Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1899-02-07

A0A6o AuAucACo dAAho Ia WOAAUAy duU
spiritual affairs. performing the Office
of physician and officiating at the re-
lgious exercises of his faith.
Public worship is held on Friday.
when worshipers are called to the
mosque by beating upon box or hollow
piece Of wood. Solemn ceremonials
mark births and Deaths At the funeral
Of .datto or chief the panditas intone
a weird chant. accompanied with Gym.
balls and gongs and the loud lamenta.
tions Of the mourners. This ceremony
is followed by feast. after which the
body. attired in white. is sprinkled
with salt and camphor and laid away
in wooden coffin. the place Of burial
being marked by wooden or stone
slab inscribed in Arabic. A shell full OF
water is placed on the grave.
The Sulu islanders follow the habits
of 'Mussulmahs in the matter Of dress.
Favorite colors among the women arc
scarlet and green. They wear q baggy
dual neither garment and = tight fitting
bodice and sleeves. showing tho contour
Of the figure. On the head they place q
narrow cloth sack open at the sides and
reaching nearly to the feet. the lower
part of which Is caught up and held
under the arm. Like orientals generally
they are fond of jewelry and wear
many finger rings of seashell and metal.
as well as large and flashy earrings.
Their hair is arranged in n coil on the
top of the head. . Male dress is equally
bright in color. consisting of close fit
ting breeches and waistcoat, both pro-
fusely decorated with buttons. and q
jacket reaching to the" hips. A turban
serves for headdress. Chiefs add many
additional adornments to their cos
tulhes.
OF the Sulus it has been said that
"they are Of quick perception, auda-
cious, extremely sober, ready to promise
everything and do nothing. vindictive
and highly suspicious Of strangers
intentions. They are very long suffer
ing in adversely. hesitating in attack,
and tho bravest of the brave in de-
fense. Hardy in constitution, their
bodies are agile and active. and they
have cultivated to a high degree the
art Of diving and remaining under wa
ter. an accomplishment which serves
them in pearl fishing. one Of their chief
industries. Their complexion is dark
bronze. their eyes piercing, foreheads
low. hair lank and worn hanging down
the neck. Agriculture and manufac-
lures are in primitive state. Arms.
such as swords. lances, daggers, assegais
and coats Of mail impervious to hand
weapons. are made at home. Trade is
confined principally to pearls. shells
and shark fins: Many rifles have been
imported into the archipelago from for
eign sources. All male inhabitants
above 18 years are compelled to undergo
military service. The language used is
q mixture of Sanskrit and Arabic.
= For two centuries and half the
Mussulmans of Mindanao and the Sulus
were pirates and a source Of terror to
the entire Philippine group. Their war
junks. though never exceeding seven
tons in size. were skillfully navigated
and able to make long voyages? Muir
der. rapine and the slave trade were
the objects of the piratical expeditions
sent to Negros. Panay,, and even to
Luzon prior to the development Of
steam navigation Countless expedi-
tions against these pirates were organ
lied by the Spaniards at great cost, but
it was not until 1860, when ~ steam
gunboats were. sent to the Philippines,
that Mussulman piracy, except in the
immediate ;neighborhood Of their own
islands. was completely ezxtinguished.
Za1nboanga,. the strongly fortified
port and naval station on the southern
!, coast of Mindanao, to which the Span
ish forces recently reiterated from 1loilo.
was long the headquarters Of Spanish
operations against the piratical Mos
lens. 1t was in Spanish possession for
moro than two centuries. and until
very lately the only Spanish outpost
held in the Mussulman territory.-New
York Sun. {