PHOTOGRAPHING IN THE MORO COUNTRY. 



GEO. D 

 Photos by 



In the island of Mindanao, the Moro 

 Mohammedan tribes, numbering hundreds 

 of thousands, were invincible. Previous to 

 the expedition of American troops which 

 penetrated to the heart of the island in 

 April, May, June and July, 1902, white man 

 had never ventured there. General Wey- 

 ler and his regiment reached the Lake 

 Lanoa regions of Mindanao about 3 years 

 ago, to attempt to pacify the unruly Moros, 

 but he did not remain long; and so it has 

 been with all others who have tried to force 

 a passage into the interior. The fierce fight- 



RICE. 



the Author. 



gave out I went among the thousand or 

 more soldiers, offering fabulous values for 

 one or more films, but only 2 or 3 men had 

 cameras and they were down to the last film. 

 Campaigning, with the enemy firing at 

 night, with short rations, long marches, 

 and in heavy rains, is not conducive to good 

 photography. I secured some excellent 

 views of the capture of stockades, of the 

 blowing up of fortifications, and the like, 

 and carried those films inside my shirt ; 

 but the penetrating rain soaked me through 

 night after night ; and later, when I turned 

 my films over to a photographer for print- 

 ing, he informed me that they had been re- 

 duced to pulp by the wet. The next time 

 I go on an expedition of that sort I shall 

 carry my camera outfit in a waterproof 

 case. This is easy to say, but when on the 

 march in the enemy's country, one drops 

 everything but his canteen. When a sok.ier 

 gives up all his personal comfort so he 

 shall not fall back of the column and into 

 the hands of the foe, he is quite sure to 

 drop his extra weights in parcels ; yet in 

 this struggle of a 3 or 4 months' cam- 

 paign I know of only one camera being 

 abandoned, and that was partly because it 

 got wet and warped. 



NATIVE SOLDIERS, 



ing warriors of the Moro tribes were ag- 

 gressive and destructive to life and prop- 

 erty. It was decided to punish them, and 

 the column was formed under Colonel 

 Baldwin which finally made things peace- 

 ful in the lake sections of Mindanao. I 

 was with the Baldwin expedition. We 

 captured Moro fort after fort and destroyed 

 their works and barricades. May 2nd, the 

 great fight of Bayan, in which we lost 2 

 officers killed, 8 enlisted men killed, 3 of- 

 ficers wounded and some 55 soldiers 

 wounded, finished the Moro army. Since 

 then it has been content to let our sentries 

 alone and cease stealing our horses and 

 properties. The result is that the man be- 

 hind the camera can go where he pleases. 



Why did I not get some views of the 

 battles? One can not carry much on a 

 horse, and when hiking it is all a man can 

 do to carry his shelter half and roll. We 

 were often short of everything, there were 

 long marches, there was no wagon trans- 

 portation, and often the mule pack trains 

 were far in the rear. Yes, I had my 

 camera and a supply of films, but not 

 nearly enough. When the first lot of films 



NATIVE BATHING GOWNS. 



I am preparting for the next campaign in 

 the wet, where I may have to lie on the 

 ground with a shelter half over me and get 

 thoroughly wet before sunrise next day. A 

 native is making me a waterproof case 

 which will hold my folding Kodak and 

 about a dozen films. This case will fas- 

 ten tight to my side, at the waist, where it 

 will not interfere with haversack or can- 

 teen. 



The army ought to have more photog- 



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