The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-12-16

GtldIcu % TUIldN dE SLAVES, Az OtiCIS
to stolen slaves and crimes committed
by slaves.
This code was turned down by our
government, but it shows hat the
NoroS still regard slavery as a divine
right Notwithstanding their American
rulers.
met many of the dattos during my
stay in the Philippines and | saw
something Of their wives and slaves.
The women are not yelled, as in other
Mohammedan countries, and both
wives and slaves go about bare faced.
l was told that datto was considered
rich according to the number of
slaves he owned, and that children
were stolen from other tribes to be
kept as slaves. Some Of the dattos
were notorious for their cruelty in
regard to their slaves. l met an old
villain named Tito. who gave unheard
of puniShmentS for minor OffenSeS.
Slaves who ran away from him were
often punished by cutting the tendons
below the knee, SO that they could
walk only with difficulty and could be
easily caught if they tried to escape
again. This man had a slave girl
whom he disliked. He bound her
over "A place swarming with red ants
and she was bitten to death. Tito
IidO d Lidil tlcu HdkCO u tIlo lTuIk Oh
4 tree, where he was roaSted during
the day and eaten by the mosquitoes
at night. This torment was terrible.
And a calf brought in by our soldiers
n left tied that way died in one day.
Tito also had stock in which he
left people to die. One Of our officers
found a Moro dead in the stocks. He
was lying there, no one. having dared
to remove the corpse.
Some of the above instances i give
on the authority Of a Jesuit priest
who was travelling among the MorOs
just about the time we took hold OF
the islands. He wrote about them to
n of the generals Of the United
States army and the latter included
them in his report to the government
This man described other punish
ments melted out by the chiefs OF
these M~ohammedan MOros. He said
that they had one way Of tantalizine
their enemies. They would tie a mar
in the i've where the tides came ir
in such a way that he could just es.
cape drowning by standing on hi:
tip-toes n thus keep the water from
entering his nostrils and mouth. A,
times of extraordinary tides such me1
were drowned.
One Of our American officials say,
NAAo ~ ooW Oh MOAO III JOlO WHO dl
ways wore q bandage over his mouth
This was to hide from public view it
l.~deformity, which had been caused
not by nature, but by a dattO to whom
he had spoken unexpectedly. TIL,
dattO ordered that the mans mOutl
be split and opened to the edges o
the jawbOnes. This was done with
kris and it was then left to heal
Strange to say, the man lived.
---
1t is strange that slavery cannot b
put down in the Philippines. Tn
Spaniards attempted it three hun
dfed years ago, and there have al
ways been laws against 1t. One reaso
for the trouble with the Moros
that it is hard to distinguish betwee
the wife and the slave. The More
believe that they have a right to a
' many wives as they can support am
as I have said, the Koran gives the1
l four. Frequently the chiefs have bt
: one real wife and the rest are slave
whose children do not inherit rank {
, titles. Some OF these wives are rigl
good looking. l remember seeing tn
favorite of Datto Mandi's harem s
Zamboanga- The datto was almost :
years OF age but this girl was 1H. an
q she would have been q beauty almo
z anywhere. h was tall for q Nor
as plump as a partridge and Of
rich mahogany brown. She had Nr
Z eye and large, sensual lips. She We
u dressed in a kimona when l saw h,
a and the dattO stood beside her viii
l made a photograph Of the two.
e l asked something as to the Gu
!, toms of marriage and was toll it ":
Is largely a question Of bargain and sal
le The husband pays for his bride al
e at the time we took hold Of the Sui
,e the average price for a good iookiI
er girl was $40 in silver, a water bufa
d worth about SIS and 500 pieces
lie rice cake, worth 1 cent each OF Il
money paid - went to the girl al
es the rest to her parents.
as The Moro marriage ceremoni
er usually take place at the house OF t
IN bride. They are performed by
~ priest, who asks the man II hs-tak
d, the woman for his wife. OF course
st ] saws yes. The same question is tn