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The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai
Scribner
January 2006
432 pages
ISBN: 074323300X
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction | Historical
In the bestselling tradition of In the Heart of the Sea, The
Colony reveals the untold history of the infamous American
leprosy colony on Molokai and of the extraordinary people
who struggled to survive under the most horrific circumstances. In 1866, twelve men and women and one small child were
forced aboard a leaky schooner and cast away to a natural
prison on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. Two weeks later, a
dozen others were exiled, and then forty more, and then a
hundred more. Tracked by bounty hunters and torn screaming
from their families, the luckless were loaded into shipboard
cattle stalls and abandoned in a lawless place where
brutality held sway. Many did not have leprosy, and most of
those who did were not contagious, yet all were caught in a
shared nightmare. The colony had little food, little
medicine, and very little hope. Exile continued for more
than a century, the longest and deadliest instance of
medical segregation in American history. Nearly nine
thousand people were banished to the colony, trapped by
pounding surf and armed guards and the highest sea cliffs in
the world. Twenty-eight live there still. John Tayman tells the fantastic saga of this horrible and
hopeful place -- at one time the most famous community in
the world -- and of the individuals involved. From the very
first exile -- a gentle part-time lawyer trapped in an
unjust ordeal beyond his imagination -- to the last
remaining residents, the narrative is peopled by presidents
and kings, cruel lawmen and pioneering doctors, and brave
souls who literally gave their lives to help. A stunning
cast includes the martyred Father Damien, Robert Louis
Stevenson, Jack London, Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, John
Wayne, and more. The result is a searing tale of survival
and bravery, and a testament to the power of faith,
compassion, and heroism.
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