The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-03-02
VISITED CITY OF
THE LIVING DEAD
John c. Slater Tells of Day at
Leper Settlement.
TRAGEDY ON EVERY HAND
IMPRESSIVE SCENE AS BOAT
LEAVES ISLAND OF MoLoKAI.
IN THE midst Of the Pacifo ocean,

TN THE midst Of the Pacific ocean,
cut off from the world at large by
the sea on three sides and by d
lofty precipice on the other, is tomb
for the living dead. Inundated here,
waiting for the heart to stop beating
and for oblivion to end their sufferings
as their frames are laid away forever
beneath a coverlet of earth. are some
/ 1000 persons, the living dead.
As in entering the gates o. hell. de-
scribed by Dante, all hope is aban-
doned by one who is doomed to this
tomb. Entrance is the first stage of
death, the final stage being perhaps
delayed for years.
This is in the IeDer settlement of
MololSai. Few persons in the United
States have ever visited this remark
able locality. One of these few is John
c. Slater of the Lyon & Slater com
pany, publishers and bookdealers Of
Seattle, who is now a guest at the
KnutsfOrd.
Permission to visit the leDer settle
ment is difficult to obtain. Mr.. Slater
was the twenty-fifth resident Of the
United States to enter the forbidden
portals and return. This was in 1893
Through a friend of the Hawaiian at
tOrney generals Office, he was allowed
to pay d visit with the health COM
mission. which inspects the settlement
annually. After spending a day on
the island he changed his clothes COM
pletely, destroying those he had worn
there, and then took three separate
baths in different antiseptics. This
was to take the utmost precaution
against contagiOn.
One Day on the Island.
cit was the most impressive expert
ence I ever had or ever expect to
have" said Mr.. Slater in telling the
story Of his trip. THE island of MolO-
kai is some seventy-five miles from
Oahu, the island on which Honolulu is
situated, and we made the trip by
steamer. Leaving Honolulu at 8 p. m.
we reached Molokai the next morning.
It was a beautiful moonlight night
and the sea was calm. The surf at
Molokai was not bad-in fact there
was less surf than there had been for
years. We anchored a quarter Of a
mile from shore, and made the landing
in small boats. The superintendent
an Englishman-met US at the wharf
and escorted up to his quarters, which
were in a pretty cottage surrounded
by a picket fence. The lepers are not
allowed to pass that fence. If they
wish anything they come to the fence
and call.
I'VE were shown through the super
intendent's quarters and were taken
through the meathOuse. Here the food
is distributed, the lepers coming up
with baskets or sacks for their pOr-
tons. We saw the hospital, the school,
the kitchen and the laundry and the
other institutions there.
Not a Sign Of Dust.
"a noticeable feature is that every
thing is absolutely clean. You cannot
find even a speck of dust anywhere in
these various buildings. There are
meeting houses there Of the different
denominations, and when I was there
the proposition was up to establish a
branch of the 7. II. Q. a. on the is
land.
we saw the monument and grave of
Father Damien, who devoted his life
to the lepers. There are many there
now who are giving up their lives to
these unfOTtunates. The nurses are
nuns. and if anybody deserves credit
these noble women certainly do for the
way they have sacrificed everything in
ULuEA " uElA LllDSE " llU nave aDSDLulElI
no hope in this life
= after seeing the different parts Of
the main settlement, we took horses
and went about four miles over the
hills TO the boys settlement. I took
something Of g chance then, although
I did not realize il until afterward.
Ny horse was loaned me by q Ieper
who had just been riding it, and I used
the same saddle and the same reins.
There was danger Of infection, but 1