Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-06

IA reversed The dweller In the several
house is the non-ieper. The isolation il
for him. The lepers are not permitted to
enter the grounds of the strangers and the
| superintendent houses. which are sur
rounded by an ordinary fence For the
superintendent this isolation means moth
ing. for he Is daily and hourly among them
For the visiting stranger 1t is-wen. per-
baps immunity from imagined and ir1agin-
airy dangers At all events. the Isolation
enabled US that Sunday morning to watch
the lepers' church-going. They came on
horseback, both sexes. and hitched their
horses just IS is done at the Sunday morn
ing service in thousands of villages in the
United States. They poured out of the cot
tages- exchanged greetings and tarried at
| the church doors for moments neighbor-
ly talk. From the Bishop Home a troop
of young girls. rlarshaled by the mother
ST pericr ard the sisters. took their way in
double file to the Catholic Church.
Lepers at Church.
We wandered down among the churches
where the lepcrs were worshiping. The
Y. NJ. C. A. Hall, in which afternoon ser
vices are held, was opened for our inspec-
tion by leper who hobbled over from one
Of the cottages with the key. 1t Is COM
fortable and well-appointed building. The
doors and windows of the Protestant
Church were oren. We could see the
Sunday school classes gathering with ques-
tons and answers. The responses which
ficated out On the soft air were full of
heartiness. Later the singing swelled forth
with Methodistic volume. We mingled also
with the groups of commandments from the
Catholic Church as they were scattering.
They were glad to see and talk with visit
ors. for The talk was not of themselves
Ore could not fail to remark their kindness
to enc another. A little Chinese woman
whose face was just beginning to tell of
the misfortune fate has put upon her was
tenderfy helped down the steps by two ma
tive women Young girls came out, their
arms twined around each other. The Nor
mons also have their tiny box Of a church
with some members That morning two of
the Mormon missionaries were at the
STRANGERS house. ard later they gathered
together handful of worshipers.
At the bishop Home.
The natural sequence to seeing the
church-goers was to visit the Bishop Home
the institution maintained for leper girls
and young women. 1t is in charge of the
Franciscan Sisters. In the school room and
the dormitories cleanliness and order were
almost painfully visible. 1t was good to
know that most of the inmates were not
among the sorely afflicted They enioyed
the presence of visitors. scampered over the
premises and behaved as school girls every
where might behave under the same cir
curstances. Not all of them. A girl of
Twelve CT thirteen years. whose comely
features were as vet barely married by
SCARED scam. catching sight of the visit
ors convulsiveiy hie her face in her hands
a1d ran sohhing to a corner of the room,
" was a flash of human nature instantly
Illuminating the pathos OF the lepers' ex-
fsfence. The years nav he MANY till the
disease claims the final accounting from
This young victim. RTt the ineyjtabJ end
IS there. and the Intervening years of Girl
nood and vo''ng womaphood. The instinc-
80
thfrteen-couh she b,t shut If ont a che
shut o''t the sight Of the STRANGERS Tho.
may not he. A Miriam Of tender age as
one dead vet living. the future can bring no
e'eam of hora into her rathetfo life After
thet sight tho gentle frvitation of tho
mother superior. "Cnme and see orr sicL
ones was UNDECIDED by me- and wan
Serea hack to the strangers house and
awetted tho return of tho rhvsicians from
their visit To the hospital patients.
The Incidence of Discose.
Kalaupapa is not the original leper set
Element That is at Kalawao. across the
base of the peninsula It is short half
hour on horseback. The road is good
one running close to the foot of the cliffs.
1t Is In reality village street. for cot
tases line it. Many of the cottages are
in the midst of gardens, others are barren
In their surroundings. All might be made
attractive except for the Incidence of
their occupants. The government does not
press work upon them. In a disease which
benumbs the muscles and each day spreads
the languor Of a deepening sleep over the
faculties 1t Is difficult to draw the line
and say who are capable of labor. But
these homes are not homes of despair.
Horses and cows are owned by every family
Many of the lepers are met on horseback.
They like riding. and they do some furious
riding, too. Coffee houses are plentiful
They are kind of wayside inn for light
20 hYrra ant MOI
hanging from a stick in front of several
houses leads to the inquiry whether there
Is other Illness in the settlement, and
whether this is the mark of contagion
no immunity from common maladies But
these signs are To warnings of disease
They simply mean that poi is to be had
within. Poi is the food of food among
the Hawaiians. CHEEKY greetings are given
us as We ride along. Every cottage has
its group of occupants stretched lazily on
the floor or sitting out in front enjoying
the sunshine and the mild sea breeze. One
family cries Us a merry aloha" which
is Hawaiian for "howdydo." and a good
many other things besides.
The Original Settlement.
Kalawao. though the original settlement,
is less of village than Kalaupapa. The
Protestant Chapel and Father Damien's
Church are close together. The simple
monument in the churchyard with the
plain inscription, Father Damien" can be
seen from the roadside. The martyred
priests memory lives and he needs no pre-
tentious monument. The Baldwin Home
for boys and men Is located here. 1t Is
under the charge Of the Christian Brothers.
Everything about it is well appointed.
Here, too, l left the physicians to visit
the sick ones and contented myself with
seeing the well ones among the lepers.
Most of the inmates were youths of good
physical appearance, not vet SCARED by
the scourge. Riding on to Waihanau val
ley it was not possible to repress our ad-
miration for the beauty of the scene. The
cliffs of New England are surpassed and
the island rocks are as grim as anything
that may be seen off the Atlantic coast.
Coming upon n group of leper children far
up in one of the gorges. 1t was for all the
world picture of happy youth, care-free
and unconscious of any shadow hanging
over the future.
There are several trails over the steep
precipices. 1 do not think more than a
nominal guard is kept to prevent the es-
cape of lepers. Probably If they wanted
to do so. many of them could wander
away and scale the cliffs. Escapes, so
called, are occasionally reported. But
when they are once on the settlement lit
tie desire is shown to get away. The sur
roundings are pleasant and the comforts
Nk.o lrrN no Inraa hrvrn