THEY THAT MAY NOT TRAVEL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2634, 16 October 1909, Page 3 (Supplement)

THEY THAT MAY NOT TRAVEL.

(By MRS. C. E. MILL SR, in “Leslie’s Weekly.”)

In the very heart of the. Paradise of the Pacific, on the island of Molokai, •one of the Hawaiian group, is locateu the most famous leper settlement in the world. It is celebrated because the segregation there is along the most humane lines and because the lepers are under the constant care of physicians and nurses equal m ability to those of any hospital in the country. Ihe Territorial Board of Health oi the Ha; ' aiian Islands is doing everything m its power to relieve the suffering oi these unfortunate creatures, as well as to prevent the spread of the disease. It is well-known that leprosy was brought to the island by Chinese immigration more that fifty years ago, and was at that time known as ‘Chinese sickness.” Segregation soon became a necessity, as the Hawaiian is often careless as to the most common laws of hygiene. A section of the Island of Molokai was selected as their place of residence. Its location and climate :are admirably adapted for this purpose, a tongue of land surrounded on three sides by the sea and shut off on the fourth by almost impassable cliffs from two to three thousand feet in height. A SELF-CONTAINED WORLD.

Segregation began in 18GG. and since that time thousands of lepers have been cared for, and each year the number is a trifle less. Everything necessary in the housing and caring for them is furnished free of cost, and two villages, with comfortable cottage-homes, have been built on the island. There are several churches, a Y.M.C.A., a steam ’laundry, a poi factory (poi is the native substitute for bread), an ice plant, a store and post office. A large correspondence is maintained with the outside world, all mails being fumigated. There is also a gaol, and order is preserved by policemen who arc themselves lepers. Hew visitors are allowed at the settlement, and none from “motives of curiosity.” Permits are not easily secured, and must be signed by the president of the Board of Health. The island can bo reached only by a small steamer which runs but once a week. The passage is anything but pleasant. Bough water and absence of a wharf prevent the steamer from landing. The •(visitor goes ashore in a small boat, often through a liigli sea.

LEPERS AS LEPER GUARDIANS. After receiving permission to visit the island, I sailed from Honolulu one evening, and on the second night out •we lay off Kalaupapa, the largest village of the settlement. , Leprosy was not new to mo, as I had looked upon tlie wretched inmates of San Lazaro Hospital in Havana, and liad seen the disease in its various stages in tropical countries, where segregation was more or less lax, but (to mingle with nearly a thousand lepers was to me a new experience. The weather was oppressively hot, cXncl several times ouring ,tho night, owing to nervous restlessness, I arose and sat at my stateroom window, fascinated by the wei.nlness of the scene. A litt.o after five o’clock tho Chinese steward rapped on my door. I was already dressed and, after a hurried meal, I found a small boat manned by natives waiting to.take me ashore. The captain assisted ino down the ladder, and ill a few minutes wo wore off to Molokai.

I had no special fear of tho disease, but everybody who goes to the settlement takes his or her chances. Physicians cannot fully explain how it is contracted. A mood infusion seem* to bo necessary, yet there are people at ,tho settlement who will tell you that they never saw a leper until they found -themselves afflicted. Recently it has Sheen demonstrated that bed-bugs, fleas, and mosquitoes may spread tho disease. I was not gloved or veiled, nor was 1 'covered with antiseptics, and, as the boat swung into the little cove my first •greeting came from a lepor—Mr. J. Jv. AVaimau, assistant superintendent, who •is a splendid specimen of Hawaiian manhood —intellectual, refined, and of '•courtly bearing. Ho assisted mo to 'land, and for a few' minutes we had a -pleasant chat while waiting for Doctor AV. J. Goodhue, the physician m •charge, under whose care I was to be ■during my stay. Mr. M’Veigh, the ?superintendent, who always looks after visitors, was absent, so I had the privilege of spending the time in the company of this eminent man, one of the •noblest of his profession. THE EUCALYPTUS TREATMENT.

Much of the suffering which must necessarily accompany the disease has been alleviated of late years by operations, the ravages in tho system for the tune being -thus arrested. In performing -operations Dr. Goodhue coats his hands with a parraffin-liko substance, as a slip of the' knife might mean infection. The Chaulmoogro oil treatment has boon used with good effect, also a pioparation of distilled eucalyptus. The latter treatment has been especially successful among the women. Dr. Goodhue, instead of selling this formula, which is the result of several years study, has S 1V ‘ on it to the Board of Health oi Hawaii where it may he obtained by medical men who are in charge of leprosariums in different parts of the world. Neither Dr. Goodhue nor his assistant, Dr. Hollman, display fear of con--fcagien, and their only precaution seems to ho cleanliness. They live with their wives at ICalaupapa. The settlement embraces ten miles, and over this land the lepers are free to wander. Many of them own horses, and horseback riding is one of the amusements.

