Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-03
DREAD OF LEPROSY
Disease That Terrifies the
White Races.
THE ISLAND OF M0L0KAl
Where Hundreds of Lepers Have Been
Confined.
HOW THEY ARE CARED FOR
Political Campaign for Election Of
Deputy Sheriff Now Waging
Among the Unfortunates..
HOW THEY ARE CARED FOR

afraid Of that young Syrian leper who died
like a dog in a mountainside hut in West
Virginia a couple of weeks ago." said an
officer Of the United States navy. 1T would
be hard to imagine sick human being get
ting a worse deal than he got. There seems
to be no doubt that the man died from ex-
posture and hardship, rather than from his
disease, for a man who saw the Syrian told
me that he was by no means near the final
| stage Of leprosy. No doubt he would have
died in a few years. anyway, but he was
surely entitled to time to make up his
SOUL as old men in the orient say, and to a
chance to regain his native land and to die
among his own people. He could have been
deported to Syria without the slightest dan
ger to anybody. Instead of that he was
hurried around from one place to another
in a box car. When kindly fellow under
| took to nurse him in his West Virginia
| howell and to provide him with food pur-
| chased at the nearby town, the nurse was
set upon and dubbed by hoodlums of the
town. and had to give up his generous pur-
| pose. 1t was case to make the hearts of
| human people sore.
but a quite exaggerated fear OF leprosy
| appears to be something that is implanted
! in the blood of all the white races. The
| idea seems to prevail that the disease is
| contagious. 1t is nothing of the sort. AS
| a matter of fact 1t is only infectious after
considerable personal contact. l should like
| to have gold eagle for every leper I've
shaken hands with 1 visited the leper
| island of Molokai. In the Hawaiian group.
| in 1895 and again in 1898. and didn't feel
| like Withholding my paw from large num-
Der Of the poor chaps who held out their
hands to me. 1 was gloved of course. But
even had I not been gloved there would
have been no danger, so long as there were
no abrasions on the skin of my hand. AS
matter of fact, l have shaken hands with
| lepers on an island that is almost within
stones throw of Manhattan Island. 1 went
over to North Brother Island in 1896 with
| naval surgeon who was keenly interested In
| the study Of leproSy. There were seven lep-
ers isolated on North Brother Island at
| that time-fve Cinnamon and two West In
dian sailors. At least three of the China
men were in the advanced stage of the dis
ease Afterward I read that couple of the
| Chinese lepers had somehow or another
escaped from North Brother Island and
We're supposed to he in hiding in New York.
There was considerable alarm at that time
among folks who were having their laundry
work done by Cinnamon.
Leper Found on Board Ship.
st was once attached to ship when 1t
was discovered that there was a leper
among the men for'ard. This was on the
| Pacific station. and the gunboat was an
chored in the harbor OF Acapulco, Mexico,
at the time.
| "The discovery Of the leper came about in
a curious way. Some months before while
cruising in Hawaiian waters, he had
attendant. This Kanaka boy was below
in the boiler room one afternoon on an
errand for the chief engineer. when he
caught sight of one OF the firemen wash
| ing himself in a bucket of water. The
| fireman was stripped to the waist. He
| had swabbed all of the Crime and coal
| dust from his chest, and the Kanaka boy
| noticed three dead-white blotches on the
| el1i 49,
| Kanaka boy didn't say a word to the fire.
! man. but he knew what he was about
Kanakas know all about the incipient signs
and symptoms of leprosy from lifelong
observation. The ward room attendant
as soon as he came above sought out the
ships surgeon in the sick bay.
'Leper aboard, sir he said quietly to
the surgeon, who all but jumped out of his
chair. The doctor at first thought that
the Kanaka boy might be drunk or dream
ing.
Say that again. said the surgeon to
the lad, and take care about 1t If you
don't want a taste of the brig. Leper
aboard this ship? In what gang?
Black gang. SIR replied the kanaka
| boy. using the man-o'-war term for the
engineers force below. Then the Kanaka
boy gave the surgeon the fireman's name.
1.-THE surgeon instantly sent nurse be-
low to summon the fireman to the sick
| bay The fireman came to the sick bay
with a look of wonder his face. He
was a strapping chap, and he had no idea
| that there was anything the matter with
him.
Ion with your shirt said the surgeon
to the fireman. and let's have look at
you
The Dead-White Blotches.
1.-THE fireman. supposing that the surgeons
examination might have something to do
with vaccination or matter of that kind,
barred himself to the waist. The surgeons
gaze was instantly riveted upon the three
dead-white blotches on the mans chest.
He knew the meaning Of those blotches
from long cruising on the Asiatlc station.
"'Were you ashore much when this ship
was at Honolulu the surgeon asked the
fireman.
No, sir, said the fireman, didn't
have liberty all the time the ship was
there 1 was on the fourth-class conduct
list and couldn't make the beach,
Then the fireman. under questioning,
said that he'd done a three-year cruise on
the Mediterranean station before being sent
to the Pacific station on his re-ehlistment.
He'd been on the frst-class conduct list
throughout the Mediterranean cruise, and
had been ashore a good deal Of the time.
Yes. he'd hit the beach good deal at
Turkestan ports, he said, and he named
the ports. It was in one OF the Turkestan
ports that he'd got his leprasy.
did you ever wonder what caused those
white spots on your chest? the surgeon
asked him.
Yes. the fireman had wondered about
'em, but he thought they were caused by
some minor skin disease, and hadn't bother
ed his head much about them. Now that
the surgeon had seen EN-, though, he'd
like some medicine for them
THE surgeon didn't tell the fireman that
he a victim of leprosy until after he
had conferred with the skipper. The skip
per deemed 1t right that the fireman should
know at once what allied him. and the man
was summoned to the sick bay again by the
surgeon and told that he was leper. He
crumpled up under the news like piece
Of burning paper. He was told by the
surgeon that nobody in the ships company
should be told anything about it, and then
he was placed on the sick list and isolat ted
In a screened corner of the sick bay. The
Kanaka boy was sworn to secrecy about
the matter. He probably wou'dn' have
talked even had he not been sworn. for
Kanakas are very chary in their conversa-
ton about anything appertaining to leprosy.
was detached from the ship
arrived back at the Mare Island navy
yard but I heard later that the fireman
had been sent to the leper colony near New
Orleans for treatment.
Many, Commit Suicide.
white men, when they find that they are
lepers usually feel like committing suicide