cious of
his mission of liberty under the star-spangled banner. The sorrows
or the joys of one tribe are no concern of the other; thus there was
seldom, if ever, any large combination of forces, and the Americans
might be fighting hard in the Taraca country, or around the Lanao
Lake, whilst the neighbouring clan silently and doggedly awaited its
turn for hostilities. The signal for the fray would be the defiant
reply of a chief to the Americans' message demanding submission, or a
voluntary throwing down of the gauntlet to the invader, for the Moro
is valiant, and knows no cringing cowardice before the enemy. Troops
would be despatched to the _cotta_, or fortress, of the recalcitrant
ruler, whence the _lantaca_ cannon would come into action, whilst the
surging mob of warriors would open fire in squads, or rush forward
in a body, _barong_ or kris in hand, only to be mown down, or put to
flight and the _cotta_ razed to the ground. A detailed account of the
military operations in these islands would be but a tedious recital of
continuous struggles with the irresistible white man. In Mindanao, the
Malanao tribes, occupying the northern regions around the Lake Lanao
districts, seem to have offered the most tenacious resistance. On
April 5, 1902, a fierce encounter with the Bacolod tribes ended
with their fort being destroyed, 120 Moros killed, and 11 Americans
wounded. In the following month the bloody battle of Bayan brought
such disastrous results to the natives that they willingly accepted
peace for the time being. In the Taraca River engagement, 10 _cottas_
were destroyed, 250 Moros were killed, 52 were taken prisoners, and
the booty amounted to 36 cannon and 60 rifles. The Moros possessed a
large number of Remington rifles, looted from the Spaniards, on whom
they had often made surprise raids. The Bacolod and the Taraca tribes,
although frequently defeated, gave much trouble long after the other
districts had been forced into submission.

One of the most exciting expeditions was that of Lieutenant Forsyth,
who went out reconnoitring with 15 men, marching from Parang-Parang
Camp northwards. Moros came to meet him on the way to warn him not to
advance, but Forsyth bravely pushed on until his party, surrounded
by hundreds of hostile natives, was almost all destroyed. Forsyth
and his fellow-survivors fled into an unknown region, where they
lost themselves, and all would have perished had they not been
befriended by a _Datto