St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1904-08-13

T4HE TooD;:THiRs7Y. MoRos
.. slsptilipps In, savages, Now Under Sub
lection, Have Some Singular
Beliefs and Customs.
lssYse Sss3-,-l4-
From all accounts the Moros are nar
, ural born fighters, From the age OF II
|, Their arms never leave their belts excep'
~ draw blood and, being MOhammedans
imb1ed With tie idea that the slaughter
. az Christians insures admission to HeaW'
+ en-. they have gone about using then
freely upon those who might by any
4 chance be considered Christians. Th'
greater the number slain the higher
thew believe. would be the siayer's seat
upon the steps of the heavenly throne
saws a writer in the New York Tribune
Il They are not savages, however, in the
sense that some people imagine them te
be. Uncle Sam has among his variee
assortment of peoples in the Philippines
some who wear little more than Dreecn
clout, bre the sultan of the Moros does
not dispense high-handed Judgments
! seated on the sand under a fantastic UNI
! brella. with boiling pot for minced
!. missionaries near at hand. .As matter
of fact, it is generally understood thal
| 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. Inc
| Moros, indeed, are supposed to be sup
planters Of earlier tribes of the Malayan
race, and! to be Of Arabian antecedents.
They have many characteristics tending
to support this belief. Intermarrlage
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 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 40
and $50 islands and islets, Of which 80
are inhabited. The. Spaniaards called
them Moros, or Moors, because of their
dark skin and their religion. While
claiming sovereignty over them, the
Spaniards were unable to control them
except while Gen. Arolas, . spaniarc
of republican tendencies, was governor.
The Moros found him a Tartar, and
Loo ~, al <ho% r. ,r,u tea ~ ohnv h 10 MON
dates. as4s5 ssss ffS Hss8gf&9
The Moros are born to warfare. Until
the SOS, when a fleet of steam gunboats
put an end to It, they practiced piracy
on the high seas. Although restrained
from this occupation, the habit Of train
ing the boys to become warriors has not
ceased. From the earliest youth the
lads practice with the shield, the cam
plan" q kind of short, two-handled
sword. wide at the tip. narrowing down
to the hilt; the ''barong," which is used
for close conflict; the straight kris"
FOR thrusting and cutting. and the waved.
serpentlike ''krisV for thrusting only.
The Moro becomes 30 dexterous In the
Use Of the 'ebarong" that he can decarl.
ate man at single stroke. At sea
hey use sort of assegai, called bag
;acay," or "simbilin," which is about
lalf an inch in diameter, with SHARP
Joint Some can throw a. many as fo1
Il these at a time, making them spread
n their fight These were used in the
lays OF piracy for boarding vessels.
they are very skillful In the manufac-
ure OF these weapons, the blades of their
'niyes being as finely tempered and
harp as a. Damascus blade. Their
ONES are ;veritable armories. OF re-
ent years some of them have learned
ne use OF firearms and have come into
ossession OF supplies Of them.
The Moro loathes any kind Of work
ther than that connected with his pro-
sssion as q. warrior. He expects that all
his physical wants will be supplied
y his wives and slaves. His valuable
me is devoted to affairs Of state and
le care OF his arms. In battle he IL
arless, for his religion teaches him
lat death In warfare carries with It the
onor OF life hereafter ii the Moham-
edan heaven. When engaged In fight
makes hideous grimaces to Tighten
s opponent, and Frances and leans to
'nfuse the aim Of his adversary and IN
'otect himself from blow behind or
low his shield. sa sbf
These H0ros are described "A rohust
medium height, often Of superb phys
81 development, dusky bronze in col
:, the possessors of piercing eyes. low
reheads and lank hair which is dressed