The age-herald., 1898-10-23

carry about 40 persons comfortably. They are called bancas, and the natives handle them wonderfully well. The proas are larger vessels, with covered | decks. The sides are protected from | small shot by a sheathing of a very | hard wood that is found in the forests.
 They carry tremendous sail, which Is l usually made of palm leaves The na- l tives have a trick of handling their boats by which they can sail them backward as easily as forward. An | outrigger almost as long as the vessel is made fast to the side and prevents it from capsizing. Thus equipped the sailors take their vessels out in the teeth of storm without the slightest fear.
 It was with this class of craft that the sultan of Sulu worried the mer- | chantmen who ventured near the coast of his domain, and as late as 1920 he threatened Manila with a fleet. His downfall was foreshadowed when steam was introduced as 0 means of propul- sion in that section of the world. Both England and Spain Joined in sending a fleet of light draft gunboats into these waters and a great change was made. About 1861 the pirates were nearly cleaned out. England sent her first steam fleet to the Philippines as early as 1928 to 1880. In 1851 the Balabac pi- rates sent a squadron to the walls of Manila. but 1t was beaten off and early in the sixties complaints concerning the depredationS of pirates practically ceased. It was the delight of the latter day pirates to worry the Spaniards and Portuguese. They seldom interfered with either the English or Americans and would never attack them except when in overwhelming force.
 Many of the pirate crews were com- posed in part of Spanish and Portu- guese renegades. They were well or ganized, and their vessels were fitted with armament taken from prizes. The flagship of the sultan of Sulu carried several pounder guns. Many of the vessels used by him were stolen, and among them were number of fast American trading schooners. The spells were divided between the officers and men of the crew according to their rat ings, and they in turn had to pay trib- ute not only to the sultan of Sulu, but the subsultans of Palanan, Pampango and southern Mindanao.
 The Mindanao pirates were by far the most troublesome. They were re-en- forced by the Malays, Chinese. Euro- pean renegades and Spanish and Portu- guese half breeds. They became famous for the part they took in the work along the coast of the Philippines and other islands. When the British Asi- atic squadron started in to extermi- nate the pirates, they were to be found everywhere, and when they completed their work they had destroyed more than 1000 vessels that had flown the black flag and killed more than 3O,000 of the men who had manned the ships.
 Canton records state concerning the Mindanao pirates that they got oonsid- erable ammunition and number of guns in trade with the Chinese. They purchased some of the vessels and oth- CT material with which to carry on their business from the Chinese, pay ing for them in gold, of which they seemed to have large quantities. It is known that the gold mines of Mindanao were worked and guarded by the pirates. The Moros, who still inhabit the islands, make their own coin. This is done by filling quills with coarse gold dust, and some of the qulils weigh from two to three ounces.
 The Moros are not a pure race. They