The Saint Paul globe., 1900-05-13
to work drilling his men for the insurrec-

ton.
One day he discovered that Chinaman
who had been his body-servant for many
months was afflicted with leprosy. He
sent him away, and soon forgot the Incl
dent. The plan for a general insur: &C.
ton miscarried, and in June, 1885, Perez
and other conspirators were captured and
put to death in the place of execution in
NueVitas.
De Soto escaped to Santiago and ship
ped on board a schooner for Savannah,
Ca, intent upon rejoining his wife At
point off NueVitas a mast was carried
away, and the vessel put into the bay for
repairs. One Of the Sailors who had liv-
ed in Honolulu, stepped up to De Soto and
closely inspected his hands and ears, with
out touching them. Then he spoke 10 his
shipmates All gave the passenger a wide
berth, and looked at him with aversion.
A deputation waited on the captain and
loudly demanded that De Soto be left
ashore.
What is the matter with me?" inquired
the doctor, who overheard the colloquy
You are leper." said the sal or who
had first scrutinized him
The unhappy man was rowed ashore
and handed over to the alcalde as Gu
ban leper. The alcaIde ordered him to
flee into the solltudes and not to ap-
proach a human dwelling on pain Of
death. For a long time he wandered In
the forest, fleeing from every sign of life
living on wild fruits, tortured bodily by
his disease and mentally by the thought
that 1t was no longer in his power to
make reparation to his wife. Thus he
found his way to Puerto Principe and was
clapped in the lazar house, a filthy place
in which lepers and the insane minge
their miseries.
FRIENDS REVELATION
From here De Soto wrote a letter 10 an
old friend, c. e. Hamilton, of MAIDS IN,
Wis, telling him what had happened. and
asking him to settle up the property 50
that Mrs. De Soto might live in comfort,
but cautioning him not to reveal to her
the terrible secret.
Hamilton came to New York on this
mission, and when Mrs. De Soto entreat-
ed him to tell the truth about her hus-
band. ne showed her the letter
L have never known whether to bless
or curse him for betraying my conf
dence, said the leper in after years
Mrs. De Soto was at her hu. bands side
within three months, and she has dwell
with him ever since, Indifferent to the
dangers of contagion, to the squalor Of
the place, to everything save the duty of
minlstering to her husband in his afflic-
ton. She brought with her their joint for
tune, and this she invested in some house
property in the town. But the Spanish
commander Of the province DESTROYED the
houses and conflscated the land, so that
they were left penniless.
Four years ago the irsurrection was
made by the municipality a pretext for
cutting off the laZar house supplies 1t
was then that Mrs. De Soto went TO work
in the hospital to earn a pittance for her
charge. And all the time she nurscd bin
unremittingly and kept his cell as clean
as scap and water could make it. Il waa
a remarkable coincidence by which the
leper became known to an old friend
after the close of the Spanish-American
war.
DR.. L. B. Tanner, United States army
surgeon with the rank of major, who
was detailed to the hospital at Puerto
Principe, visited the lazar house in com
pany with some officers Of the Fifteenth
infantry and the Eighth cavalry In that
abode of wretchedness they were startled
to hear a voice from one of the cells
saying:
Como in here. you Americans! Come
IN"
They shuddered at the invitation to
enter leper's cell, and were about to
pass on, when the same voice added:
There Is nothing to be afraid Of Do
you think L would ask one Of my coun.
trymen to run the risk Of catching this
horrible disease? Come in and gladden.
me with the sound of an American voice
for the first time in fourteen years!'
They entered the cell, which was in two
compartments, each containing a stone
bench for bed. On one of these benches
lay the owner Of the voice, a being hor-
rible to look upon, but so pathetically
eager to see the visitors that their re-
pugnance was overcome by pity. By his
side stood woman, tall and proud and
infinitely tender. She did not speak. Per-
haps her emotion was too deep But the
leper was loquacious. That the war was
over and Cuba occupied by the Americans
was news to him. He told them his own
history. When he mentioned his name
Or. Tanner exclaimed:
''Why, I knew you years ago. AS a
student at Baltimore I used your fathers
textbooks. My names Tanner. Don't
you remember me in New York;"
The leper cried with joy at the meeting
When the Americans left the lazar house
after a long and moving conversation
with De Soto, Mrs. De Soto followed them
to the gate and plucked for each of them