n the southwest is the
Sulu group, inhabited by Malays, called Moros. They are Muhammadans in
religion and are the last of the Malays who came to the islands.

Of all the Malay peoples, the Tagalogs of Luzon have been the foremost
to learn the arts of western civilization. They have surpassed their
near relatives, the Visayans, who live in the central part of the
islands. Perhaps it is the closer contact with the Spanish that has
given the Tagalogs their great progress. At all events they have become
well to do and prosperous as measured by other Malay peoples.

The Moros, who live mainly in the southern part, have scarcely reached
civilization. In the Sulu islands they have their own government, at the
head of which is a native sultan. In many parts of the islands there are
tribes governed by chiefs called "dattos." Some of the natives are
prosperous farmers, but many of them are savages.

A great deal has been said about the misrule and cruelty of the Spanish
governors and officials. Being soldiers and task-masters it is likely
that they did many things that will not stand the searchlight of
civilization. But the work of the priests will always leave a pleasant
flavor. For three hundred years they braved every danger and suffered
every hardship in their work. For every one that fell a victim to
disease, or to the bolo, there was another ready to fill his place. They
not only converted the natives to Christianity, but they also taught
them to be thrifty farmers and prosperous business men. As a result the
Filipinos are the only Asian people of considerable numbers that have
yet become Christians.

[Illustration: The carabao, harnessed to a dray or wagon, shuffles
along]

When the Philippine Islands became a possession of the United States,
one of the first things done was to establish several thousand schools.
A thousand American teachers were at first employed. Training schools
for teachers were established, and in the course of a few years more
than five thousand Filipino teachers were conducting native schools.
English is taught in all the schools, and there are special schools in
which agriculture, mechanical trades, and commerce are taught.

There is good reason for all this, for the islands have wonderful
resources. Gold, silver, copper, and iron are abundant. The forests have
an abundance of hard woods that sooner or later will find a market both
in Europe and America. The rice-fields will easily produce e