Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-03
Lived In Leper Colony
After Reaching India

Soon after he reached India Stokes
went to live in n leper colony. He was
housed with the lepers themselves. He
had cast aside all the paraphernalia
Of the European missionary and had
frankly Indian In his dress and habits
and manner of life. He worked among
the lepers with devoted care. He would
nurse them with his own hands, EN-.
bracing them in his fearless love, as St -.
Francis of Assist did Of old, and bind
up their sores.
Though immune from leprosy. by
some gift Of body or spirit, he was at
tackled by typhoid fever while in the
midst of this activity. The illness
proved almost fatal. For weeks he how
cred between life and death. Finally
the crisis passed, and he began a long
convalescence.
After that he spent the hot weather
Of each succeeding year at Kotgarh.
which is fifty miles beyond Simla along
the Hindustan- Tibet road. He used TO
take with him an adopted family
Of little children. One was quite blind
but always jolly and cheerful; two
we're the sons Of leper parents !;
one was infirm. They all grew up as
one family with him. and he shared
everything with them in common. Dur
ing this period Of his life he always
slept upon the bare ground, cooked his
own and the ch!ldren's food, and lived
much in meditation In cave on the
mountainside.
In the succeeding years he formed
fast friendship with an Englishman,
c. F. Andrews, GHd with Rudra, prin-
cipal of the Delhi School. The former
knew Stokes intimately during these
years Of his life, and has followed his
movements since. In biography writ
ten RS preface to book called "The
Awakening India" which Mr.. Stokes
has written and which is being published
abroad, Mr.. Andrews thus describes his
life and character from personal OBJ
servation:
Year by year. ench summer, I used
to meet him md his family of boys
and also to stay with him. I could
not share the austerities of his life
they were too hard for me. / could
only wonder at the remarkable powers
of endurance and the strength of his
inner spirit.
I'm the cold weather Mr.. Stokes
would leave his boys at some
oShool Win ITlenuS ana 20 wander
ing over the Punjab, as a sanyasi, fol-
lowing strictly and literally the pre-
cepts of Jesus in the gospels, where it
Is written, Take neither purse nor
scrip, neither two coats, nor money for
your journey
If the villagers gave him food and
shelter he gratefully received it. II
they refused he would take shelter un +.
der some tree and go without food al
together, But they usually welcomed
him gladly.
There is one incident which is we'll
worth relating. Mr.. Stokes had gone
in his wanderings to a group of huts.
which were occupied by the lower ca astes
and had been received BY them with
warm affection. He had then gone on
to the high caste people of the village.
who were living apart. At first, they
were angry with him because he had
lived with the low caste and had
been eating and drinking with them.
They even refused to receive him, So
be sat down and slept all that niSht.
without taking food, ynaer a tree clSse
to the village. As Y, villagers went
out to their fields s In yas mornS