Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-09-08

I which the native stock is very hardy
and capable. The great product of
the island is the taro root, from
which poi is made. 1t grows wher-
ever the soil is kept water soaked,
and in matted punches very much
! like the calamus Or sweet flag of
the middle western states. The root
is something like a long beet, and,
when boiled and mashed the pulp is
po-a Whitley yellow batter at first,
later a SORT Of sour paste. It operates
homeCpathically, so to speak-that
is, it builds up a dilapidated consti-
luton surprisingly, but if used ex-
elusive of any other food it Injuries
the health. There is no particular
danger of any Amer can or English
n an using the native style Of it to
excess, for it is emphatically nasty.
Decently prepared, however, it is
quite paiatable. Local statisticians
say that one acre CT it will furnish
yearly bread for 5000 men.
One of the first questions in
variably asked about the islands and
the islanders c2ncerns leprosy. 1t
is probable thai the general idea of
this scourge is exaggerated. The ma
jcrity of natives one sees are smooth
Of skin and gracefully proportional,
strong and straight and 1.-THE limbed.
A Boston anthropoiCgist who had
travelled the world around taking
III, r. %
of men, claimed a few years ago to
have found the individual nearest to
the ideal type in a native Hawaiian.
But it is not unusual, nevertheless, to
perceive traces of leprosy and other
diseases, believed by some authorities
to be kindred, in the ordinary inter
course with the natives. There are
physicians of repute in Honolulu who
will aver that the blood of the whole
| race is tainted. In remote country
districts it is not unusual to find a
leper, in the advanced stages of the
| disease, harbored by his friends and
jealousy hidden away from the eyes
of the health authorities. Both the
victims and their friends seem
strangely ca1lous to the horrors OF
the disease, and utterly careless as to
any danger of it's transmission. There
are medical authorities who deny
that the leprosy prevalent in Hawaii
is transmitted by contact. That it is
not readily transmitted by ordinary
contact is abundantly evident from
daily experience. But that it may
be transmitted from the intimate in.
tercourse Of family relations is the
universal belief Ct the laity, founded
on seemingly convincing examples
There are cases where the d1seas'
seems to remain latent in an indi
dual. There have been rare cases O
leprosy among white men; sufficien
to prove, however, that they are no
immune The most conspicuous cas-
was the priest of Molokaii. Fathe
Damien, who gave his life in litera
truth to these afflicted fellow beings
The typical Hawaiian home is tn
little grass hut, made with thei
own hands by the native families
There is one rom: an indefinite mum
Der Of persons, with no fixed pro
portion OF the sexes and OF relation
ship, live together in undisturbe
harmony. There are numberless cur
about each of these grass huts and
pet pig or Two will probably hav
common quarters with the household
!, The grass walls ara sure to be in
!, tested with lizards, scorpions, cent
pedes and more familiar insect lif;
The family sit about calabash {
poi placed on rush mat when mee
time arrives, and each dips his c
, her fingers into the paste and carrie
| it thus to the mouth. Hours an
days will be passed ting idly an
. merrily chatting Oh these mats j
: the shade of trees.
t Capt. Cook bore testimony in tn
: history Of his third voyage to tn
/ health, happiness and contentment {
t these islanders, then numbering, az
cording to his estimate, more tina
: 100000 souls. The en- Of his ship
the first white men to set foot on tn
/ islands, sowed among them the seed
of the diseases that have ever sine