Page 8 Advertisements Column 2

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2661, 26 May 1908, Page 8

A OREAD DISEASE. An exceedingly interesting article is contributed to 'Leslie's Weekly' by Mrs C. R. Miller. The lady describes the most famous leper settlement in the world—that at Molokai, one of the Hawaiian group, in the heart of the Pacific—and the enlightened methods that obtain there of mitigating the lot of the unfortunates who have contracted the incurable and dread disease. 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, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, Filipino, Tahitian, and South Sea Islanders. Seven hundred and twenty-eight are Hawaiians, and eight are Americans, so that it is evident that white residents are almost immune from the disease. Leprosy, we are told, was brought to the islands by Chinese immigration more than 50 years ago, and was at that time known as " Chinese sickness." Segregation soon became a necessity, and the spot chosen is 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. Segregation began in 1866, 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. 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 his own. There are 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 a 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 are themselves lepers. Few visitors are allowed at the settlement, and none from "motives of curiosity." Permits are not easily secured. The island can be reached only by a small Bteamer which runs but once a week. Much of the suffering which must necessarily accompany the disease has been alleviated of late years by operations, the ravages in the system for the time being thus arrested. In performing operations Dr Goodhue (the resident medical officer) coats his hands with a paraffine-like substance, as a slip of the knife might mean infection. The CEaulmoogro oil treatment has been used with good effect, also a preparation of distilled eucalyptus. The latter treatment has ben especially successful among the women. Neither Dr Goodhue nor his assistant, Dr Hollman, displays fear of contagion, and Iheir only precaution seems to be cleanliness. They live with their wives at Kalaupapa. The settlement embraces 10 miles, and over this land the lepers are free to wander. Many of them own horses, and horseback riding is one of the amusements. 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. The leper is in far better condition in segregation, because of the medical attention. 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 his wife. The non-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. Female children born in these homes are removed as soon as possible to the Kapiolani Girls' Home near Honolulu. The home for boys is not yet completed, and male children who are not adopted by relatives must remain at the settlement for the present. The disease is not always hereditary, and out of one hundred and five girls reared at the Kapiolani Home during the last 21 years, only six have returned to the settlement. Even these might have escaped if they could have been separated from their parents at birth. In order to avoid this in the future, a day nursery is being built for the children, where they will be kept until removed to the home. Before segregation was thoroughly understood, there was difficulty in apprehending suspected persons. There are physicians in all parts of the islands who report suspected cases to the Board of Health. An invitation is then sent to the " suspect," and he or she is asked to come to the receiving station near Honolulu for an examination. If the patient is found free from the disease, he is allowed to go, and all the expense is borne by the territorial government. If the bacilli are found, the test is made again and again by several physicians, and finally the leper is ordered to Molokai. Even after that there is yet hope, and the patient is sometimes returned for reexamination. The lepers may receive occasional visits from their friendß who stay at the visitors' house. Visiting in the lepers' homes is forbidden. Socalled cures for leprosy are continually being brought forward, and many strange decoctions have been foisted on the easily-gulled natives, and have raised their hopes for a time, but so far all have proved a failure. Physicians cannot fully explain how it is contracted. A blood infusion seems to be necessary, yet there are people at the settlement who will tell you that they never saw a leper until they found themselves afflicted. Recently it has been demonstrated that bed-bugs, fleas and mosquitos may spread the disease. No doubt the mystery in the case of leprosy, and in the case of that even more dread and more widely prevalent disease cancer, will some day be wrested from Nature's hiding place; in the meantime it is good te know that everything humanly possible is being done for these unfortunates, and that their lot in many instances is a tolerable, if not a happy, one.

Mrs Jessie Lomas, Gladstone, Q., writes: —" I strongly advise every parent to keep a bottle of Chamberlain's Cough Bemedy in the house, and I always make a point of telling my friends of the recovery of my son. For 11 years he had suffered from acute bronchitis, and though I had him try a lot of things, nothing seemed to give him permanent relief. A medical man advised me to get Chamberlain's Cough Bemedy, and I did so. A decided improvement was noticed before the first bottle was used, and I am pleased to state that after he had taken four bottles, he was completely cured, and is now enjoying the best of health. For sale by L. Hotop, chemist. 1 Culverden estate, recently acquired by the Government for closer settlement, will be open for application on June 19, after which date visitors will be allowed to inspect the estate.