The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-05-27

feet from the ground. There is one quite
large church. now without priest a
convent and a school building. The SOL
diers have cleaned up the town and have
made cutters along its principal streets
Its population is not more than 500 IL
is chiefly Visayan. the people dressing
and looking much like the inhabitants of
Panay and Luzon. They are very quiet
and are not at all like the Moros across
the bay.
The Fiercest of the SXo-o Tribes.
The Moros of Cottabato are said to be
the worst of all the Mohammedans OF
our new possessions. They have been
fighting the Spaniards since 1890. and al
most always successfully. They have q
good organization and thousands OF fight
ing men. Their chief datto is man
named Piang. who was originally a Chi
nese meztise slave. but who. by his force
of character, has raised himself to be a
commander of his people. He has all
the Chinese thrift combined with all the
Chinese cruelty. He is said to have made
himself very rich and to have added to
his wealth by killing such of his people
as would not submit TO his taxation.
Last September he killed twelve of the
leaGing insurrectos They were organ T.
ing against the Americans and had rails "A
an army and had seized one of the towns.
They were taxing the people, killing all
who opposed them. The Chinese mer-
chants appealed to Datto Piang. He
came in with his Moros picked out the
twelve insurrectos and sliced off their
heads
At present Datto Piang is friend to
the Americans Before our troops came
he sent word to Gen. Bates that he want
ed to turn over the region to him, and he
asked for an American flag. He appoint
ed Christians as presidentes of the vari-
Gus districts and put in a Moro guard to
carry out their orders.
Another datto of this same region is a
bloodthirsty fellow named Tito who
fought the Spaniards for years, but who
is now a friend of the Americans. He is
an old fellow. having passed his three
score and ten. He has one wife, the
daughter of the sultan of Mindanao who
Is about "a years old. and his concubines
are said TO number sixty. His wife is
kept in fine style She has no end of dia-
monds. and walks in golden slippers.
Queer o4rre-fcar Citizens.
I wish I could take you through the
crowd of American citizens whom we
found awaiting us on the wharf at Parang-
Parang. They were queer creatures to
he considered nephews of our own Uncle
Sam. l can tell you that | was glad.
that / had American soldiers with me
rs | passed among them. There were
scores of dark-faced men. each wearing
a great knife at hN side. There We're half
krises which are used by these people for
disembowelng their enemies and there
were others who carried the long swords
known here as campilans which are es-
pecialy used for cutting off heads. Some
of the men were armed with spears of
steel, with bamboo shafts. and others had
bows and arrows, the latter tipped with
steel and dipped in poison There was
such a variety of weapons that ! cannot
describe them all. Every man and every
boy had sword stuck in his belt or
fastened to his sash. Some of them scowl-
ed at us and others pointed to their knives
and offered to sell them to us.
The picture was gay, as well as savage
The men and boys wore bright-colored
turhanS and waist cloths. one or two
of the more distinguished citizens had on
skiu-tight trousers OF red. yellow blue
AM other coors, and in some cases striped
anG In others mixed. A few had jackets,
but most were bare to the waist their
brown skins shining like vanished ma
hogany under the sun Some wore tall
hats with tassels, and one little fellow,
the son of datto. was Respondent in
tights of turkey red calico. polka dotted
with white. Talk about the wild man OF
Borneo, You could see him on every
side, and more savage and wild than
Barnums curiosity ever was
Through this crowd we passed on our
way UP TO the town, seeing Moro women