Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-11-09
IEPRtSY IN Hawaii.
jsSrHnnsT1Na ACCOUNT OF The DE-
/ EASE r AN EYEWITNESS.
UGLY, BUT PAINLESS PLAGUE.
ns.n.-surscen L. II. cofer, Rich
mond Boy, Now Quarantine on
Ger at uonoru,u, Describes the
settlement In The ri"s 'r-
lands.

lands.
u cofer. assistant surgeon Oh
<,a 1>nEted States navy. who mas oeeh
,.o...6 FOR several years past 81 f'oi'o.
sr,,, Hawaii territory, as qNa' a"'-Ae
on,cer has returned to the states GU
vacation and Is spending week W." a
rather MIR. n 2. Cofcr. at NO. 1ih' ~'Ae>
Clay street o-t,y and a
very eenfa, gentleman. OF % Se@is ~
are. whose youthful face ana iu-. So. .,r;.,,
auburn beard. proclaim him Que e. 49,.
.-.nor, ,,te has dealt lightly, even 1o' e'io
OF his few years
A RICHMOND BOY.
when he left Richmond to take se1shcs
...,,h sTTncle sam he was stripping o. -
rcsrs having already gradna'eo ,ao.t.
,ollora. In the four-year term ihat i!ea &c
,,ansea he has seen much anu
..r,,ce and he converses very lntere
=. 80 the places he has been ana 'ite
THE LEPER SETTLEMENT
MS account of his visit OF .insi,eeLoh
70 tge leper settlement OF Eoichal' lie
vail, Of which he made report u ~
,-o,-s-nne,e. is OF especial interest Inc
$50 was made on the invitation OF the
rr.wa;jan Territorial Board OF Heaith.
-7.na BOARD of Health makes regularly an
.,,,,,a, visit TO the settlement. ana as
,yerytbi-g is arranged gbetorehaRo loi
This inspection. Or. Cofer says mat one u
.b1e TO see and learn more IN one Cay
a., following them in their Investigations
than would be possible in Week urder
ordinary conditions.
DIR. Cofer said that the members VI
The board and himself LETT Honolulu at
o o'clock in the afternoon and arrived q.
1xo,o,,1ana about o'clock the following
morning.
"-rhe leper settlement is located upon
,,n.,,e-shaped peninsula which juts out
INTO 1Ee ocean from about the center OF
she northern coast OF lIalabai Nhen we
arr.iyed at the landing there were at ieast
200 Icpers, the greater part OF them
saily dressed and decorated with flowers
deis, Eathered TO meet Us. Inc iepel
band was playing and things IN general
had the appearance Of a country iaif'
LEPROSY NOT PAINFUL.
"Jt is the distinguishing characteristic
ne this disease that it is not attended,
with main. and was Immediately struck
nv the fact that while saw a number
Of distorted faces, indeed, some in a
!; .r,Ehtf,l condition ] did not see an
I unhappy one. ] saw several lepers win
{ sxeir faces furrcwed and distorted De-
~ond recognition, wearing white duck
! trousers aad straw hats Of the most
modern shape these latter adorned, as .;
almost inevitable in Hawaii. with leis.
/ About 600 lepers live il kaiunpapa, one
Of the villages. and one thlrd Oh laat
number In Kalawoo. They have, how
! ever. taken UP their houses here and there
| throughput the peninsula, giving to the
latter in general the appearance OF an
eastern suburban town.
HOW THEY LIVE.
"A great many of the iepers have saddle
no rsess< and some of them very good ones.
/. The Board of Health hired enough of
tlAn to. mount our party, and we were
soon on our tour of inspection Our first
trip was to Waiholu valley. where the
Board of Health taro patches are located.
On account OF the scarcity Of the taro
throughout the Islands the board has I'M
dertaken its cultivation for the lepers
since 1897. The labor Is performed by the
lepers who are paid for it at the cur
rent rates.
NOT UNLIKE VIRGINIA SCENERY.
Tho party next visited the town Of
Kalawao. do not believe / ever took "a
horseback ride afordIng such variety
of scenery In such a short space of time.
The trip across from kalaupapa TO kalu-
wac, was not unlike a trip across the
rolling country in Virginia.
CHURCH BUILT BY FATHER
DAMIEN
"At the town of Kalawoa is located
the church built by Father Damien. who,
in the year 1873 gave up his life for the
i gepers. The grave Of this great and good
man Is also here,
THE Baldwin Home for leper boys was
visited This has ll2 inmates. Among
these boys We saw leprosy in all its
forms. The leper boys nave organized
"a band. and they played a number OF
/ selections for US. They were dressed In
I uniforms and played marveliously web
..There were several well advanced
cases Of tubercular leprosy among them
| and Il was plain that this band would
on account Of the mutilation which tn.
disease causes. This fact made their en-
ferta inment a rather pathetic one.
! HOME FOR LEPER GIRLS.
THE Bishop Home for leper girls az
Ealaupapa was next visited. This is
managed by the Catholic Sisters and has
100 inmates. l noticed here one lepe,
mother with a non-leprous child was
Informed that there were seventy eight
such children in the settlement The
Board OF Meath transfers 10 the Kap,s-
lani Home in Honolulu the non-leprot.s
4 children. OF lepers, provided the consen.
OF the parents is given.
4 There were s0s lepers and 10. clean
persons al the settlement at the time OF
our visit. OF the clean persons sixty
seven were Koknas or helpers, that is
! persons who feed and take care Of help
Z less lepers; nineteen were In the admin.
4 tstrauve department, and serenty-eish1
were non-leprous children of lepers
DR. Cofer will remain in Richmond
tndl next Wednesday and Is enioytpr
every movement of his stay here with
his people.
J: -o-,.--.
THE CITY MISSION.
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