The Human Zoo at the St. Louis World’s Fair
Eighty Moros from Mindanao arrived in Tacoma via the steamship Tremont, bound for an exhibit at the St. Louis World’s Fair.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The 80 Moros from Mindanao, Philippine Islands, who arrived yesterday on the Tremont were transferred to tourist cars as soon as the vessel made fast to the wharf and left for St. Louis on the 4:40 train. They will occupy one of the Philippine villages there. Professor C. N. Wax, who has been in the Philippines for six years in the employ of the United States ethnological bureau, said: 'They are Moros from the island of Mindanao and represent six tribes. Some of them are tree dwellers. They are also snake eaters. Some of the tribes represented in this lot have but recently laid down their arms; a few months ago they were fighting Uncle Sam.' The Moros were of considerable interest to onlookers at the waterfront, and Professor Wax noted the difficulty in acclimating them to Western dress, particularly shoes.
“Some of the tribes represented in this lot have but recently laid down their arms; a few months ago they were fighting Uncle Sam.”
This event highlights the dark history of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, where Indigenous people were treated as living exhibits to justify American imperialism in the Philippines. It serves as a reminder of how Tacoma’s waterfront functioned as a literal gateway for colonial expansion.
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