The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1896-03-19
CURSE OF THE HHWHIIS.
MOlOkai Is the Home of the Lepers
Cared For by the Govern
ment.
MusiCk's Experience Amonu that
Class on the Island
Named.

Copyright, 1896, by Funk s. Wagnalls Com
| pany, New York;
Molokai is the curse of the
Hawaiian islands. It is their
skeleton in the closet. There
dwells the dread disease of lep-
rosy, the oldest known and
perhaps the most fatal of NAL
aides. THERE'S no we'll authen-
ticated cure for it. For some
reason Hawaii has become
known as the land oflepers, yet
one might live in the islands a
lifetime and never see a leper
or even hear of one.
On the north side of Molokai
there is a strip of land which
forms sort of a tongue, prof.
Getting out into the sea some ten
miles. The tongue of land is
about two miles wide at the
south side, where there is pre-
cipice of over two thousand feet
extending across the island,
and cutting off all communica-
ton with the main island.
There is but one place at which
it is possible for human being
to scale this cliff, and that is a
narrow winding path known as
the "Pali."
This portion of the island, ma
turally isolated from the rest of
the world, was wisely selected
by the Hawaiian government
as a proper place for segregat-
ing those unfortunate people,
the lepers. Here they live, some
to a good old age. They have
houses, small fields, gardens,
cattle, poultry, and pigs. Some
marry and children are born to
them. fthe child born of leper
parents shows no signs of the
disease at certain age, it is
taken from the island and kept
in confinement for a certain
number of years. Then, if
found "clean," is so declared by
the "board of health" and per-
mitted to go about freely every
where. It is educated at the
seof the government, and
may never be afflicted by the
disease. Leprosy, moreover, is
not very contagious. One of
the best authorities on the sup
ject declares that leprosy can be
contracted only by innoculation
and that it is not more conta-
gious than consumption.
It is not an easy matter to
visit the leper settlement. One
can only 60 as guest of the
board of health, and these off
Gals make but two trips year.
1 was very fortunate in being
in Honolulu when the board
made one of it's semi-annual
visits. On the afternoon of Nov
ember Goth, Mr.. J. T. Water
house, the president of the
board of health, told me over
the wires of the telephone to be
at the dock of the Inter-Island
Steamship Company at $50
sharp. reported on time, and
found the steamer, Ke-an-hon,
lying at the dock with steam
up and kissing from every
valve.
Going on board the little craft
we found Bishop Ropert with
Father Pamphile and theyoung
priests who were going to work
as missionaries among the
lepers. There were many pro-
rninent visitors in our party,
among them Mrs. H. Lewellyn |
Jenkins, deaconess of the Me-
thodist Church, and a member
of the Washington Square NJ.
E. Church, of New York, Miss
Kate Field, Senator Water
house, Judge Wilcox, DR.. Day,
and others.
Shortly after nine o'clock the
whistle sounded, and our craft
pushed out from the dock and
down the bay. It was
too dark for us to note the trop-
ical beauties along the shore.
Night in the tropics comes
quickly. THERE'S no after glow,
no twilight. The sun sets and
it is dark. If the sky is clear,
the stars shine wondrOusly |
bright, and if there happens to
be a moon it is almost as light
as day. No poet ought to sing
of moonlight beauties until he
has seen the moonlight Of the |