The Hawaiian Archipelago - Six Months Among The Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, And Volcanoes Of The Sandwich Islands By Isabella L. Bird
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A Combination Of Pathos, Invective, And Sarcasm; And His
Manner, Though Theatrical, Is Considered Perfect By His Native
Admirers.
His moral character, however, has been very low, which
makes the outburst of feeling at his fate the more remarkable.
Yesterday, he wrote a letter to Sheriff Severance, giving himself up
as a leper to be dealt with by the law, expressing himself as ready
to be expatriated to-day, but requesting that he might not be put
into the leper-house, and that he might go on board the steamer
alone. The fact of his giving himself up excited much sympathy, as,
in his case, the signs of the malady are hardly apparent, and he
might have escaped suspicion for some time.
He was riding about all this morning, taking leave of people, and of
the pleasant Hilo lanes, which he will never see again, and just as
the steamer was weighing anchor, walked down to the shore as
carefully dressed as usual, decorated with leis of ohia and
gardenia, and escorted by nearly the whole native population. On my
first landing here, the glee club, singing and flower-clad, went out
to meet him; now tears and sobs accompanied him, and his countrymen
and women clung to him, kissing him, to the last moment, whilst all
the foreigners shook hands as they offered him their good wishes.
He made a short speech in native, urging quiet submission to the
stringent measures which government is taking in order to stamp out
leprosy, and then said a few words in English. His last words, as
he stepped into the boat, were to all: "Aloha, may God bless you,
my brothers," and then the whale boat took him the first stage
towards his living grave. He took a horse, a Bible, and some legal
books with him; and, doubtless, in consideration of the prominent
positions he has filled, specially that of interpreter to the
Legislature, unusual indulgence will be granted to him.
At the weekly prayer meeting held this evening in the foreign
church, the medical officer gave a very pathetic account of his
interview with him this morning, in which he had feelingly requested
the prayers of the church. It was with unusual fervour afterwards
that prayer was offered, not for him only, but for "all those who,
living, have this day been consigned to the oblivion of the grave,
and for the five hundred of our fellow-subjects now suffering on
Molokai." A noble instance of devotion has just been given by
Father Damiens, a Belgian priest, who has gone to spend his life
amidst the hideous scenes, and the sickness and death of the ghastly
valley of Kalawao.
I.L.B.
A CHAPTER ON THE LEPER SETTLEMENT ON MOLOKAI.
In 1865, the Hawaiian Legislature, recognizing the disastrous fact
that leprosy is at once contagious and incurable, passed an act to
prevent its spread, and eventually the Board of Health established a
leper settlement on the island of Molokai for the isolation of
lepers.
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