The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-08-04

ed 10 the broad shoulders or tho .,o,
i'"iil iefShInS ana he Straightpnc
uh,ier the burden and carried If 70 RI
end. i' ~ III
~ 1893 he became adjutant general
executive officer of the department y
hlAdahao and Jol0. In this conocit,
lie studied the Moros and tbo Nor,
piooiem. lie tried in every honorabl,
way 10 conciliate the native chiefs anf
JUICES or dattos, but the Moros woul6
not take the word of a white man
Later they learned that Pershing.s
"oru was never broken,
FINALLY. after studying the ouest,on
rom every possible viewpoint. he de,
ciued that the only way to subdue the
hauVes was to prosecute a campaign
against them. Washington conceded
with this view and Pershing went into
the jungle.
Every foot of the way, through mud.
ny roads little better than jungle trails,
"here guns and caissons sometimes
SANK hub deep and had to be raised by
piilnks and levers; through insect In.
leSted forests, In an atmosphere
lraught with fever and malaria. he
mad to fight against crazed Mohamme-
Jan warriors, who believed that to die
staying Christians insured them of q.
| llle In heaven with white horse to
ride and beautiful hours to wait upon
them.
Against odds like this the expedition
IouSht and cut its way to the Lake
Lanao country, where the Moros had
gathered In force.
AT Bayan Captain Pershing gave the
rebels their first taste of American
hShting. The battle resulted in bril-
liant tactical victory for our troops,
ana the expedition pressed forward.
Destroyed 40 Forts.
The sultan Of Macolod. one of the
most powerful of the native rulers, re-
fused to surrender. With q battalion
of infantry, a squadron of cavalry and
section of guns Pershing moved
against him and threatened to demol- |
ish his fort unless he gave In.
The sultan was defiant. He dreamed |
that his stronghold was impregnab!e. |
In two days it was Il memory and the !
American troops had received upon |
their bayonets the last maddened |
charge Of the Moro band. The Ameri-
cans had two men wounded.
One after the other 40 Moro forts
fell under PerShing's assaults and the
island Of Mlndanao was at peace, two
Americans having lost their lives.
Then the Pershing smile succeeded
the fighting grimness of his face and
the MorOs became his friend. They
made datto of him and they submit
ted to his Judgment in their legal dis
putes, and the United States made him
governor of the department.
For this work he was advanced to the
grade of brigadier general, although
SG2 officers had priority over him.
For time Pershing was relieved of
his Philippine duties because Of i'll
health, but the MOros of Jolo continued
to make trouble and he was sent back
TO subdue them as he had the rebels
Of Mindanao. 1t was q bigger task, !
and one the magnitude of which has
seldom confronted a regular army off,
,er except in time Of actual war.
Pershing picked command Of men
every one of whom he knew down to
he last private. He loved them all as
children and they loved him as "Black
lack" and Fighting John" Pershing.
|
ace the general didn't know and whom 9
lie could not call by name.
The Moros-men, women and chill
lren-had taken refuge and fortified
themselves in the crater Of Bud Dajo,
n extinct volcano, on the island Of :
olo. Pershing announced to his men 8
hat he was going to drive the rebels
ut Of the crater If it took ten years
0 do it. h
There were COO Moros, everyone Of =
hem imbued with the faith that each c
christian he slew would be his slave G
I the Moro heaven, lurking under the o
i'm Of the big hole In the top Of the a
fountain. 7
Guerrilla Warfare. O
The addition Of a band Of Filipino v
couts brought the American forces up fl
, about one thousand men. Every 7
lch of the way from the shore Of the t
land they had to fight against the P
Idden enemy.
Outposts were stabbed In the night Al
v naked savages. who wriggled p;
trough the tall grass without sound. W
ickets and patrolling parties were m
lien upon and slain by beast-men. "
no swung from the branches Of tropi- q:
il trees and palms like panthers, but
|e relentless column cut its way fur In
Ter and further toward the heart Of In
e Moro stronghold and Mt last spread W
thin circle around the base of the 81
lcient volcano. Fl
Several times accommodating parties ar
American troops crawled to the rim in
the crater and observed the DISPOSE In