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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 27, 1900)
May 27, 1000. OMAHA ILLUSTHATICI) RISE. Frank G. Carpenter (Copyright, 1900, by Frank Q. Carpontor.) PAHANG-PAHANQ, April 6. (Special Correspondences of Tho Deo.) I am writing this letter In tho beautiful harbor of Parang Parang, moro than 700 tnilea south of Ma nila, on tho southern coast of tho greut Island of Mindanao, in ono of the strangest parts of Undo Sam's strango world, tho Phlllppino Islands. I am In a land of sav ages, a country of Moros, whero overy man I meet wears u turban and has a knife a yard long strappod to hia waist. I have Just had an Interview with tho famous sultan of Mindanao and havo photographed tho brown eklnncd womcu of his Imperial harem. I havo boon hobnobbing with ono of tho dattos, a sort of prince and grand vlzior, and, when I can pcrsuado myself that my head Is still on my shoulders by putting my hands to It, I imagine myself in tho land of tho Arabian Nights. Southern Mindanao has wilder pcoplo than nny described in tho stories of Haroun nl Haschld. It has queer Christians as well ns Mohammedans, and It has naturo wor shipers who aro moro grotesque than wero tho people of Gulliver or Sinbad the Sailor. Our soldiers havo Just taken pos session of tho region, and It was only last week that they mado their first trip into tho mountains, going about fifteen mllos inland. They mot many peoplo who were clad only In bracelots and leglots. Tho bracelets reached from their wrists to their elbows, and tho anklets or loglcts covered their legs from tho foot to tho knee. Further than thl3 both sexes were naked. Tho women woro nose rings about as big around as trado dollars and rings In their care, run ning all nlong outsldo of tho ears from tho lobes to tho tips. Thcso rings were of brass, copper or buffalo horn, and In a few cases of silver. The peoplo who live on tho shoro say that these savages are cannibals, They warned tho soldiers not to go Inland, telling them that they would bo surely at tacked from tho mountains. Captain White, who was with tho expedition, tolls mo that they woro very careful In their treatment of tho peoplo and woro not molested, Ho says tho savages look very much llko tho Moros, except that they are darker and fiercer. They uso spear3 and poisoned arrows. They Land of Savages lies and then sailing duo cast, with the Island of Uaslland, tho scat of tho pearl fisheries, on our right. It rained as wo left Zamboanga and all night long tho lightning played over tho waters, now Hashing out In great sheets and now cutting tho clouds, darting this way and that. Thero was no thunder, and until after a short time no rain, nothing but thcso vivid Hashes of light blazing out over tho water. Wo steamed slowly along all night and In tho morning camo to tho great bay of Illana, a vast curvo in tho southern coast of Mindanao, which Is lined at tho west with half a dozen or moro hazy bluo islands, which rlso llko great mounds out of tho sea. Tho shores In tho dlstnnco seemed to rlso up like a bluo wall, upon which tho clouds rested. As wo went further Into tho bay tho scenery grew wilder and wilder. Wo found tho hills densely wooded, great bushy It contains 3,000,000 acres and has only 4,000 pcoplo. At present It Is cultivator only cIobo to the coast and along tho valley of tho Hlo Crando rlvor, but tho soil Is good, I am told, clear to tho tops of tho mountains, and It Is said there are rolling lands and plains In tho interior. Tho cof fee tree grows as luxuriantly as In tho re gion about Zamboanga and tho hills might bo covered with plantations. Tho land will alBo produce sugar cane, cotton, cacao and hemp. As a rlco ralslug region thero Is none bolter nnywhoro. Tho Hlo Ornndo Is ono of tho largest of tho Philippine rlvors and it haa floods overy year which fit tho land for tho rlco crop. Tho rlvor Is, I learn from tho prlvato notes of the Jisull missionaries, who havo been tho only ex plorers of this Island, 2S9 miles long and o' this 102 miles aro navigable for small boats. Cottnbato, tho capital of tho provlnco ot Cottabato, Is situated on this river, about six nilloa from whoro It flows Into tho Hay of Illana, and small steamers can sail with tho tido up to it. Thoro is a bar at tho mouth which gives only flvo feet of water at low tido, which leads mo to think that tho futuro city will bo on this Pollok bay, PIER AND HARUOR OF PARANG-PARA NO, is MORO GIRLS I1ATIIING A SCENE IN MOHAMMEDAN LAND. havo no houses, but live In tbo trees and movo about from placo to place. AIoiik Southern Mliidnmio. Beforo I describe my adventures with the Moros let mo tell you something of tho re gion whero I now am. It Is destined to bo como one of the richest parts ot tho Phil