The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-15
N FARTHEST AMERICA
There Is JoIo, With Its Cats
and MoSIem Fanatics.
OUEERESTAMERICAN TOWN
Native Sports and Customs
The CharIeSton's "Dato,"
OUEERESTAMERICANT TOWN
Goreign Correspondence of the Chicago

Manila, P. L, Sept. Solo is an Ameri-
can town where there's no newspaper, no
trolly car, no railroad, no bank, no wo-
man. no church, no candidate fort office,
no ice, no preacher. There is nothing
really American at Jo1o except 500 SOL
diers, who sit on a little pier and
watch for some boat to come in with the
mail AS there is boat only once in ev-
cry two or three weeksthis gives steady
employment to the soldiers and keeps
them from worrying about other things.
There are Chinamen-about 1900 of
them-in Jolo, and outside the city wall
the Mohammedan natives of the island Of
Jolo stand about in picturesque attitudes.
and barter their barengs, and krisses,
and spears. and headdresses, and scarfs,
and anything else they may happen to
have on, to the soldiers.
The soldiers who are not sitting on the
pier watching for the mailboat walk idly
about the town. They cannot walk far in
any direction WITHOUT either butting up
against the city wall or walidn into the
ocean, so they either sit in the parks,
which are not quite as big as a hotel
dining-room in the States, or go to the
small shops kept by Cinnamon, and drink
warm POD and hot beer and debate on
whether or not the mail viii come in on
Thursday Of this week or on Monday af-
ternoon Of next.
People who have not time to look into
a geography whenever they read the pa
pers nowadays may be bothered to know
whether Jolo is that town IN the western
part Of Jorto Rico. or on the Island Of
oahu or Hawaii, or the one to which Ag-
ulnaldo's men retreated after the fall Of
1alolos, But Jolo is more remote than
any Of these, in fact. it is the farthest
away from the United States Of all Amer
ican towns. It is on the island of Jolo,
which has another name, Sulu, that it
answers to just as willingly.
Sulu or the map is at the bottom of the
PHILIPPINE group, and half way between
5}orne0 and AIindaRao. It Is only ten
railes wide and thlrty-four miles long.
THE town of Jolo is only six degrees from
the equator. and the families and friends
of the Twenty third Regiment probably
ere worrying themselves a good deal
lilDIe III N the oLdleS over Inc lIlGHllul
heat in which their heroes supposedly are
sweltering than are the heroes them
selves. Most of the men find it neces-
sary to sleep under an army blanket at
night and were exchanging anxious in
ouiries the August morning I left there
as TO whether it was going to snow. The
temperature was hardly ever, even at
MONDAY, above Sc degrees, and went as
low at night as IS degrees.
OF all the strnge towns that America
has adopted during the last year. Jolo is
the strangest. Perhaps the Vassar girls
phrase for anything unusual should be ap
piled to 1t, for Jolo SIS positively weird"
TT is not town of Sulu naives, for the
natives are carefully corraued at sun
down every night by the provost guard
end put out of town, and the big wooden
gate IS shut in their faces and not opened
again until o'clock in the morning.
Then the natives may come into town If
Shey first take off their harongs and
slnives and other impedimenta Of Var and
hang them in a shed called the lanceria
outside. Then II the subsidized Moro,
whom the Americans employ as special
policeman, and who stands guard at the
city gate. says the applicant for admis-
sion IS a good Moro and not liable to turn
Juramentado and try to gain heaven by
a single bound by removing the head of
anybody whom he chooses to consider a
Christian. the soldiers admit the Moro
and permit him the freedom of the city
until shutdown.
At fifteen minutes after a bugler at
regimental headquarters sounds a call
known as the moro call" 1t is set down
in army regulations as the signal for
"skirmish drill" but. 1t means to the Mo
ros that they are to sllirmish out of town
as fast as they can If they do not wish TO
be escorted by young men with bayonets.
So Jolo IS a native town only in day
light At night the natives seek other
towns-Bush-Bush and other places along
the -sea-shore a half mile or more from
10 even at all hours of the day. From
= o'clock until the gate IS closed and
they can neither leave nor enter the city
These customes originated with the Span
iards, who held the town from 1851 down
10 a few months ago when they pulled
down their flag and the Americans took
formal possession of the place.
Jolo formerly was the residence Of the
Sultan, but after the Spaniards took the
city he retired to AIaybun on the opposite
side Of the island. and that place has re-
manned the seat OF the Sultanate ever
since. The Spsniaris never We're able TO.
get far outside Of Jolo except with full
regiment that had to fight as it went. It
was as much as the Spaniards could do
TO keep Jolo. and they did that only by
building q high wall around the town and
maintaining practically a state of siege
all the time.
Many of the customs that the American
troups stiU observe IN Jolo were institute
ed by General Arolas. the best Governor
Snain ever sent 10 any of lis colonies.
When Arolas went 70 Jolo the Juvamen-
7sd6s VINO had taken their vows % ole
sfling CHRISTIANS. would sin into town
: at niEat and begin asmassaepe. O. con-
seal Weapons IN their clothing byssay and
wait Until they,were Well inside the city.
9-4hsr they would suddenly run amuck
sznds ki4kriSl and left Until {BeS, finally
met the Death they sotsht. Arolas es-
tablished the lancsria, witch the Ameri-
cans call the spear market" Just OUT
side the city gate. where ali Moro's are
stopped by a guard and searched Tor
weapons.
The Americans have no fears OF the Ju-
ramentados. cur men wander around a.
the Ianceria in the midst ot the crowds
OF Withholding Moros that could hack
them 10 pieces In a moment with no more
concern than they would show in push
ing their way through d crowd in State
street. II s hardly 10 be expected that
religious prejpdices and customs can be