"I am an old man. I do not want any more trouble. But if it should come to that, that we shall be given over to the Filipinos, I still would fight." (Applause.) But Hadji Nangnui, who spoke of himself as "a Samal," made the clearest statement of the Moro position: "The Secretary of War must look the matter in the face. We are a different race; we have a different religion; we are Mohammedans. And if we should be given over to the Filipinos, how much more would they treat us badly, than they treated even the Spanish badly who were their own mothers and their own fathers in generations? How did they treat them? Think about it! Think twice! We far prefer to be in the hands of the Americans, who are father and mother to us now, than to be turned over to another people." (Applause.) In the evening we dined delightfully at the Pershings'. After dinner, the Moros danced in the garden the spear and shield dance, and the Bagobo women gave the scarf dance. The Bagobos still offer human sacrifices. Their caps, if tied in a certain way, show how many men they have killed. Their dress is made of cloth which they weave from carefully selected and dyed fibers of Manila hemp, and it is treated with wax in such a way as to make it very smooth and durable. In the glow of the red light from Chino Charlie's famous lanterns, their picturesque costumes, gleaming with bead work, added much to the brilliancy of the scene. They love music and make some large stringed instruments. They also play the flute from the nose, with one nostril stopped up, like the Hawaiians. The dancing under the palms in the garden, by the rippling seas, where the moonlight flooded down radiantly, was quite like a strange dream. At this dinner I was told the story given by Dean Worcester by which the Moros explain why they do not eat pork: "Mahamoud had a grandson and a granddaughter.... As he was king of the world, Christ came to his house to visit him. Mahamoud, jealous of him, told him to prove his power by 'divining' what he had in a certain room, where, in fact, were his grandchildren. Christ replied that he had no wish to prove his power, and would not 'divine.' Mahamoud then vowed that if he did not answer correctly, he should pay for it with his life. Christ responded, 'You have two animals in there, different from anything else in the world.' Mahamoud replied, 'No, you are wrong, and I will now kill you.' Christ said, 'Look first, and see for yourself.' Mahamoud opened the door, and out rushed two hogs, into which Christ had changed his grandchildren." [Illustration: BAGOBO WITH NOSE FLUTE.] Some verses recited at General Pershing's dinner showed the feeling of army officers about their life in the Philippines. A stanza runs: "What is it makes us fret so hard In this benighted land? It isn't lack of courage And it isn't lack of 'sand.' It isn't fear of Moros Or Bagobos from the hills-- It's the many great discomforts And the many, many ills."