THE MARRIED NOT SEPARATED. While segregation causes great grief at first, this distress wears away in, time, and altogether the patients seem to be a rather contented lot of people. Tho leper is in a far better condition in segregation, because of the medical attontion. Home life is enjoyed among the people, for the leper is allowed to marry, or,'if already married, the wife may bring her husband, or the husband may bring liis wife. The 11011-lepers become helpers at the settlement. Many of the homes are well-kept and surrounded by flowers. Little cooking is done, as in leprosy there is an absence of the sense of touch, and the person might be seriously burned without feeling any pain. DISE ASE NOT ALWAYS HEREDITARY. Female children born in these homes are removed as soon as possible to the Kapiolani Girl’s Home near Honolulu. Tho home for boys is not yet completed, and the male children, who are not ntiouted by relatives, must remain at the settlement for the present. The disease is not always hereditary, and out of one hundred and fire girls .reared at the Kapliolani Horn© during the last twenty-on® years, only six have returned to the settlement. Even these might liar© escaped if they could have been separated froto tlieir. parents at birth. In order to avoid tkis m future a dav nursery is being built “or tne

MOLOKAI—THE) LLPLR ISLAND.

children, where they wi:l be kept until removed to the home. The Baldwin Home is for young men, arid was the gift of one of the sugar barons of the islands. It is presided over by Brother Joseph Dutton, who, during"the Civil War, was an officer in the Lnion Army. This once _ gallant officer determined to devote his lile to tlie care of lepers. He came to Molokai t wen tv years ago, and was associated with Father Damien, who died in Ins arms. Brother Dutton, perhaps, understands the Hawaiian character better than anyone else at the settlement. Ho is unceasing in Ins labors, and refuses pay for his services. The Baldwin Home is located at Kalauao, the smaller of tlie two villages. The Bishop Home at Kaluapupa is maintained tor young girls, and the Bay \iew Home for the housing.and care of aged and infirm victims.

A COSMOPOLITAN POPULATION. Molokai is cosmopolitan, and a glance at the report of the different nationalities afflicted shows that leprosy is not a respecter of race. They embrace British, French, Canadian, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, Filipino, Tahitian and South Sea Island. Seven hundred and twenty-eight are Hawaiians, and eight are Americans. The latter have not lost their American «grit, and one is the storekeeper of Kaluapapa and another a marine engineer. The leper is not forced to work. If he cares to labor he is paid fair wages, or he may engage in a little business enterprise of Sis own. There is considerable sociability among the residents, and as the Hawaiian is a horn “sport,” horse racing is one of the leading amusements. Some have good voices and several glee clubs furnish music'; there is a shooting range, an athletic club, and two brass bands that give frequent concerts. There are also natural orators or talkers. The disease nas not robbed them of the Ranch;*©, and their votes are eagerly sought. Political meetings are held, and of the sixteen permits issued to visitors during six months, eleven were to political speakers searching for votes. There is frequent picnicing on the slopes of the pali. I THE TREATMENT OF “SUSPECTS.” Before segregation was thoroughly understood, there was difficulty in apprehending suspected persons. There are physicians in all parts of tho islands who report suspected cases to the Board of Health. An invitation is then sent to the “suspect” and she or lie is asked to came to the receiving station near Honolulu for an examination. If tho patient is found free from the disease, ho is allowed to go, and all the expense is born by tho territorial Government. If the bacilli are found, tho test is made again and again by several physicians, aiid finally the leper is ordered to Molokai. Even after that there is yet hope, and the patient is sometimes returned for re-examination. The lepers may receive occasional visits from their friends who may stay at the “visitor’s house.” 1 Visiting in the lepers’ homes is forbidden. THERE IS NO KNOWN CURE. So-called leprosv cures are continually bobbing up, but so far all have proved a failure. Physicians are in the dark o„s to the real causo of the disease. Recently Hawaii has been stirred as never before over an alleged cure. A machinist named Wal'ach, who has gained the confidence of the natives, declares that he has a “permanent cure,” while he refuses to give out more than two ingredients of his formula. These are “qioss gathered from female rocks” and worms caught twelve miles from Bombay. The lepers have petitioned the Board of Health that a trial he given this queer cure. The white resident of Hawaii seems almost immune from tlie disease. When tho Philippines were acquired, from four to five thousand lepers were discovered bv American physicians. Eight hundred of these are in segregation at Culion. In. 1905 the medical reports show that there were nearly three hundred cases of leprosy in the United States, and it is we’l known that a colony of them is located in Iberville Parish Louisiana. In response _to President Roosevelt’s recommendation, Congress passed a Bill for the establishment of an investigation station at olokai. Tlie Marine Hospital Service is preparing to erect a leprosarium there, and will endeavor to discover a serum which will destroy the bacilli. Dr. Walter Brinkeroff, formerly instructor of. pathology at Harvard University, has been appointed director. He has undertaken a preliminary investigation at liis laboratory at Honolulu.