People with leprosy were to be taken to a hospital near Honolulu for treatment, and those deemed incurable would be taken to Kalaupapa, where houses and farm fields would be waiting for them. They were allowed to bring family members with them to help with chores and provide medical assistance. And so the first group of patients arrived in January 1866. The men were given an axe or shovel and a blanket; the women were just given a blanket. There had been months of delay in finding a boat and waiting for the seas to calm down enough to get to the island. In the meantime, the crops in the field
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