ippine Islands and may at some tlmo have a largo population of Americans. It Is known as tho provlnco of Cottabato; It Ilea east of Zamboanga and west of Davao and Includes a vast strip of rich land, running along tho southern coast and far back Into the Interior. It Is only about 350 miles north of tho equator, but It haa an oxcollent cli mate. Tho air here today Is not warmer than that of tho average June day In Wash ington city, and I was quite cold last night when I slept, rolled up In an army blanket, on the deck of tho steamer. Tho most of Cottabato Is rolling. Tho land rises from the coast In low foothills, which lose themselves In quite high moun tains further Inland. As you go toward tbo east tho mountains increase In size, culminating In Mount Apo, In tbo provlnco of Davao, at an altitude of more than two miles. In tho mountain regions tho air Is cold at night, and as you ascend the bills you And It full of ozone. The Swltcrrlnml of the TrnplcH. I dospalr being able to give you good pic tures of the wonderful scenery of this part of tho Philippines. It Is tho Switzerland of the tropics, and a Switzerland which Is practically unknown to the traveler or tho scientist. Its resources are undeveloped; Its moun tains unprospected; Its scenic bcautloa as yet unphotogrnphod. I came to Parang Parang from Zamboanga on the transport Port Stephens, which brought somo mules and wagons for tho use of the soldiers. Our transport Is larger, I fancy, than any steamer which has ever been In these waters, and It Is Important for the captain to have a correct map of the coast. Ho tells mo that there aro no accurate charts and that ho finds the coast lino In places three miles and moro out of the way. We left Zamboanga at night, steaming lowly around the point on which the town trees coating their sides and silhouetting themselves against the sky lino at tho top. Rack of tho hills at our right were rolling mountains of navy bluo, which apparently tumbled over ono another, half washed with cloud masses of floocy whlto. Hero a long strip of snowy vapor stretched Itself like a necktie below tho beads of tho bills, their blue tops peeping out over It and sep arating them from tho dense bluo walls be low. The clouds hang very low In this part ot tho world. In some places thoy rest upon the water and In otbers thoy Just touch tho tops of tho hills. Tho sky above Is always filled with masses ot smoke-llko clouds, which, like thoso of the hills, are always chasing ono another. In I'oIIok Harbor. Passing through tho great Day of Illana wo came Into tho llttlo harbor of Pollok, a harbor which Is destined to bo ono of tho chief shipping places of this part of tho world. It Is almoBt a porfect horscahoo, not over ton miles wido and with such a narrow opening that It Is protected entirely from tho sea. Tho water Is very deep and at Parang-Parang, which lies on ono sldo of tho harbor, tho transport, which drow sov ontecn feet, came within a few yards of the shoro. Tho country about tho harbor Is rolling. Tho land rises gently, spotted with forest nnd patches of tho greenest green. Tho wholo country, although It Is wild, looks llko a beautiful garden. It makes ono think of the coasts of Ireland or tho hills of Stnton Island In Juno, except that thero aro bluo mountains In tho dlstnnco and tho only buildings hero aro thatched huts at wldo distances apart oxcept at tho two towns of Parang-Parang and Pollok, which llo on oppoBlto sldca of tho bay. Doth Pol lok and Parang-Parang had garrisons ot Spanish troops and for thla purpose they built forts and barracks and other modern Improvements. They found It necessary to have troops here In order to keep tho Moros In check and If historical records are cor rect they had plenty to do, Tho Garden of the Philippine. This region Is one of tbo richest of the undeveloped parts of tbo Philippine Islands. Whero Shllm llf Ihn Inrpi'St ilrnft ran linv.' suro anchorage and be porfectly protected i rum mo sionms. It would seem to mo that this harbo will naturally bo tho great seaport for Southern Mlniltmnn. It In fnr hotter tVinn tho harbor of Zanboanga and bettor than that of Davao, which is nt tho eastern end Of tho Island, snmn 200 miIIph nwnv. Tim Rio Grando valley will eventually bo tho center or a largo population nnd tho trado of tho Interior will como down thu rlvor by boat to bo shipped abroad. Ono of tho natural lines of tho railroads ulilnli wll somo day bo built to open up this great isianu win do tnrougli tills valley. At pros ent noariy everything goes down ti Cotta batO City, but on nccount nt thn luir Ihl will bo turned to tho Ray of Pollok. Thero is now a military road eight miles long, built by tho Spaniards, between the bay and Cottabato. It Is In bad condition, but Is being repaired by our