THE COLONY OF LEPERS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2605, 23 March 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE COLONY OF LEPERS.

FATHER DAMIEN A VICTIM. A letter has been received by a Birmingham gentleman fruin the Rev. P. M. Comrady, who sometime since went out to assist the Rev. Father Damien in his heroic work among the lepers exiles at Molokai, one of the Sandwich Island group. The writer eays :—" Materially, the lepers are not very badly off, for the Government allows to each one of them lib. of meat and 31b. of peas ( which are very much like potatoes) per day. Other things are provided for the ehort time that remains of their life, which is from five to ten years at the most, the greater number hardly surviving more than five years. Father Damien has seen this population renew itself three times. How often will it be given to me to Bee this ? Am I uioing to become a leper J Very probably. Precautions, are more easily received than obseryed. Too much precaution is no good, as we saw at the time of the cholera in Belgium in 1886. What a great number perished who then fled from all danger. I am only going to give you a few lmes of the good Father Damein. who wijl Boon be no more, as he ie falling a victim to his charity. In England and America they call him the Hero Martyr. ,It is my privilege to be near him, to live with him. Leprosy has done its work—ip turns, at his ears, nose, throat, his hands, his and lungs. The poor Father has suffered dreadfully. He is completely disfigured hie voice hie almost extinct. If you could only see him as he lies in his little room, upon the floor, upon his bed of suffering, tears would come into youre eyes at the sight of that man, who has done bo much for thousands of lepers, and now himself reduced to so terrible a condition, and so very little can be done for him. People call it a sacrifice to live with lepers ; but only on seeing oneself a leper, and nothing but lepers around then only does the extent of the sacrifice become apparent. Fortunately for Father Damein, he has yet the use of his hands, which a great number of our people have Inst, and also that his feet are not yet falling to pieces, as happens to so many here. For there are several different kinds of leprosy. Some . . . . wither away and dry up completly There are those who are completly covered with thick scales. . . . The Father has begun to build a new church (30ft. by 70ft)., 40ft. of which is of stone aDd the rest of wood. We have only one mason, a white leper, an Irishman. The poor man has already one foot very bad. His assistants, who make the mortar, bring up the stone, &c, are all young lepers. Father Damein is the head carpenter, and his helpers are two or three leper boys. They have now, happily, come ae far as the roof; Everything was ready to have the iron roofing put up, but on unloading this in a small boat the latter capsized: The is now at the bottom of the sea. It took five months to bring it from England."