Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-07-13
THE MOROS OF MINDANAO.
Mohammedans Hostile to Christian aty Who Must Be Carefully
 Watched and Handled.

The most difficult part of the gov srnment work in the Philippines is here 1n the country of the Moros. says a special correspondence of the Chicago Inter Ocean They are Mo- hammedans and hostile to Chris t1andty. They have been until now the unconquerable rulers of the eastern archipelago for centuries and they are proud, given to show, the clothes of all classes being the most richly col- ored that could be produced, with green and red and yellow predominat- Ing Their food is principally sweet potatoes and rice, which they raise in large quantities and rarely with the ald of other than human labor. Plantations of bananas, coco. coffee. tobacco and cacao are very numerous, says Montaro, but generally speaking, the people much prefer to hunt in the forests for beeswax, honey, resin and cinnamon bark, which, although of in- .fer1or quality, always finds prompt sale. .,0. .....s. ..... .., 1.
 They give some attention to the cultivation of abaca, which they sell in the fiber. With these fibers they weave coarse but strong stuffs, to which they give the name "dagway," and which, Drowned by means of shells, acquires the brilliancy of silk They also forge their knives, compil- ans, sankuts, etc., the material for which they procure in the seacoast towns, but the short railway built by the Spaniards in 1897, and since de- stroyed by the Moros, has furnished them an almost unlimited supply of steel for their knives. These arms have for them a great value. which is only in proportion to the enormous amount of work which they represent.
 The standard of wealth among these people is regulated almost entirely by the possession of arms, and the man Whosow rifle and a few cartridges Is very prominent parsonage, and the desire to possess rife is so strong in these people, even in the "princes of royal blood," that they will risk their lives and take advantage of every opportunity to steal one from an American soldier.
 The entire population of Mindanao, Jolo and adjacent islands is common ly classified by the ethnographers in three great groups, according to re- hgion, namely, Christians, Gentiles and Moros, and these in turn are di- vided into almost innumerable tribes, each speaking a dialect peculiar to itself. The Moros, with whom we have to deal at present, occupy an area bordering on Lakes Lavao and Ligu- asan, on the island of Mindanao, and number something like 25O,O0 to 3OO,- 900. They enjoy a long-esta blished reputation for being the most warlikA brave and rapacious of the terrib
 tribes that occupy these southern is- lands. They enjoy the tradition be- longing to this race of having given the added evil intensity to the peculiar fanaticism of Mohammedanism. They have naturally developed taste for blood; have laws which encourage it and make it legitimate, and they have 8 religion which consecrates it. In general, the Moros are a race to be carefully dealt with and guarded, and must be treated with the strictest honesty in order to inculcate degree of confidence that may enable our government to continue the work of Christianizing and elevating these peo- l Dle