Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-02
HAVE YOU TRIED
HAN HOUTENS Eating CHOCOLATE?
MOROS OF THE PHILIPPINES
Characteristics of Treacherous Tribe Who
Hate Christians
Entertaining Letter From Lieut.. Jen-
niRgs Il. Wilson. IA We1f-kno~n
Washington Boy.


/ Jennings b. Wilson of Company ID. 3lst
United States Volunteers. to his father in
this city will be of interest to the many
! friends of the young man and to the gem
erai reading public. 1t was written at
Isabella de Basilan. BasiIa Philippine
Islands. and was commenced December 50.
1880:
We left Manila December . and after
touching at lloio and Jolo got to Zamboango
! on Decembe? g. on the eth We started TO
land. At noon half of my company. with
Capt. Cabell, went aboard the United States
gunboat Manila and came here We landed
on the Sth. and. assisted by the sailors
from the ship. raised the first American
| flag on this island and took possession in
the name of the United States. l have tho
flag which We raised. 1t is quite valuable
relic
| islands and perhaps will not he, at leas,
with the Filipinos. for they are. l think,
truly loyal. Trouble, if it comes all. will
b. with the MorOS
Zamhoango. Mindanao. at which place you
would better address me- for we may not
stay here. as the navy is going to take
charge of the old naval station here and
We may be moved back to headquarters.
We occupy very good fort here and are
well pleased with our situation.
The navy left about $40 tons of coal
+, here last week and will no doubt leave
more. as this is the only good coaling sta
ton south of Manila
We are seven and one-haIf degrees north
of the equator ard 800 miles south of Ma
Mia, and not d thermometer in town, so We
do not know how hot it is
We never know when a boat is going to
land, so We are obliged to have our letters
ready al all times to take advantage of one
when it comes. This is dated today. but |
cannot tell how long it will be before a
boat puts in.
December n. II is Sunday. and as
am alone l will write a little more. Capt
Cabeil has gone to Zamboango for two days
is why ] say | am alone.
Fruit and Corn.
"This country is like all tropical coun-
tries that l nave seen and is very pretty
We have plenty of fruit and for today
dinner had green corn. You can't get
that in America on December 81. We get
great large pineapples for four cents, and
corn enough for fifty-eight people for 80
cents, our money. We pay in Mexican
money. which is the money of the islands
and. of course, PAY two of Mexican 10
one United States dollar
Il got your letter of November 5 on De-
cemher y. so you see how long it takes
for mail to reach us. But, of course as
things get more settled they will improve
As it is, all mail is carried on United States
ships. and their trips are not regular.
You know, perhaps don't know, that
all the Moros in these islands are controlled
by the Sultan Of Joio and Mindanao.
Each island. or separate tribe is ruled
by dato; and districts by mandarin.
Hatred of Christians.
They are obedient people to a dato
or sultan but hate Christian, and have
habit of what the Americans call running
amuck.' That is, they don't want to live
any longer and believe if they die killing
Christians that they go to heaven So
they start out, armed with bolo or krjes
and proceed to do up any Christian in sight
until they themselves get killed. The sui
tan claims the power of letting his sub
jects run amuck.' but they sometimes do
so without his permission.
They never count their ages and sell
their children and women 10 whoever wants
TO buy them. An old mandarin who lives
near here and calls on us every week or So
has four boys that he bought for thirty
dollars (Mexican) apiece. All the Cinnamon
buy their wives. The Moro Is small man.
wearing few clothes, and some of them
hone at all; and they live all their lives in
the country and along the coast but never
to any extent in towns. They are always
armed with q bolo or kries The old dato
on inns island has plenty of Mauser rifles
given him by the Spanish when they left i'm
hopes the Moros would fight the J-nitad
States The Spanish always had more M,
less trouble with them, but the Moro is NOT
much with the rifle.
This is new year, and our dinner con-
sisted OF baked beans, roasted sweet DO
tatoes. fried bacon. coffee and hard tack
The chickens here are too tough to he ear
en-, but We have plenty of eggs. The cattle
are dying of some disease like distemper or
lever, 50 We eat no fresh beef but the fish
are fine