The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1901-07-11

| tt "a iieS--eSsv~y a n n i
An army officer tossesses the aniqu<
honor Of having been appointed this
father" of a Mah6netSN FAsel Two
years ago such thing. 4 pfeaisted.
would have been regarded as the To-
suit Of a very vivid Imagination, but
our extension Of military rule 10 some
peculiar parts Of the world has made
the incident not so startling az II
might be. although II 10 sufficiently
notable, rsays the Philadelphia Post.
The officer is Maj o. ]. Sweet, Twenty
third infantry, who is the governor of
the interesting province of Sulu. In
his mail recently was this letter from
q native source. The text of the let
ter, was, translated, as follows:
This letter comes from your sister,
the Sultana Incha Pamela, to my
brother, Maj. Sweet, the governor of
Piange.
| "This is to inform you that am go
Ing to Limana to follow up your son
Attick, to enable him to see his fiancee.
1t is necessary that I should be there
before he is allowed to see her. am
letting you know this, as it is possible
that 1 may not be able to return soon
The ceremony of asking girl in mar
riage generally takes long time, as
1t is never certain whether the party
will be accepted or not. l beg you to
watch over your son, the sultan, and
over your grandchildren and mine.
Don't listen to any i'll reports that
you may hear. but first inquire of me
or the sultan whether they be true or
not. People nowadays delight in maxi
ing mischief and in creating enmity
between the higher people as well as
the lower classes: therefore it Is al
ways best to make inquiries on both
sides as to the truth of these reports.
! beg you to do this. Greetings and
best wishes to you.
Eleventh day of Raiab, 1885,"
There is situation back of this let
ter which should not be lost in the war
department archives. The writer of
the letter is the sultana mother and
a great friend of Maj. Sweet, to whom
she is of material assistance in the ad-
ministration of Mahometan affairs.
principally through the good will she
has for the American governor and
the influence she has had with her
subjects, almost all of whom esteem
and accept her counsel. She calls Mai.
Sweet father" and "brother," ac-
cording to the transient inspiration.
The son, Attick, is 20 years of age,
and the second heir to the sultanate.
"Attick" is a nickname which is not
relished by its bearer, whose real
name is Datto Mahamad Aurural Um-
rak. He early evinced a fondness for
Maj. Sweet, whom in turn he i'm
pressed by his natural brightness and
amiable disposition.
The young prince soon grew to re-
spect the American governor and to
appreciate the interest which was
taken in him. He expressed desire
to become Maj. Sweets son, and prom
ised to be faithful and obedient as to-
ward father. Maj. Sweet agreed to
the proposition, and he and the
prince exchanged documents to show
that the officer accepted the honorary
responsibility of "father" to the
prince, according to the Mahometan
custom Of blood friendship. Among
the first bits of fatherly advice given
and taken was that young Attick
should give up the opium smoking
habit. @
Recently Maj. Sweet had occasion to
visit neighboring province on the
government steamer, and he invited
with him on that occasion his protege.
In the course of the trip the prince
took Maj. Sweet aside and expressed
. wish to confide secret to him. He
said he had sweetheart in Limana,
and that he would be grateful for per-
mission to visit her. Maj Sweet was
curious to inquire as to the plans of
the young prince, as he already pos
sessed the four wives allowed by his
religion. He explained that it was
his purpose some day to have the new
wife care for the others in his house.
This incident explains the text of the
sultana's letter. The officers at Jolo,
the headquarters of Maj. Sweet, de-
scribe the sultana rs an agreeable, re-
fined and charming oriental diplomat.
Her personal appearance IL said to be
attractive, uniting rare combina-
tion of oriental elegance and modern
grace. She would be, it is said. in bear
ing and appearance credit to New
York drawing-room.