The Irish standard., 1913-02-08
Report That Brother Joseph Dutton
Had Passed Away Proves
to be False.
Still Continues His Life's Battle
Near Honolulu Against
Scourge.
Served in the Civil War, He was a
Fighter Over Fifty
Years Ago.

Brother Joseph, Little Father OF
the Lepers,' Is alive in excellent
health!
There will be much rejoicing in
Catholic Church circles and among
members Of the Grand Army OF the
Republic and others interested in
charitable work when they learn that
a cable dispatch has been received
from Honolulu announcing as I'M
founded report Of the death of this
famous man, and telling Of a letter
from him received in Honolulu last
Tuesday, in which he made no mcn-
ton of any illness.
A fighter fifty years ago, Brother
Joseph is still fighting. but in wide
ly different field. On the isolated
lcper island Of Molokai, ffty-two
miles from Honolulu, Brother Joseph
is continuing his lifes battle against
the terrible scourge.
Born in Vermont in lS43, Ira Barnes
Dutton (Brother JoscplD, PASSED his
early life in GAINESVILLE. Wis, where
his family belonged to the Methodist
Episcopal church. Always regarded
as daredevil by lis ooyhotd friends,
he Joined the Thirteenth Wisconsin
Infantry as captain and at the end of
the Civil War was mustered out with
the rank OF major. He left Wisconsin
and for Years made his home i'll tho
| South, where, although he mad fought
on the Union side, his gentlemanly
bearing and personal : gained for
him recognition from the nristocracy
Tiring OF worldly affairs, he entered
the Trappist Monastery at Gethsem-
| unc, Ky, and after two years with
drew without taking the VOWS.
Just about this time. more than
twenty-five years ago, Brother Joseph
| while searching for Il vocation in
| which he could do most good read Of
! the heroic work of Father Damien,
| the friend OF lcpcrs, and Immediately
decided to become an assistant to the
famous priest. Always a. man OF
strong determination, he set ut once
to carry out his purpose. When his
many friends heard of this they ell
| treated MIN to remain, pointing out
all the dangers attendant upon work
among the lepers, but he turned Il deaf
ear to all their plcadings and hurried
across the continent and took passage
on the first vessel to Hawaii.
Arriving there, Brother Joseph ap-
piled for permission to go to Molokai,
but the authorities refused. They
could not believe that SO handsome
and worldly a man and apparently
sane could be SO insistent to- work
among the unfortunate lcpcrs. Not
! discouraged, he persisted III his cf-
forts and at last obtain the neccs-
Father Damien.
| Father Damien welcomed him with
great enthusiasm. anl they worked
side by side until the death of the
great priest, on April u, 1889. Since
then Brother Joseph has had entire
charge OF the lcper colony.
In 1908 Brother Joseph, hearing Of
the proposed trip around the world by
the Atlantic fleet, requested the gov
ernment to order the fleet to pass
within, sight of the colony The re-
quest was granted and the fleet
steamed by in close range, saluting.
In recent letter Brother Joseph
says:
Seeking to cheer the lepcrs as much
as possible, we have recreation
room, where, after playing different
games and running races, in which
the lepers are quite proficient. many
of them eagerly go to listen to a
graphophonc, which l cal the Gem
of the Ocean, situated as We are here
] on the Molokai Craig, in the middle
of the Pacific. The machine, the fin
est in Hawaii, pours forth unstinted
in perfection the melodies of old
gems from the operas in the voices of
many Of the great artists, music of
every sort, even reproductions of the
.o]k songs Of Hawaii sung by native