Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-08-15
FACTS ABOUT MINDANA0
Philippine Island Inhabited
Chiefly by Moros.
SOIL MOST FERTILE IN THE WORLD

Sugar, Coffee, Hemp ana Cocoanuts
Can BE Raised In Abnndance-Moun
tsins Are Filled with Gold, Iron
and Ceal-How the Dattos Rule
Their Followers.
Interesting information regarding
the island Of Mindanaq. about the only
one Of the Philippine Islands where
open hostility tn American arms now
exists, is given in recent letter from
the special correspondent Of the Ma
Mia Freedom, who writes:
The public having become acquainted
and probably interested in the recent
doings Of Americans in Mindanao, the
writer deems 1t in oruer that a de-
scription Of the island, it's people and
Its resources would prove interesting,
and to that end shall endeavor to por-
tray the conditions as l have found
them through observation. As is
known, the island is inhabited almost
entirely by Moros to the number Of
100000. They are Mohammedans and
are ruled by sultan as far as re-
Ngion is concerned; otherwise the sui
tan has no control over his subjects.
The Moros of the lake region are really
in as primitive condition as they were
q century ago. They are divided into
bands, each band being ruled by a
chief, who styles himself datto or sui.
tan, as his means will allow.
Each datto is independent of the
others and has fort in his own
principally. There are some sixty or
seventy Of these sultans or dattOs in
the island. They are frequently at war
with one another, but once aroused in
their religious feelings they would
quickly unite, and there would be
general uprising among them and
united resistance against what they
would consider as the common enemy.
They are fanatcal in their warfare
and are really only in a semicivilized
state.
They have no conception Of civilized
warfare and resort to savage methods
In their fighting. They are mostly
armed with spears or bolos, but have
many rifles among them, both Reming-
ton and Mauser, the use Of which they
have not thoroughly learned. In the
forts of the stronger dattos may be
found cannon of very ancient type.
Some are of the sixteenth century,
while the most modern are at least
century old. The charge Of one Of
these cannon consists of old pieces Of
iron, humps of lead in crude form and
rocks. The people make their own
gunpowders 1t is the general opinion
that they secure their arms through
the Chinese people in the islands, al
though this is not an assured fact.
1t will take many years to thoroughly
civilize these peoples, especially in the
lake region, as they are the most OBJ
stinate and the hardest to convince
that the Americans mean well. They
are very sensitive and the easiest peo-
pie in the world to insult However,
their ignorance will not prevent the
development of the islands, and it is
predicted that within the next three
years Mindanao will be peopled with
American farmers, prospectors and
miners and just as the great west of
the United States leaped suddenly out
of waste inD the fairest and richest
region Of America so the island of
Mindanao will spring into its rightful ,
position Of supremacy in the Philip
pine archipelago
No al, Or,
many miles has most wonderful ia
cilities for agricultural development. In
fact, the entire island is country of
most marvellous promise The seeker
after fortune, be he agriculturist
miner or business man. will find in
Mindanao the most fruitful field in the
orient.
What Mindanao lacks is freedom
freedom for its people to cultivate the
lands, freedom for them to travel with (
some degree of safety throughout the .
island to enable them to reach an out 4,
let for the products OF the interior. !
What they need most is an opportunity |
to lcarn-to learn from books the meth
DDS Of the west and the methods of !
civil government. They do not hunger |
for it. They do not understand it. |
They need to be taught
The problem of educating these peo- !
pie will indeed be Il hard task The
language of the Moros is Arabic, one of !
the most difficult languages known and !
this is the one great barrier toward !
their education. 1t will be necessary /
for our teachers to master Arabic in or
der to accomplish anything, as only a
very small percentage of the Moros
Spanish.
Backed by American capital, Min !
1anao would become a strong com
pettor of Java in its sugar planta-
tions, having the most fertile soil in I
the world and being peculiarly adapt I
ed to the raising of this staple article.
The region to the north of Lake Dcpao /
Is a hourishing hemp country Sugar,
coffee and cocoanuts can also be raised
IN abundance, From Lake Lanao to
The Pacific ocean the mountains are