St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-03
HE BORE THE CROSS.

ing 4 portion of the morning tall,
dark conn leXiOned man who sat in one
corner of the room, and who spoke to no
one except the clerk for the purpose OF
making inquiries about his train. lie
spoke with a certain heSitancy, as
| though not familiar with the language,
and his voice had a strong foreign ac-
cent. The letter 50 was dwelt upon at
| length, and, while this gave his voice a
certain Kissing sound, it was musical
and pleasing to the ear.
THAT man has got a strange birth
mark" said Clerk Ehle Allen TO GLOBE
reporter. "YOu see he wears his hair
long over his forehead, but as be
brushed it aside while speaking to me |
saw that he had the mark of a perfect
cross, cut, apparently, in his forehead.
lie is Spaniard, and is OH his way to
| New York city,"
The man presented striking figure
as he sat engaged in apparent medlta-
| ton. He was very tall, with an erect
| figure. Under his black SLOUGH nat could
| be seen MASSES of thick gray hair, and
! the lower part OF his face was covered
with 4 thick, carefully trimmed beard:
| He was dressed in suit Of black, and
over his shoulders he wore, instead Of
an OvercOat, heavy cloak, which was
wound gracefully about his form.
70 whom have | the honor of speak
| ing?" he asked. in pleasantly mOdu-
| lated accents, and with courtly bow,
| as the GLOBE man requested him for
few moments conversation. Il have
not card with me-" he said, oil receiv-
ing one from the reporter. but you can
see my name on the register. | am
afraid thar | could not spell it for you
is the English language"
iG n nnt IA 81
as Leon y Ayamondilla, OF Rio de
JaneirO. He explained that he was on
his way to New York, from which place
he would sail for Spain in the course OF
few days "If little narrative which
/ can give you will be OF interest 10 the
readers of your paper, l will give you
one" he said; ''but it is all about my
self and some queer people with whom
have been living OH an island in the
Southern Pacific for the past twelve
years. DO you see this mark?" he asked,
as he brushed his hair back from his
forehead and exhibited a liYid scar
which was in the form of cross.
Il was consecrated by this token and
il would preserve me from the greatest
danger,if any of the people OF the island
were i'll the vicinity to protect me, even
at the cost OF their lives. The story is Il
long one, and if you have no objection
we will adjourn to the parlOr, where we
can talk without the fear OF mOleSta-
ton"
After the adjournment had been TAX
Ell, as suggested, and Senior AyamOndil |
la had ordered a bottle of BurdeoS Vino,
the conversation, or rather narrative |
was continued.
~ was born in South America" said |
thu senior. Il do not know the exact |
r,lo e I1r4l, lNr,r I ntNftt I'D
when a child about two years OF age |
during a raid which was made by Bra
lillian soldiers on the camp of some |
natives in the forests on the banks of a |
branch of the rio Negro. The name Of |
the branch is the PadaYiri river and it !
flows from the MandacaceS mountains, !
which separate the territory of Brazil |
from the AmaZOnaS territory. All of the |
natives were killed with the exception |
OF myself and the soldiers who commit
ted the outrage stated that among those |
WnO had been killed was man who |
had OH his forehead mark similar to |
the one on my forehead. They super |
stiti0usly refraIned from killing me be-
cause of the sacred cross on my fore
head, as they did not know what it |
meant. Around my neck was ansamu- |
let or scapula, which was also held to |
be some barDarOuS token OF SacrednesS. |
This was the sole cause of my life being |
spared by the soldiers, and they carried |
me carefully back to Rio. The soldiers |
reported that the members of the party |
killed were dressed differently than the |
natives ordinarily were clothed, and |
that their skins were winter than the |
Indians. There was only one woman in |
the party, and she had been killed at |
the first fire.
al. I'D 70 fl,o 81
the women or the household of the royal !
family. and | was brought up by them |
in very careful manner. On arriving |
at the proper age l was sent to school |
and taught by the priests, for whom l |
had a strange terror aversion. l could |
not understand this at all as they were |
very kind to me, but l had a nameleSs |
dread of their very presence. After be- |
coming a little older | overcame this, to |
a great extent; and pursued my studies |
in manner calculated to win the praise |
of my teachers and those who had par
ticipated in my earliest training. They |
always looked upon Ele with a certain |
respect, born of ignorance because of |
the mark on my forehead. 1t was
sacred emblem to them and they re-
comments on my strange birthmark, but
they were careful not to permit me to
hear what they said.
81 will pass over the minor details of
nv youth, as they are not of an inter
esting character. | continued my studies
until the age of fifteen years had been
reached, according to their reckoning, |
and | was intended for the priesthood. I
My very soul reyolted at the idea, al
though l could not fathom the cause. |
would rather have died than to have
continued In the study for such posi-
ton. and as there was no way out of it
but TO submit or escape determined Oh
the latter course. l was very careful
that no one should know of my resolve,
as | knew that | would be placed under
restraint, They did not know of my
horror, and l continued to enjoy the
peculiar liberties which had always
been extended to me-tO go where l
pleased during the proper hours and
make such short excursions into the
woods as l desired if l returned in
proper time.
lone day went down to the port and
sat on 4 bale of goods looking at the
ships as their cargOeS were shipped and
discharged. This was the only feasible
way OF escaping. If l went into the
woods [ would be starved or eaten by
the wild beasts, unless captured by the
One evening made up a little bundle
of clothing and silently stole down TO
the quay to go where destiny led. | met
a sea captain there who told me that he
was to sail that evening for Colon with
q cargo Of merchandise. l had small |
sum Of ready money i'll my pockets, and |
after a short argument l prevailed on |
him TO take me- as passenger in his |
ship.
lin this manner escaped from Brazil. |
My destiny was in full control of my |
movements. and had not the slightest |
care or wish as to my future destination,
We sailed first to the Island of Trini-
dad, where a portion of our cargo was
exchanged, and after stay of few
days we continued toward Colon. The
incidents of the voyage are not of inter-
est. Nothing occurred to make it I'M
usual, and after pleasant trip We ar
rived at our destination. saw our
destination, as that was the point where