The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-02-01
M0ROS OF SULU ARE
PICTURESQUE
PIRATES
Lient. Col. Sweet, of Twenty.
first Infantry, Describes
Character, Appearance, Pc
culiarities of Race of Brig
ands Inhabiting Islands Of
sulu Archipelago.

Lieut.. Col. owen J. Sweet, of the
twenty first regiment, stationed at
Fort Smelling, who served in the Phil
ippines, has given out q most interest,"
ing and instructive description of the
character, appearance and peculiar
traits of the Moro of the Sufu archipel.
ago. He brands the natives Of this
archipelago as pirates and points out
their moral depravity as indicated by
their usages and customs. Col. Sweet
says:
THE Moro of Sulu is q prince of
pirates, whose truth is ever elastic
and to whom honesty is a mystery. He
is from his religion naturally a fanatic.
He Is wiry, sinewy, athletic fellow,
very different from the Visayan or
Tagalo, and quite different from the
Filipino generally, and is a distinct
type in physical appearance in the
Orient. He has a bold and naughty
bearing and freedom Of manner extend
ing to9an almost defiant carriage
He dresses in fantastic garbs of
bright and brilliant colors and is as CAV
in manner as gaudy in garb. A varie-
gated uniqely folded turban, a highly
colored silk sash to hold his deadly,
handsomely carved and adorned borong
or krise, short jacket ornamented
with bright metal clasps or filigree
work of buttons, very bright striped
silk trousers that are tight in fit make
him the most picturesque of barbarian
people, He lives in simplicity.
Dauntless Pirates.
HE is brave to fearlessness, born
pirate and essentially fighting man.
az hon
expedition and stealing from his neigh
bors, friends and foes alike. The chief,
who is the most successful thief, is the
NEST respected and most powerful
among chiefs. He is constitutionalIy
fndisposed to work and will do only
what is necessary to sustain life and
support his family from dire want,
Two years of patient and trying
American work among these Moros is
working wonders and hundreds are en-
gagged in various kinds of labor, and
each month adds to the number in the
most encouraging way. Fish, native
fruits and vegetables, and rice mainly
constitute his diet He eats with his
fingers, squatted a la Turk on the floor.
his bed on the ground.
All the Wives They Want.
Koran. He has as many as he can sup
port, be they four or fourteen He has
to quarter them in different shacks or
huts, as a rule. to avoid family quar-
rels. Concubines are in number ac-
cording to his tastes and means, as
are large numbers of poems in a mild
form Of feudal bondage. He trades
with his neighbors on market days in
the various coins of the realm and for
eign moneys. At other times he is a
free ocean rover extending his trading
voyages as far north as the Islands of
Negros and Panay; south to the Gel
ebes and Borneo, and westward to the
Palawan.
Clever smugglers.
He is the most successful of snug
glers and little act of piracy, when
chance offers, goes without mention.
He is the most perfect of aquatic be-
ings and skillful small boat sailor or
large prau navigator extant He can
no more drown than can a fish. There
is no record of a drowned Moro. He
can dive to the bottom of the sea at
depths from rs to 100 feet for the val
liable mother of pearl shell and his
life Is largely at sea from infancy.
the water on the coast
His means of transportation for in
land visits is by the native pony in
size resembling the Shetland pony
though varying in size and shape.
There is not a road in the Sulu archi-
pelago. One is under construction
twelve miles in length from Jolo TO
NAHUM, the capital of his highness the
sultan. He rides on a crudeIy made |
saddle that has a padded cover to the
seat. For stirrups he uses a braided
or knitted hempen band, through the
ends of which he places his big toes in
loop made for the purpose.
Have Formidable Weapons.
His favorite weapon is the terrible
borong or krise. Of the former family
of knives there are nine distinct classes,
while of the latter there are eight
grades of straight krises and seven of
the wavey kinds, besides there are six
kinds Of short swords, all formidable
and all dangerous weapons. He ever
wears his knife, keeps it polished as
bright as steel and Whetted to q
razor's edge. He wears it from Gus
tom and for dignity, not for ornament
but for frequent use as the many scars
he wears bear testimony. He is a for
midable enemy and a suspicious, SUI
perstitious and uncomfortable sort of
fanatical friend