Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1882 — Leprosy In Louisiana. [ARTICLE]

Leprosy In Louisiana.

A writer for the Morgan City (La.) Review, who has lately visited the Bayou LaFourche, says: As a companion and myself approached a house below the Cutoff .he told me the entire family were afflicted with leprosy. I saw a man hobble out with a half-sack of rice on his beut shoulders; he was followed by three little children. There was a trading boat coming up the bayou at the time, and so we stopped at the fence, and my companion exchanged a few remarks in French with the unfortunate. One excellent quality about this poor man and his children was the lack of that everlasting trait of the ’Cadin “handshaking.” He didn’t rush up to us and hold out his whole arm, like a Hindoo could, until something happened to lower it, but, instead, he went ou jolting his rice down into his sack, and now and then canting fugitive glances over to where we stood at the fence, beside our horses. When the trading boat tied to the bank, he went on board with his children, and we followed. This man had what is called elephantiasis: his legs and feet were horribly swollen, and were encased in shapeless canvas coverings—neither shoes nor mocCasins. At two isolated, common, novel-looking dwellings my companion pointed, and said: “There is leprosy in there.” But the houses were closed up; doubtless the inmates were out in their little rice patches, and so we rode on. “I’ve hearn that sometimes these poor creature* hail the trading boats for something to eat or to trade with them, and they ‘pass by on the other side;’ is this true?” “You have seen how that family was treated above here. No trading boat shuus them, except the trader is out of provisions or lias a full return of freight; then he don’t stop for anybody.” > “Do any of the children of these lepers attend the public schools?” “No. Though these lepers keep to thems»lves they are all known. One of the/hildren of a leper down here tried to attend school last year, but the pupils all left immediately.”