The feat of the Sister of Mercy Kate Marsden

Kate Marsden (1859-1931) was an English nurse who devoted much of her life to alleviating the plight of patients with leprosy. At that time, leprosy was considered a highly contagious, incurable disease. For the first time, Kate Marsden saw patients suffering from this ailment in Bulgaria during the Russian-Turkish war. The sight of the unfortunate caused deep pity in her heart and a desire to alleviate their situation. Then she made a vow to herself: to devote her life to helping such people.

“The Empress confirmed the message I had heard, both in Constantinople and in Tiflis, about the existence of a plant that is said to alleviate the suffering caused by leprosy and in some cases heals disease.  I was also told that this plant can be found in the distant Yakut province, located in Siberia, where there are many lepers; but, since the locals jealously keep her secret, none of those who wanted to get information about her out of selfish motives, could not hope to get any information".

“Since our goal was very serious, I made sure that our departure attracted as little attention as possible. Prepared, we hit the 2,000-mile journey on June 22, 1891".

The unfavorable situation with leprosy in the Yakutsk region, especially in the Vilyui and Kolymsky districts, has been known for a long time.

“Some local people in these wild lands eat tree bark mixed with milk and sometimes fish or poultry. Bread, even black bread, is an incomprehensible luxury for many. Milk is often sold in frozen blocks. Fish, meat - virtually everything - is frozen".

The situation with leprosy patients living in isolation far away in the taiga was also a big problem for the Yakut diocese. 

“In the yurt where we were staying, we were provided with a rather large lunch - black food fried like pancakes, sour cream, tea and milk, as well as a dish of fish caught in the summer and kept frozen ever since.  . I was grateful for the rest in this yurt, despite the choking smoke coming from the burning pile of cow dung in the middle of it. The opening at the top, through which the smoke was released, was closed, and this method was the only means of protection against the incessant infestation of mosquitoes and flies".

Accompanied by Father John, Miss Marsden visited all the lepers of the Srednevilyui district, saw their homes, got acquainted with their way of life and collected various information about them.

“... in the settlement of the Khatynnaakh lepers, a scene appeared before me, too horrible to describe it in full. Twelve men, women and children, poorly and dirty dressed, huddled in two small yurts infested with vermin. The stench was terrible; one man died, two men lost their toes and half of their legs; they tied wooden planks to their knees to move around. One man had no fingers, and the poor stumps raised for the sign of the cross were enough to bring tears to the eyes of the most callous".

They arrived in Yakutsk in August 1892, collecting many donations along the way. Two sisters remained to serve at the Yakutsk civil hospital, and three sisters were sent on November 23 (December 5) to Vilyuisk with Dr. Nesmelov.

“I got up and hurried to the poor fellow, who even cried when he saw that I was not afraid of him; and kneeling down, touched the ground with his forehead to express his gratitude. These prostrations to the ground in gratitude were a painful test for me; but no matter what I did, I couldn’t interfere with them, being unable to speak with people in their native language; and, finally, I was forced to reconcile, because I was told that this is a local custom, and by objecting to it, I offend the feelings of people“.