the functions of a priest, receives the vow of the _juramentados_,
and expounds the mysteries and the glories of that better world whither
they will go without delay if they die taking the blood of a Christian.

In theory, the Moros accept the Koran and the teachings of Mahomet:
in practice, they omit the virtues of their religious system and
follow those precepts which can be construed into favouring vice;
hence they interpret guidance of the people by oppression, polygamy
by licentiousness, and maintenance of the faith by bloodshed. Relays
of Arabs come, from time to time, under the guise of Koran expounders,
to feed on the people and whet their animosity towards the Christian.

The _Panditas_ are doctors also. If a _Datto_ dies, they intone a
dolorous chant; the family bursts into lamentations, which are finally
drowned in the din of the clashing of cymbals and beating of gongs,
whilst sometimes a gun is fired. In rush the neighbours, and join in
the shouting, until all settle down quietly to a feast. The body is
then sprinkled with salt and camphor and dressed in white, with the
kris attached to the waist. There is little ceremony about placing
the body in the coffin and burying it. The mortuary is marked by a
wooden tablet--sometimes by a stone, on which is an inscription in
Arabic. A slip of board, or bamboo, is placed around the spot, and a
piece of wood, carved like the bows of a canoe, is stuck in the earth;
in front of this is placed a cocoanut shell full of water.

The old native town, or _cotta_ of Sulu (Jolo) was a collection of
bamboo houses built upon piles extending a few hundred yards into the
sea. This was all demolished by the Spaniards when they permanently
occupied the place in 1876, excepting the Military Hospital, which
was re-constructed of light materials, native fashion. The sea-beach
was cleared, and the native village put back inland.

The site is an extremely pretty little bay on the north of the island,
formed by the points Dangapic and Candea, and exactly in front,
about four or five miles off, there are several low-lying islets,
well wooded, with a hill abruptly jutting out here and there, the
whole forming a picturesque miniature archipelago.

Looking from the sea, in the centre stands the modern Spanish town of
Sulu (Jolo), built on the shore, rising about a couple of yards above
sea-level, around which there is a short stone and brick sea-wall, with
several bends pleasantly r