The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-07-05
oRAos OUT LIFE IN SOLITUDE.
John OstIand, North Dakota Leper,
Is Dying by Inches.

Is Dying by Inches.
GRAFTON, N. D., July 5-For many
years Walsh county has not been free
from the care Of one or more sufferers
from the loathsome, incurable dis
ease of leprosy. The county has thus
had thouands Of dollars added to its
expense account, but mas carried the
burden in a charitable manner, giving
to the afflicted ones as pleasant a life
as it possibly could and act consistent
ly to the taxpayers.
John Ostland, a leper, about IS, of
ent a county charge. He lives in SOL
itary confinement in clean, comfor-
table cottage on the corner Of a farm
in Adams township, in the western
part of the county. The owners of
| the farm provide him with food and
The county sees to it that he lacks
none of the necessities of life and fur
nishes him with clothing, reading mat
ter medical attention, and does every
| thing it can to make his lot endur-
able.
Has But Little Pain.
A leper suffers little pain, an erup-
ton of the skin generally being the
| first premonition of the disease. This
| dr. w
ting the tissues of the body to such an
extent that members of it drop off.
This process goes on so gradually and
so deadly that when a finger, for in
stance drops, it occasions no pain to
| it's owner whatever, suggesting the
way a dry twig drops from the tree.
Generally speaking, leprosy is but
| long. slow process Of dying-dying lit
orally by inches, one might say. One
| of Walshs county charges lived out a
| most pitiable existence for II years,
exiled from wife and child.
The leprosy nowadays known is not
contagious, neither is it hereditary.
The leprosy known in Bible days wnen
those afflicted were allowed a certain
freedom among people, going about in
| long, gray gowns and hoods and shout
| ing "unclean." "unclean!" is believed
| to have existed in a different form,
and then, again as with many diseases,
! climatic conditions have great effect
on contagion, and research shows that
| in a temperate climate, such as the
| United States possesses, leprosy is not
contagious.
A North Dakota physician who has
had several cases of leprosy says: L
am more afraid of consumption that
am of leprosy. I have sat and visit
ed an hour or more with my patients
| without the slightest fear Of conta-
gion. The feelings of the person af-
hicted are considered, and as it is a
most unsightly disease the patient
must pass his days in exile"
DO you consider the disease in
curable?" he was asked.
"Yes." ne answered, Il do. There is
a hospital in New Orleans that claims
| to be affecting some marvellous cures.
It may be doing so, just as some con-
sumptives are cured, but generally
speaking, the disease is an incurable
one
Brouqht to This Country.
At one time there were so many
lepers in the United States that it was
proposed to build a leper hospital, but
the government would not consent be-
cause leprosy is not an American dis
ease. There is not one case known OF
American origin. 1t has been brought
to this country by foreigners, mostly
from northern European countries,
where the inhabitants live to a great
extent on fish. Some contend that II
is a disease which afflicts fish, ana
some hold that it is contracted by the
eating of spoilt fish, improperly pre-
DdI0u. AZ ally loIO, ~ ~ -
culiar to fish eating people.
Leprosy may be in existence In
peron's body for many years before IL
asserts itself, so it can readily be seen
that one afflicted with it may have no
trouble immigrating to this country.
And when the disease does assert It
self. what then? Will railroad and
steamship companies transport these
persons back to their mother country
No. not unless they can be kept in lg-
norance of the persons malady.
Leprosy is dying out. If STATISTICS
do snow that divorce is on the increase
that grave questions of race suicide
confront us, here is something to. be
thankful for. Very few cases, in pro-
portion to the population are in exist
ence. The one in Walsh county is be-
lieyed to be the only one in North Da-
kota. Ten years ago three leper hos
pitaIs in Norway housed 1900 lepers,