Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1904-07-27
THE BLooDTHIRsTY MoRos
Philippine Savages, Now Under SUBJ
lection, Have Some Singular
Beliefs and Customs.

From all accounts the Moros are nat.
dral born fighters. From the age of 16
their arms never leave their belts except
to draw blood, and, being Mohammedans,
imbued with the idea that the slaughter
OF Christians insures admission to Heav-
en-, they have gone about using them
freely upon those who might by any
chance be considered Christians. The
greater the number slain the higher,
they believe, would be the slayer's seat
| upon the steps of the heavenly throne,
says writer in the New York Tribune.
They are not sayages, however, in the
| sense that some people imagine them to
| be. Uncle Sam has among his varied
| assortment Of peoples in the Philippines
some who wear little more than breech
clout, but the sultan of the Moros does
not dispense high-handed judgments
seated on the sand under a fantastic UNI
breila, with boiling pot for minced
| missionaries near at hand. AS a matter
| OF fact, it is generally understood that
the real ruler of the Moros is not the
young, pockmarked, heavy and charac-
terless featured sultan, who has name
consisting of eight or ten words, but his
mother, the sultana dowager. The
Moros, indeed, are supposed to be sup
planters of earlier tribes of the Malayan
| ace, and to be of Arabian antecedents
They have many characteristics tending
| to support this belief Intermarriage
with the savage peoples of the surround
ing islands has migrated many pagan
superstitions in their religion.
The Spaniards, when they discovered
the Philippines, 400 years ago, found
them on the Sulu archipelago and occu-
plying a part of the large island of Min
danao, as well as the northern part OF
Borneo. They still occupy this territory,
the sultanate comprising between lac
and $50 islands and islets, of which sc
are inhabited. The Spaniards called
them Moros, or Moors, because of theiI
dark skin and their religion. While
claiming sovereignty over them, the
;paniards were unable to control them
Except while Gen. Arolas, a Spaniart
OF republican tendencies, was governor
The Moros found him a Tartar, ant
learned that it was wise to obey his man
dates.
The Moros are born to warfare. Unit
the SOS, when fleet of steam gunboat
put an end to it, they practiced pirac,
on the high seas. Although restrained
from this occupation, the habit of train
ing the boys to become warriors has no
ceased. From the earliest youth tn
lads practice with the shield, the "cam
oilan,' kind of short, two-handlet
sword, wide at the tip, narrowing dowl
to the hilt; the ''barong," which is uset
for close conflict; the straight kris
for thrusting and'cutting, and the waved
serpentlike kris for thrusting only
The Moro becomes so dexterous in ths
use of the "barong" that he can decapi.
tate man at single stroke. At sea
they use sort of assegai, called bag.
sacay," or "simbilin,'' which is about
half an inch in diameter, with a SHARP
point. Some can throw as many as four
of these at time, making them spread
in their flight These were used in the
days of piracy for boarding vessels
They are very skillful in the manufac-
ture of these weapons, the blades of their
knives being as finely tempered and
sharp as a Damascus blade. Their
homes are veritable armories Of re-
cent years some of them have learned
the use of firearms and have come into
possession of supplies of them
The Moro loathes any kind of work
other than that connected with his pro-
fession as warrior. He expects that all
of his physical wants will be supplied
by his wives and slaves. His valuable
time is devoted to affairs of state and
the care Of his arms. In battle he is
fearless, for his religion teaches him
that death in warfare carries with it the
honor Of life hereafter in the Moham-
medan heaven. When engaged in a fight
he makes hideous grimaces to brighten
his opponent, and Frances and leaps to
confuse the aim of his adversary and to
protect himself from a blow behind OF
below his shield
These Moros are described as robust
of medium height, often of superb phys
ical development, dusky bronze in col
or, the possessors of piercing eyes, low
foreheads and lank hair which is dressed
in sort Of chignon and hangs down the
neck. They are agile, and have won.
derful capacity for holding their breath
under water. They are of quick percep-
ton, audacious, extremely sober, rarely
using Intoxicating drinks; ready to
promise anything and do nothing, vim.
dictive, highly suspicious of strangers
long suffering in adversely, hesitatine
in attack, and the bravest of the brave
in defense. Large numbers of them
chew the betel nut.