d.

The recent victories achieved by Captain Pershing over the
fanatic More tribes in the vicinity of Lake Lanao, have opened
up for military occupation a new territory equal in fertility and
richness to the famous Cagayan valley of Luzon. The Moros under the
American administration will be recognized as independent tribes,
and be restricted probably to reservations similar to those the
Indians now occupy. This means that a great tract of land will some
day be thrown open for American development. The soil will yield
abundant crops of corn, tobacco, coffee, rice, and other products,
while the forest wealth appeals to the imagination. Rubber, sugar,
hemp, and _copra_ are the natural products of the country near
the coast. The lake itself is situated on a high plateau, with a
prevailing temperate climate. Where the mountains do not intervene,
the land slopes gradually down to the sea.

One of the most important military operations that was ever undertaken
in the Philippines was the construction of the Iligan-Marahui road,
which, having been for some time open to the pack-trains and the heavy
traffic, is at present nearing its completion. Though the work was
planned by members of the engineers' corps, all the clearing, grading,
and the filling-in were done by soldiers who had never until then known
what it meant to handle pick and shovel. The younger officers, who,
for the first time in their lives, were superintending a construction
job, went out and bossed the gangs as well as many an experienced
and seasoned foreman could have done. The soldiers, who deserve no
little credit for their work, are members of the Twenty-eighth and
the Tenth infantries.

It was about the last of January that I made a trip to Iligan,
arriving in a Moro sailboat from another port on the north coast
of Mindanao. Two or three army transports, with the quarantine
flag flying (for the cholera was still in evidence), lay quietly
at anchor in the bay. Along the shore a warm breeze ruffled the
green branches of the _copra_ palms. Near the new dock a gang of
Moros were at work, perspiring in the hot rays of the tropic sun. A
tawny group of soldiers, dressed in khaki, rested in the shade of a
construction-house, and listened dreamily to far-off bugle calls.

The Moros were dressed picturesquely in a great variety of costume,
ranging from bright-colored silk to dirty corduroy. Red _buya_-juice,
was leaking from the corners of their mouths. Their