New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-13


,..-..r.iry that General Wood had wiped out the
Inst band Of hostile Moros and that the island
. now under the control of the Americans is
...l.orle news. 40 less welcome s tae news
,.at ;le .Unu,Htial dattos are assisting Genera.
wood.
From all accounts the Moros arc natural bog"
..r...s From the age ot sixteen th..r arms
.....- leave tk.Ir belts except 90 draw blood.
.us being N'hom,taus. imbuo4 with The
.... that the .slauehter q Christians inFares
s.an TO heaven. they have gone about US
..- ,aem frecl3 upon those who MIGHT g.! any
..... be coniiaereI Christians. The greater
e.. ...r-te- sla 5 the higher they believe would
. Gid. s,ayer.s 'se4t upon III stais OF tie h.L'-
,..t throne
-r.,- are notjsavares. however In the @erse
r..- come rc5 g. imagine them 20 De. Uncle
SIN. fas anon 5h.s varied assortment Of peoples
j. -.a Fhu:prifcs some who wear little more
t..l 81 Jreceh L. but jhe Sultan OF the Moros
1,..- not dIsj.rI. high handed Judgments seated
,n tl. eaud under "a fantastic umbrella, with q
boiling pot for minced missionaries near at
f.rF ~ a matter Of fact, It is generally un-
L-.-tuoI 81 the real ruler Of the Moros is not
ia- young, pockmarked. heavy and character
Jos. featured Sultan. who has a name consist
ing T eight or ten words. but rs mother the
Sulr.ua DowaEer. The Moros. indeed, sup
la.gI TO be surpanters OF earlier tribes OF the
.Iafayan race sand to be Of Arabian antcce-
le.fs. They have many characteristics tending
to support this belief. Intcrmarrage with the
savage peoples Of the surrounding Islands has
i.srafted many pagan superstitious in their
r,lip sion.
The spauiard6 when they discovered the Phil
i.IiEos. four hundred years ago, found them on
.ha Sulu archipelago, and occupying part Of
The large island Of Mindanao, we'll the
northern part Of Borneo. They still occupy this
territory. the sultanate comprising between one
hau5red and forty and one hundred and fifty ISL
aul- and islets, Of which ninety are Inhabited
The Spaniards called them Moros, Moors. be
cause OF their dark skin and their religion. While
claiming sovereignty them the Spaniards
I,re unable to control them, except while Gen
'ral Aroas, a Spauiard OF republican tendencies
VAS Governor. The Moros found him Tartar
and learned that it was wise to obey his man
dates.
The Moros born 10 warfare. Until the
Cos. when "A fleet OF steam gunboats put an
end To it. they practised piracy the high
peas. Although restrained from this occupation
tho habit Of training the boys to become war
ri,Es has not ceased From the earliest youth
the lads practiss with the shield, the "campilau."
kind of short, two handled sword. wide at
the tip. narrowing down to the hilt. the
"tarong,' which is used for close conflict. the
straight kris" for thrusting and cutting and
tn waved. serpentlike kris" for thrusting
only. The Moro becomes so dexterous in the
Use of the "barong' that he can deca pitatc "A
man at "a single stroke. At they use a sort
of asseEai. called "bagsacay' or 'simbilin"
which is about half an inch in diameter with
sharp point Some 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
skfui m the manufacture o. these weapons the
blades Of their knives being as finely tempered
and sharp a Damascus blade Their homes
are yeritable armories. Cf recent years some