Blue water stretched to the far horizon, the sky was blazing
blue, the leafage was almost dazzling to the eye, the mountainous
island of Molokai floated like a great blue morning glory on the yet
bluer sea; a sweet, soft breeze rustled through the palms, lazy
ripples plashed lightly on the sand; humanity basked, flower-clad,
in sunny indolence; everything was redundant, fervid, beautiful.
How can I make you realize the glorious, bountiful, sun-steeped
tropics under our cold grey skies, and amidst our pale, monotonous,
lustreless greens?
Yet Molokai is only enchanting in the distance, for its blue petals
enfold 400 lepers doomed to endless isolation, and 300 more are
shortly to be weeded out and sent thither. In to-day's paper
appeared the painful notice, "All lepers are required to report
themselves to the Government health officer within fourteen days
from this date for inspection, and final banishment to Molokai." It
is hoped that leprosy may be "stamped out" by these stringent
measures, but the leprous taint must be strong in many families, and
the social, gregarious natives smoke each other's pipes and wear
each other's clothes, and either from fatalism or ignorance have
disregarded all precautions regarding this woful disease; and now
that measures are being taken for the isolation of lepers, they are
concealing them under mats and in caves and woods.
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