ar on another chief up the Cottabato River, Vilo was persuaded to
lend them to him. Piang had them placed in _vintas_ (war-junks) and
Vilo, with several friends, went down to the river-side to witness
the departure of the supposed armed expedition. Suddenly Piang, his
son-in-law Datto Ali and this man's brother, Datto Djimbangan, at the
head of a large party of armed Moros, fell upon and slaughtered the
Christians. Vilo's head was cut off and the savage Mahometans made a
raid on the town, looting all but the shops of the Chinese who were in
league, or accord, with their half-countryman Piang. The Christians who
were unable to escape were either massacred or carried off as slaves
into the interior, with the loot. Datto Djimbangan caused the Christian
women to be stripped naked and marched through the streets, whilst he
and his companions made their selections for themselves, leaving the
remainder for their followers. Amongst the captives were a father and
two sons. In October, 1899, the Americans sent a gunboat to Cottabato,
and the wife of this captive, mother of his two boys, represented her
plight to the commander, who forthwith sent for Piang and ordered him
immediately to send a message to the individual holding the captives
to release them and hand them over to the messenger, who would conduct
them back to Cottabato. Piang, without a moment's hesitation, offered
to comply, and sent a _vinta_ up the river with the required order,
but at the same time he secretly sent another emissary overland with
contrary instructions. The land messenger, as was expected, arrived
first, and when the _vinta_ party reached the place of captivity,
Piang's people expressed their regret that they could not oblige the
party because they had just cut off the captives' heads. In 1904 a
member of the victims' family was a teacher in the Jesuits' Catholic
School in Zamboanga. Datto Piang, who owes his position and influence
over the Moros to the protection of the late great Datto Utto (_vide_
p. 143) is the father-in-law of the terrible Datto Ali whose continual
depredations and defiance made Cottabato the centre of that unabated
conflict for the Americans described in Chapter xxix.

In the belief that the Zamboanguenos were loyally disposed towards
Spain, the Spaniards, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, chose
_Zamboanga_ (Mindanao Is.) as their point of concentration of all the
Spanish troops and civil servants in the southern is