PEIMITIVE WEAPONS AND ARMOE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 27 



the body of a l^ortiiguesc artillerist who had aided in the defense 

 was found among the dead. The Moro rajas continued the struggle 

 against the Spaniard and gathered a fleet of 40 war praus which 

 assembled in the nipa palm inclosed estuaries of the Pampanga and 

 other rivers flowing into Manila Bay. The armor and offensive wea- 

 pons of the Spanish, consisting of mailed steel, heavy swords, long 

 lances, and firearms, prevailed over the inferior shields, armor, 

 spears, and arrows of the natives. An interesting event in the bat- 

 tle was the cooperation of the natives of the village of ]\Iacabebe in 

 Avhat is now" Pampanga Province with the Moro rajas. The Macabebe 

 have ever since proved a recruiting ground for the armies of Spain 

 and later of America. A group of Macabebe accompanied General 

 Funston on his famous expedition which resulted in the capture of 

 Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. The Macabebe, like the Sikhs of India, con- 

 tribute more than their quota of soldiers for the army of occupation. 



For centuries the Malay pirate has been the scourge of the navi- 

 gator in the waters of the East Indies. Dyak and Moro alike re- 

 lied more on individual courage and fighting ability than on mere 

 strength of numbers, e([ualing in their courage and in the extent of 

 their exploits the feats of the English privateers, Drake and Caven- 

 dish. Malay piracy continued, disturbed from time to time by the 

 Spanish, but not to be broken up until the arrival of the first 

 steamships in Philippine waters in 1848 made possible the pursuit 

 of the Malay war praus. It had been possible for the praus manned 

 by oarsmen before this time to drop their masts on the approach of 

 a vessel with superior armament and to turn toward the " eye of 

 the wind," where it was impossible for a sailing vessel to follow. 

 The Spanish governor, Claveria, with a force of Spanish and Fili- 

 pino volunteers entered the pirate country and landed on the island 

 of Balangingi of the Samal Moro, betv/een Jolo and Basilan islands. 

 The Samal are know-n throughout Malaysia as "bajau" or "orang 

 laut" (men of the sea). Four fortifications were found in the man- 

 grove-covered island. An interesting fact is the large number of 

 124 brass cannon captured at the time. The activities of James 

 Brooke in his 140-ton armed yacht destroj^ed the force of the Malay 

 pirates along the north and west coasts of Borneo in 1841. 



As late as 1904 the Seranaya expedition, commanded by Maj. Gen. 

 Leonard Wood, encountered the Moro of the Rio Grande Valley, 

 Mindanao, under the leadership of Datto Ali at Seranaj^a, a Moro 

 fortress and stronghold, to the number of 6,000. This fort 

 "cota," "cotta," "kota," was the greatest military work ever con- 

 structed by natives of the Philippine Islands. The frontal extent 

 was over 1,300 j'^ards. A plan of this fort was made and the tracing 

 from which blue prints could be made is on file at military head- 

 quarters of Zamboanga. Dr. Edgar A. Mearns, is authority for the 



3021—26 3 



