The sun., 1896-10-18
LEPROSY IN CALIFORNIA.
CHINESE F1TALIsM EIHIBITED IN
SAN FRdNCJSCO.
A Phystcinn's Experiments In Search of
RemedS-The Gardens WHITTIER Lepcrs
Were Sent - An Infected White Man
Chose to Die nv His Own Hand.

luo luSS recently lnH1e mere over Jn0 ulSCOV-
cry Of lerer," remarked resident Of San
Francisco, seems TO me. in view OF my knowl-
edle of leprosy the Pacific slope rather in
excess Of the urgent demands Of the situation.
At the same timo, l very seriously question II
the medical gentlemen who deny tho dangers
of Infection from that loRLhsome disease do not
TO little too far, and are not liable to reas-
sure the alarmed public to an extent that may
be dangerous. My personal observations OF
lepers In San Francisco have led me TO believe
that while ono may with impunity handle .
case OF leprosy, and even live among lepera
without being infected, for a considerable
length OF time, f,vorng conditions arc pretty
certain to communicate the malady. There Is ne
other physical affection so slow In It's incipt-
enco, so gradual in its spread throughout the
on lire System before making any surface
show, as leprosy. INTEL gent Chnamen. with
whom have talked on the subject, affirmed
that II was positively known to have taken as
much seven years of ger nination and in.
ternal growth. from the date Of infection until
IL made its presence known.
"Whsn first went to San Francisco, I bes
came acquainted with q physician who was an
enthusiast. II not q crank, on leprosy. He waa
under the Impression that stupe ldous Cow
ernmental rewards had been offered In the
East for the discovery of q sure for loprosy,
and he set himself at work to win those priles,
his ultimate purpose being. as I understood,
the employmcnt OF the vast sums so acquired In
freeitg the neck of Ireland from the grinding
iron heel of the hated Sassenach. IL was biz
contract at both ends. but he tackled II with
q cheerful confidence that at least In
teresting. He was by no means eilher crazy
man or . charlstan. II he could have had =
balance wheel. or governor. something Of
the sort Htted into his head, he would very
likely have won well-deserved distinction, for
he really had great deal of ability, and Was
intensely In earnest in whatever he undertook.
In. fact. IL was that very earuestness, demons
strated in season and out, in all sorts Of IN.
expected ways, that gained him high popus
lar regard splendid specimen Of the genus
crank. He told me that he had bosn for years
experimenting on Chinese lenera, with ovory
Alternative known to medical soience, and
many moro that he had thought might have
some effect, In all possible ways Of administrA-
tion and by every Imaginable device Of treat.
ment and the only result tNined, g. he
admitted, was that he believed ho had hastened
the demise of hundreds OF Chinamen.
But that didn't mako any difference" he
said philosophcally. as they were bound Ia
die, and whether sooner or later could DO O quesi
tion Of no reasonable consequence TO snom.'
HIS oldest break IN experiment., 90 10
,eemed TO me, was when he, though Of the allo.
pathic school, took excursion into homo.
opathc ground In his leprosy chase. Thatwa
when he was Just desperate over the clear feok.
lessness. as a Scotchman would say. Of all al.
ternativc medicines approved by the sohools
"Pork he said to himself. is the great arS
tice OF diet among these hsathon, AID leprosy
may be just a consequence Of it-smp ply porA
disease. So III try how the theory of sirnQtd
simiiibs curdntr will work.
He was accustomed to supplying the Chi.
nesa patients with medicines, which they took
with docile indifference. Instead OF medicines
he gave to q selected lot OF them. in various
stages OF tho disease. pork. q change which
they ac"eu,ed with delight He stuffed them
10 with homeopethlc frequency of dose and an
satisfaction he got out OF the experiment was
that IT seemed to facilitate the development OF
Several times I accompanied him in his
visits to patients in ;he Chinese quarter, He
fact generally understood that he was ex pert
mentinr to lind some cure for lepro.y; Neither
ncarei ro have the slightest. objection. or really
| to care what the consequences OF his expert,
expensc, and il it amused him to fight the in.
evitable COON. as they cohaidGred ieprosy. he
"A little way out from San Francisco there
we're then and probably Are yet-large sardena
where TFow % Jhi1ess s f9s
send the lrpers when they became too indt
vidually >onsptcuous, BY reason Of their efiiio,
affirmed that one would never hear from them
| any complaints or repin!nGs acy. nst their un-
iir'sr Ing seemed to be c"njo!ned with. Iethargj
induced by tie disease. 80 that ne md death
:on the left check OF fellow blowii,.
spray of water over the white shirt ne was iroA
White pitch, perfectly round and sbo ut as large
IS silver Quarter; That ho ,Si tail ,ns,n wa, shS
the finger Of doom, aud so FAR as he, or any
other man iii the world lnew. there was absoi
s tnas silver i" H" '." H' spo "So nu. the man iu
| laundry iidn'r seem to mind It, He was toe,
Ing and laughing with his comrades as 4 his
awful future was matter OF perec?t indiner
"A nun.!er OF months after this 7 saw an,
cumstances Gums that impressed the resoileo don oi
it in my mind with peculiar horror. 1 was
v.Hx ers War IA Sauns "I man whom shall Simply refeI
TO as Mr.. s.. Who was n fine. handsome, manly
celicnt prospects in life y. the manager Of q
ilourishlnG, ,manufacturilG conc I'm in which
ing his room he called me in. say Ing;
y want to show you eopethins: and have
posed po The right Side Of his neck. and upon "
nearly down At the collar bone, saw small,
round dead white spot not IHFes Than am dime,
spot, but. startled and Mortified as | was. in-
stantly resolved that would not be the one
looked as blankly unconscious a. could. and
| only replied:
"'I don't know for certain he answered,
eyinG me sharply, What DO you think it tsf
covered it. and said nothing more NJ the time,
But, few weeks later, be called me IN again
and said:
" I want You to look at that spot again. and
sec II you know eny more about II now
| 1T had already expanded to the sizo OF q
quarter dollar. Excepting In hze II was Just
the same merely eaiotch that looked moTs
was less sensitive than the skin about II, he
said, IA pin. prick In IL conveying no tensation
until the thrust had. penetrated the cuuolo,
Again | snook my head aud looked blank. but
he was no. deceived.
=" You needn't say you doL't know he OK
claimed. for YOU do. And so do l.
"Ile did. And he told me how he was in.
fec, ed ltveral years before. AS II the fataL
ism OF the East had entered into his soul alonla
With the ineradirabs poison OF the most dread-
cd disease OF the Orient, he seemed TO accept
the situation with An equaniuit' uIat aston'
'Within a fortnight Mr.. s. disappeared.
After several DAYS ms friends grew anxious,
| f..r nNh h..t,l al