The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-05-21
Cen. PERSHING
WON fame IN
MORO CAMPAIGN
Jumped Over 1862 Officers
from Captain to Brigadier
General by Roosevelt.

Mai. Gen. John J. Pershfng, the
famous BLACK jack, of the regulars.
will 60 down in history, as the first
American army officer to command
troops on the battlefields Of Europe.
He (Pershing) is one of the officers
who were picked by Colonel Roose-
Welt. when the Colonel was President.
for rapid promotion to the highest of
army commands.
General Pershing was just a DASH
Ing. much-loved, Captain of cavalry,
when in 1906 Colonel Roosevelt start
led the country by sending his name
to the Senate for confirmation as a
Brigadier, General. The other Off
GERS advanced by Colonel Roosevelt
were Major Gen. Leonard Wood and
Major Gen. j. Franklin Bell. the lat
ter of whom recently succeeded Cen
eral Wood as commanding officer of
the Eastern Department. on Cover
nors Island 4
Pershing Is West Pointer Of the
West Pointers, as a classmate of his
expressed it. not so very long ago. He
was graduated into the regular ser
vice as a Second Lieutenant of cavalry
:, in 1885 and he began to make himself
saddle a year. 1t was to the Sixth
United States Cavalry that Pershing
was assigned shortly after he received
- diploma from the Military Aca--
denny.
In the first few years of his service
Pershing fought in the fierce border
campaigns against the Apach Indians
of Arizona, and he was again heard of
when in 1890 he led his sturdy troop,
ers in the turbulent Sioux wars of
the early nineties. He was in the
thick of the fighting that marked the
brief warfare that was waged by the
regulars against the Spaniards in Gu
ba in 1898 and shortly after the Treaty
of Paris was signed and the Philip
pines came under the American flag
he was among the first to be ordered
to duty in the new possessions.
Arriving in the Philippines, General
Pershing, then a Captain, was prompt
" ordered into the Moro country,
where as one OF the leaders against
the then fierce and intensely anti
American Moros he was soon to gain
fame and honor and win the single
star Of a Brigadier. At the time of
his nomination for that rank in 1906
! he was the youngest West Pointer
ever named as General of the regu-
{ lar army in time, OF peace. In or
| der to reward Pershing President
Roosevelt jumped him over S62 Off
I GERS who were his seniors in rank
Eleven years ago the big problem in
the Philippines was still the pacifica-
ton OF the Moros- Those splendid
warriors hundreds of whom are now
serving In the crack organization
known as the Philippine scouts, fought
! inch by inch the Americans and re-
fused TO- take word of governors and
/; commanders sent to moTlify them, that
the United States was their friend
Pershfng was ordered to finish the
I Moro campaign and was named Gov
:, ernor Of Minaanac and commander of
I the province where the Moro opposi-
Z ton was Still a problem of the first
, magnitude. From a distance of sew
i eral thousand miles the job did NOT
/ sound big at the time, but more DIFF
i fIeu1t task has seldom. if ever, been
y placed ON the shoulders of an officer
j OF The regular army. He gritted his
teeth and undertook the work with
hts famous smile. He had a picked
lot OF regulars under him, every one
Of whom knew and loved 'sB1ack
Jack.
The Moros that Pershing was called
upon to bring to terms had modified
in the crater OF an extinct volcano
called Bud Dajo, on the island Of
Jolo. To drive them out had been 9
TASK with which the army had con
tended since 1906. Pershing announ-
ced to his men that the Moros wers
coming out OF the crater IL it tool
him ten years to accomplish the job
There were 500 Moros0 every one
Mohammedan fanatic-in the crater
1ortificatfoh when Pershfng started
ito clean out the mountain hole
without Bud Da1o safely and secure.
l7y IN American control the Moro prob.
lam could never be solved.
: with thousand men, half Of them
his own trusted troopers, and thu
others picked Filipino scouts. the cam
pAisSn for Bud Dajo began. Tn,
Americans and the scouts had to pro
ceed through miles and miles Of dens'
5uns1ee. opposed every yard OF tbs
way by the fierce Moro4. But Perish
ing kept on. and finally he fought hi
way to the foot of the mountain
Persahinges jungle fighters cut a trai
around the mountain, and fortffyfn,
ft1CtiicCkNC 90 AIOAA EILEEN LIOII dOOtG
began the siege. The soldiers formet
Q complete Gordon around the noun
tain and calmly instituted campaign
OF watching for the first sign of tn.
Moros leaving the crater. and waitfn,
q chance to get them when they tries
to cut through the Gordon.
In their retreat to the crater tn,
Moros had been so hot1y pursued tina
for once they had been unable to tax
with them the supplies that wou1,
make possible 81 long stand. At las
the iron ring began to make itsel
felt. and in small datachments tn,
Meros tried to gain ths open jungle b,
dashss through the American Gordon
Every dash was frustrated, the fana
tics rushing forth to certain death
Tinadiy, on Christmas Day, 1911, tn
400 Meros still IN the crater did some
thing g. Memo seldom does-the,
marched down the meaHtainside an,
surrendered. A few reached the juH
gle, but the gegHiafs pursued, beat tn,
brush. and in the end these despera
does paid the penalty of their dar
Ing,
With Bud Baje captured, PersfafHs
set abeat to finish his job. On Jan
il, 1919, there followed on Lake Sci
stiff engagement, which resulted il
the death of eighteen Mores and tn,
serious weuHdiHe of two Americans