The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-08-09
HARD WORK
WITH M0R0S
Americas One Severe
Task in Governing
Philippines.

Life among the Moros in the wilds of
darkest Mindanao Is strenuous enough
for the most exacting. The tales
brought back by army officers who have
been stationed in the jungles or Uncle
Sans equatorial possessions beat the
fairy stories of Captain Kidd and other
classic worthless all hollow. Several Of
ficers passed through the city on the
transport Sheridan the other day and
from them something of the conditions
I'm the islands was learned.
They all agree that the Philippines
are thoroughly under control with the
exception of the Moro country. The
people seem to be satisfied with the
government and there is absolutely no
trouble in the greater part of the ISL
ands. Not so with the Moros. They
are II wild people-in fact they are said
to be the fiercest and widest savages in
the world While all the Filipinos were
originally savage this tribe, living high
up in the mountain Businesses of CEN
trail Mindanao, seems to have retained
that hardihood and vigor which is char
acteristic of mountain peoples. AS the
Swiss have kept their independence in
the midst of jealous powers and as the
Tibetans are holding their mountain
strongholds today, so the Moros not
only retained their independence but
brought all the other island tribes to
submission. Used to supremacy they
are making fierce fight against the
American government.
1t is not against this government es-
pecialy that the revolt Is directed. but
it is their protest against any sort of
domination. The savages are all Mo-
hammedans and fatalists, so they do not
fear death. The officers state that they
are very hard to beat in a battle be-
cause they keep on fighting after they
ought to be dead or in flight. One off,
Ger tells of an occasion when an officer
was sent out to arrest Moro who had
cut down n sergeant with bolo. He
found his man and the fellow rushed at
him. The officer fired his revolver into
the savages body at close range three
times, but the man kept coming on and
did not succumb until he had inflicted
dangerous wounds on the officer. All
this with fifteen or twenty soldiers sur
rounding the savage and endeavoring to
overpower him.
The weapons of the Moros are very
primitive. The favorite arm Is a long
knife. Many of them have guns of ev-
cry pattern and date from 100 to the
present day. The Moro, however, is not
a good marksman and his best work Is
done with the knife. The country is
very wild and difficult for military OPP
erations. Roads have been chopped
through the tangled jungles and treach-
erous swamps. On account of the ele-
walton the country is very healthy, the
capital of Lanao province being at an
elevation of $500 feet above the sea.
According to several men on the
transport who have been in the thick
Of the work in this section of the Phil
ippines, 1t will require years of careful
handling to bring the savages to any
thing like civilization. They are now
under a combination of military and
civil government, all officials being Am
orleans. Most of the people, being Mos
lens, rebel at the idea of Christian rule,
but the priests are wise enough to see
the advantage of submission and have
In many cases proved of great assist
ance to the American officers.