The lepers are dying fast, and the number of advanced cases
in the hospital averages forty. In the centre of the hospital
square there are the office buildings, including the dispensary,
which is well supplied with medicines, so that in the absence of a
doctor, common ailments may be treated by an intelligent English
leper. The superintendent's office, where the accounts and
statistics of the settlement are kept, and where the leper governor
holds his leper court, and the post-office, are also within the
enclosure; but the true governor and law-giver is Death.
When Mr. Ragsdale left Hilo as a leper, the course he was likely to
take on Molokai could not be accurately forecasted; and it was felt
that the presence in the leper community of a man of his gift of
eloquence and influence might either be an invaluable assistance to
the government, or else a serious embarrassment. In every position
he had hitherto occupied, he had acquired and retained a remarkable
notoriety; and no stranger could visit the islands without hearing
of poor "Bill Ragsdale's" gifts, and the grievous failings by which
they were accompanied.
Hitherto the hopes of his well wishers have been fulfilled, and the
government has found in him a most energetic as well as prudent
agent.
Pages:
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441