The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-08
TALK WITH A LEPER
On Darcy Island, Near the United
States Boundary.
Brooklyn Eagle.

Brooklyn Eagle.
The Eagles correspondent came fair upon
one OF the colony. He was seated beneath
little booth, rudely constructed of hewn
planks, open on one side and inclosed on
the other three and overhead, slowly trim
ming board with hand AKA little man,
gaunt face and wasted with the disease
His eyes were large and bright; the lower
lid of one hung far down over his cheek as
though IL were about to drop on, Its red
inner surface almost facing outward. Save
this, he showed no signs OF the disease I'M
til his hands were seen. Both were rottlng
away. One had dropped off almost TO the
wrist and its stump was discolored. Inc
fingers of the other were gone TO the hrst
joint. He looked up at the footsteps and
hardly stopped his painful work 10 reply TO
the greeting of the first stranger he nad
sation which followed he showed no emo
ton, no eagerness, hardly curiosity. Ap-
parently his mind was numbed TO all such
feeling. He had lived there five years. ~,
How many were there when he came!
He signed eleven.
"All dead?'
mo. Four left"
His English, for that of Chinese, was
wonderfully good. He explained 1t by say
ing he had been market gardener in van
couver, B. c., and had driven vegetapie
went more into his life and that of his
fellOw-beings on the island. Himself ana
one other were able to get about. The re,
naming two were sick and were almost all
the time in bed.
'Bimeby they die" and, with equal calm
ness in reply to another question: YES
all die some time; maybe soon. .
They got their provisions and supplies
from Sidney. They had plenty and they
did not suffer. When the questions ceased
he bent again to his work and raised MS
head only TO look across the blue water at
the snow-tipped line of peaks beyond which
lay the great Pacific. A door opened dur
ing this conversation in one OF the houses
near by. A head and shoulders leaned out
The face was hideous. Swollen and black,
IL seemed as though some Of the flesh had
left IL in places, for it was fearfully
Scared. The creature came slowly out. He
walked with a stick, and even with TINS
support had to stop and rest at intervals.
One of his hands was gone entirely. Inc
stump of a leg whose foot had dropped
away was encased in rags. He stood silent
and listened to the conversation, looking.
like his companion, over the waves when
surrounded his prison; then entered the
house and closed the door behind him. on
the outer side of his house, as was the case
| on each of the others, cluster OF joss
sticks were tucked in a bit of red paper.
The charred ends of these showed how each
had burned as a good luck offering to the
gods of the owners race.
Questioned again, the man with the
manned hands stopped his work long
enough to tell how he had been taken from
the city of Vancouver and sent to the island
five years ago; how he had found ten others
there at that time; how all the rest but he
and one other had come from Victoria. This
other, the man with the hdeous race, was
from New Westminster He was not lonely.
He did not care to see others. And then
he stopped talking to look out over the
water toward the westward. So he was left
gazing toward the mountain wall which hid
the western ocean.