Evening star., 1924-09-28

dered six men to be killed and after
the execution chopped into one of the
bodies with his barong, saying to
some of our soldiers who were look
ing on: Il do that merely to try my
knife"
The American Army officers warned
me to be careful in going about, but l
had no trouble whatever when | went
to the nearby villages of Datto Mandi.
| called upon the datto and interviewed
him, and was even able to photogra ph
his favorite wife. Now that l am back
here again l have met his daughter.
charming woman of 20 or SO, who speaks
Moro. English and Spanish. She has
married an American merchant l. am
told that Mandi's son, the present datto.
is running a plantation nearby. There
is a girls school in his village, and any
one may go about there without danger
Datto Mandi was a great friend of
the United States. He had 1000 men
with him and was ready to put these at
the service of the Americans in case of
need.
One of the big Moros of the present
time is the Sultan of Magindanao. who
lives halfway between the province
of Zamboanga and Cotabato. During
my stay at Parang- -Parang years ago
/ met him and photographed the
women of his establishment At that
time polygamy was more commonly
practiced than it is now. Datto Mandi
had several wives and numerous
slaves. Datto Tito had a wife and
SO concubines, and the old Datto
Pianga, who is still living, had ladies
galore. When L met the Sultan of
Sulu the other day he told me that
he now had wives and 16 concu-
bines l am told he takes on a new
girl of Is every year.
When I met the Sultan of Magin-
danao his chief officials were with
him. They were dressed in all colors
with turbans of red, brown and yell
low. and Jackets and trousers of
variegated hues. They all carried
spears and kises- There were three
slaves who held silk umbrellas, trim
med with silver thread, over the head
of his majesty He had a betel slave
who gave him a chew from time to
time. He was a lean little fellow
with a low forehead, straight nose
and hollow cheeks. His black jacket
of homespun silk was fastened with
gold buttons and his tight yellow
trousers were upheld by wide belt
with a silver buckle as big as a fiat
iron.
His majesty had his harem with
l.lfii, dIlu L NtHLuTeu " dSh IL 1T
make d photograph. His majesty
consented. and a little later dozen
of his women came out of the huts
and stood under umbrellas before the
camera, while Col. Webb Hayes, the
son of our former President of the
United States, snapped the button.
Most of these women were lightly
clad. They had gay colored skirts, in
the form of bag open at both ends,
., h. ~ ,<,cv% ",
cloth was tight under the armpits and
it fell to the ankles Now and then
when one of the ladies gave her
clothing a twitch I trembled less it
might fall to the ground
The Sultan's chief wife weighed
about 800 pounds. She was as broad
as she was long and so fat that she
wadd1ed. Beside her was younger
wife. a girl of Is with a wealth of
black hair and a face that would
have been pretty had it not been for
her jet black teeth and the betel stain
on her lips. She wore a dress of red
and gold stripes over which was a
jacket of green silk. The old dame,
who might be called the sultana, had
a slave upholding betel spittoon of
solid silver. She used this now and
then while we were posing the pic
ture.
These are few of the highlights
Of the picture in Mindanao when we
took possession and began the work
of subduing the Mohammedans They
are a peculiar people, and it is doubt
full If they would have given up their
arms had they not had faith in our
promises. Like all Mohammedans
they do not seem to fear death, and
in the present situation they will
allow themselves to be killed rather
than to submit to what they feel to
be wrong. In fact, 1 am told they are
doing this now in some cases, fight