The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-04

,, LIEUTENANT s. A. DE 'CLAIRMONT.
ages. But go in peace and you will find
them a peopie of much advancement, far
above the Fllipinos.''
Wonderfully Beautiful Women.
Castro spoke of them with great pride He
boasted of their beauty. strength and cour-
age. Their women are wonderfully beau
tiful, he says. They are tall, as a Filipino
reckons height, being over five feet. They
are athletic and graceful. They wear a
loose robe, falling from their shoulders and
beted with a cord of banana fiber. Their
hair is worn sometimes flowing, sometimes
coiled on the top of the head as gracefully
as a European woman would coil hers.
The men, he says, are splendid specimens
of manhood, being much over five feet in
height. They wear short pair of breeches.
and are naked above the waist. Many of
them have curling hair. All are fair-haired
and blue-eyed.
The color of the people thnlr~remarkable
intelligence. their skill III certain simple
arts, their grace and strength and beauty
their love of sportS-all these things were
characteristics of the Greeks of ancient civ
ilization; Why should not these people be
an off-shoot of ancient Athens? They are
a pleasure-loving people.
Castro has been present at many of their
festivals, which soccEr frequently. He says
that there Is nothing barbarous about Their
gayeties. They have all sorts of athletic
They have wonderfully graceful dancing BY
the men and women. They also have
made of bamboo. They are adorned on
these occasions with all kinds of curious
ornaments-bits of colored stone. claws of
birds gay feathers and flowers. The wom-
en- are passionately fond of flowers and
they raise them In little gardens near their
homes.
Are Thoroughly Domestic.
They are thoroughly domestic and they
keep their houses neat any model
honsekeeper of our own country. They are
clean in every way: although their homes
brown natives.
They use the cariboo and they raise
many domestic animals. Pigs were taken
there in trade and now they are f1ourishing.
Castro goec to them to trade sugar. rice
and coffee for cloth and birds plumage.
disc of the mountain people. They raise
most of their own food, but have none to
sell.
an. educated man for a Filipino; speaks
Spanish. and is more or less familiar with
all the dialects of the islands. and says that
this bears no resemblance to any one OF
them.
But he is able to converse with them:
through their knowledge. of Spanish, and
this has come to them through a happen
ing as romantic as any that you could
fancy.
Kidnapped Boy Becomes sultan.
new ruler They did not know that he was
to be their ruler when he came. He pene-
trated to their fastnesses: he came un-
armed and they admitted him. They then
learned who he was. When only years
old he had been taken from one OF
their huts by a Spanish surgeon. The
mother and father had run at his approach
leaving behind their twin boys.
As the parents were too much frightened
to return, the Spaniard took the children to
Spain. There he educated them and they
became Christians. One of them was a
law student. AS soon as he was old
enough. he set out for his native land. TAX
ing along with him the education and the
religion of which his fathers knew moth
ing. As soon as the people realized who
he was they acclaimed him their sultan.
partially Christianized them They are fast
leaving their Mohammedan religion ana
are taking up the creed which he holds;
He lives among them in Spanish style,
J ciinging to many of the customs which ne
: learned in Europe's advanced civilizatiQn.
But'he will never leave his own people He
has only one purpose and that Is to ao-