand, an6
speak words of ofencourageme
"How old are you, old boy!
How are you to-day; my friend!
Come, cheer up and be happy
You are happier here than you
could be anywhere else" he
said hundred times that day
which the natives(for most
of the lepers are natives) usually
answered: "Pi7aki, piLaki,'
with a sad shake of the head.
"Pilaki' means grief, sorrow
and all that goes to weigh down
the heart. | heard the awful
word thousand times that day
heard it so much that it still
rings in my ears, while the
sadly disfigured faces l met will
1