troops. For A morion tt Prim jh'c t urn. After tho islands becomo settled nnd It possiblo to tell Just how land can be nc quired and held It will bo well for Amerl cans expecting to Invest nr srttin in th, Philippines to look into this part of tho country. i am tola that tho most of the land about tho bay bolonca to ihn itnitmi States government, Including the water ironis or i'oiiok and Parang-Parang. On the northern sldo or ihn Ing away for hundreds of miles Into tho Interior, the land Is all government prop erty. It Is mndo up of forosts of the most valuable hard woods, Interspersed with patches of natural pasture, covered with grass as high as your head. Dack of tho hills, lining the shoro, are mountains, but tho whole of tho Island of Mindanao Is rolling and thoro aro plains and tablolands In the Interior. As to these, and also as to tho mineral resources, no prospecting has been done. Everywhere I have gone so' rar i nave beard stories of gold existing In tho sands of the rivers. In most caies the metal has been found In small quantities, but no ono knows what thoro Is. Captain White, who is statlonod at Cottabato, toll mo he has washed some of tho streams In tho hills and has found black sand and small grains of gold. He says ho found color In nearly overy case. At present a lnrgo part of the cultivated lands nro In the hnnds of tho Chlnrso, of whom thoro aro about 200 In Cottabato, al though thero Is one Spaniard who has 1.700 acres of rlco. Tho Chinese numbor about ono-thlrd of tho population of Cot tabato town. They do tho mercantile busl ness of tho country and havo all tho stores. Thoy are to bo found everywhere in tho Philippines and I see them engaged In busi ness at the two llttlo towns of Pollok and Parang-Parang. Tho trade of tho district now amounts to $1,000,000 silver per an num. In the To mi of Pollok, I spent day In tho town of Pollok. This Is across tiie bay, about nix miles from Parang-Parang. Tho latter Is a Moro set tlement, but Pollok Is almost altogether Christian and Chinese. It is a llttlo trop ical gem set Into tho hills of tho harbor, with a stono pier reaching far out Into tho wator. Near tho shoro aro tho barracks (Continued on Eighth Pago.) Examine the Package ! In 'lcw of the many misleading and unscrupulous imitations ol linker's Chocolate " which have recently been put upon the market, we find It neces sary to caution consumers against these attempts to deceive ana to asK them to examine every package they purchase, X and make sure that It has on the front a yellow label, with our name and place of manufacture, WALTER BAKER & CO. Ltd., DORCHESTER, MASS., and our trade-mark "La Belle Cliocolatiere" "ihe TBAOl.MAHK. If your grocer does not keep the genuine article, please let us know, and we will endeavor to put you In the way of erottlVirr It. Rind fnr a nnnv of our Chnie Keriiie lionk. mnllil frrf In nnv nrv. "7. " . . .V" r ' ' k pllcant who mentions nils paper. WALTER BAKER & CO. Limited, Dorchester, Mass. tlTLHMID I TBO. 300 Bicycles In stock never before was there such u line of wheels shown In Otmilio. This stock Is nmde up of the well known. Stearns, Rambler, Columbia, Barnes, Wolff-American, at $40 and $50 Dolianrp 1110 tHt uhL'L'1 111 0malm for tllu ?3n flfl KvllQllvtj money with choice of equipment, only vLJUiUU Nebraska Special $16.75. Alliance,CompleteNewWheel,$l3.50 Your good judgment will tell you to look this slock over before you buy a wheel. Second-hand Hlcycles nt your own price. We have one of the best equipped repair shops In the city. Hiirrnw CoiinIit llrnUe put on nny tvlici-1 oknIIiik $110.00 or over W1THOIT KXTIIA CHAltCM. Otlirr ili'iilcrx (luiruv you if.-.OO. SEWING MACHINES. If you think of buying a sowing iimculuo, SUB US. It makes no difference wlnt make of machine you want, SIS 13 US. You limy want a DAVIS HAM, 11I3AHING or STAND ARD, SINGI3K or n cheap machlno f r $1C00. No difference which, wo can soli you nnd savo you money. SIS 13 US. We have NO ngenta, wo pay NO commissi ns hii YOU will havo to SI3I3 US. Wo rout machines for 75 cents per wcok. Wo ropii'r mid Bull parts for nil makes of mnchln n 'imimfac turcd. Monday wo will noil our Second l and Sew ing Machines for ono-half rogu ,tr price, Somo will bo Bold as low no $1.00. Rem-Sho Typewriters, TOR SALH Oil It UN l Six Rumingtons. 25. 00 to ... . $45.00 One Densmoro 40.00 Ono Cal .graph 10.00 Nebraska Cycle Co. Cor. 15th and Harney Streets. Goo. IS. Mickol, Mgr. jjft t4 20 Per Cent Discount ...ON.... Ladies' Tailor-Made Suits 10 Per Cent Discount ....ON. Telopliono lGG.'i Gentlemen's Suits All work first class. This brings prices of our finely tailored huUh to a very low flguro. 422 South 15th Stro , J. A. KERVAN "A FAIR FACE MAY PROVE A FOUL BAR GAIN." MARRY A PLAIN GIRL IF SHE USES SAPOLIO