The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-03-18
Sulus' Slaves aud Harems.

Boston, who is stationed at Jolo. As q
1 Moro ne is understood, and he resembles
the Filipino rather than his own people.
| who are taller and better SCI up men
| than the other islanders His face is
| sensual He has a broad nose. rather
| thick lips and a low forehead. In stat
ure he measures, in his shoes. about
/ feet inches. He writes in Arabic, is
1 proud OF the trip he made to Mecca. and
hopes for the sake of peace and good
will that his religion viii not be inter-
/ fered with.
| The sultan's name is Hadji Mahcmned
Jamalul Hiram. While his rule in the
| Sulu group is supreme ne is not infre-
| quently baked in some OF his purposes
| by powerful dattos, or chiefs, who rule
| certain districts. In q row. some years
! ago, with one of these chiefs, the sultan
| was defeated. but the chief, not wishing
| to Be- sultan, did not claim the spoils OF
| Yictofy. Powerful in the sultan's coun-
| sells is his mother, the sultana, woman
! of 80, very shrewd, a far-seeing woman,
who is convinced that q row with the
United States would bring calamity 10 her
son. Being mother of the sultan. sae
| ranks in power the suitan's chief wife,
even if that first wife be Of the blood
royal 1t makes one smile to think of
| blood royal among these black-toothed
| betel chewers, but the Moros have a rec
| ord Of their royalty traced directly irons
| the founder of the sultanate, who came
over here from Borneo ever so long ago
| and opened a harem.
| Until recently the sultan had a wife
! Of blood equal to his own, but she tired
| OF his attentions to others and went
! home to her ma. 1t was an instance OF
| the old story over again. She was jeal-
| Gus OF a pretty concubine, and the con-
| cubtne laughed and made faces at her
| with impunity. Now the sultan is trying
| to induce her to return, but, woman-like.
she mounts her dignity and says: Sir.
| how dare your"
/ But the sultan certainly isn't wife
| hungry There is no poverty Of them at
| his home, and even if the number allow
| ed him by the koran is not sufficient
| ne has the power 10 round up and run
| in any girl or woman in the island. What
l tell was told to me. so don't be disap-
! pointed II you discover in some other &C
| count things contrary to what / am going
to tell. My informant has lived here
more than 20 years. He is a German,
was born in Singapore, and speaks the
language OF the Moros as we'll as the
sultan himself Many years ago this
mans father was fast friend of one of
the sultans.
The sultan does not maintain a harem
are slaves who in various ways become
such, some for debt. some for theft.
many because they prefer to give or sell
themselves to master rather than rough
it through life on a meager income. But
there are instances which many recall of
the sultan using his power to take any
pretty girl reported to him by his pro-
curers and keeping her until the novelty
of her beauty and freshness wore off.
|
not, however, the power of enslaving any
of his subjects, but this power OF taxi
ing any one for a, time has never been
disputed, though fathers and mothers on
hearing that their daughters were in dan
ger of being summoned by the sultan
have smeared them with dirt, touzzled
their hair and dressed them in rags, hop
ing in this way TO divert his fancy. But
high-handedness of this kind Is rarely re-
ported The dattos have become so pow
erful that the sultan is compelled to con-
slider well every act, every move.
Slavery in this group is misnomer 1t
is not slavery as the American people in
terpret the word. but the whites in these
ATTITUDES call it slavery for want of a
more expressive term. Men become slaves
in many ways. A theft may make a per-
son a slave if he has not the wherewith
to pay the fine imposed usually num-
Der of pieces of cloth. Once he is en-
slaveds everything he ears belongs TO his
master, so, you see, 1t is quite inpos
Sible for him TO free himself by the sweat
of his brow. An -terested friend might
pay the master the price and free him,
but kindly disposed friends Of that kind
are rare in Sululand.
Men who Kill their fellow-men are
sometimes sentenced to be slaves. The
death sentence is seldom imposed. When
it is the victim is tied to a tree and
hacked to death with barongs all Of
those present at the execution of the SEN
tence being privileged to try the cut
ting quality of their knives on him.
Killings are frequent among the natives
in the back country, and as death SEN
fences for this crime are rare, the supply
of slaves is kept up. A murderer may
free himself by paying 20 pieces of cloth.
equal to $105 (Mexlcan), but If he is pow
erless to get together so much cloth or
that amount of silver he becomes a slave
Such offenders enslave their entire fami-
lies. If a man or woman owes another,
say p cents, and cannot pay 1t, the cred
itor claims the debtor as his slave 10
hold until the debt is paid. l was waited
on at dinner in my informan'ts house by
one of three little girls, children Of
slaves who have been in bondage more
30 cents Mex" % cents American, but
the father was too poor to pay and he
asked the man to whom he was indebt-
ed to take care Of himself and wife.
The owner of slave may sell such q
slave to another. Men slaves do not
bring high prices, but women sell for any
amounts from $40 10 $3.50. II she be good
to look upon the price jumps, and down
it goes IL she be plain.
Children cannot be sold. not even the
children OF slaves. Should a woman
slave or c0ncubine. as they are called,
have a child by her master. she becomes
a free woman, and the child takes her
slavery. She IS not, however. free 70 20
and do as she might wish. but free in the
sense that she cannot BE- sold and should
her master die while she and her child
were alive such death would free both
absolutely
knowledge that 4 free man has been
loving a slave rot wisely. but too wei'.
results In the bondage o. the lover.
though ne may. with her masters con-
sent. marry her, according 70 law. and
save himself ard her children from tire
stigma. such turn o. affairs would not
change his status. bit Il Is seldom that
such offenders have money enough 20 pay
the marriage fee. 81 which case they
Join the great army u 0ond vo-kers "
free woman would tni1k o. marrying
slave. because such an act would lover
har 70 his station. As a rule. slaves IN
terUsrry.
They are not an abused people. nor are
they hard worked, ard from what ! was
able % learn during short stay. they
age qElte content. Slavery Is nor cor
secrated institution Il IS Father susu
method FOR Taghttng certain WrouEs saa
for the taking care q those rot eaEnpe-
tent 70 take care Of themselves There
are no 5egza-s IN Su.a}an5- People are
careful not % contract Ge5ts. ard 08e "a
net troubled - 'toGc5eTH. WHO want
q. 80 =