The Iola register., 1896-12-25

camp is excellent aud the heat is no
! so great "a at the same season i'm Kan
sas. Don't worry about me as shal
come out all right and be home mex
fall or winter"
Nothing very exciting about tha
is there?n asked Farmer Funston
lyon want to know how Fred came
to go to Cuba. Well, it was like this
He had coffee plantation scheme
and had the stock all subscribed wheI
one of his organizers failed. Ther
Charley Gleed advised him to go East
and re-organiZe. So Gieed and Fred
went to New York, where he was tt
be introduced to capitalists. There
he fell in with ssme of the Cubar
junta, who worked upon his sympa
thies until they persuaded him tC
join their army, especially as Har.
per's Weekly gave him a commission
to send them stuff from there. He
was made a Cuban captain on the
spot and the first l knew of it was a
letter from him telling us he was 60
ing. L opposed it, of course. Then /
got this letter from him:
The only way to get to Cuba is to
go on a filibustering vessel carrying
arms. | am TO be an officer ON the
staff of the general of the Cuban
army. OF course l don't know any
4 hi Of hnx nif
so hOnors are even. You will hear
from me occasionally, but irregular
ly, as l will have to take advantage
of my opportunities to get word out.
The same thing will interfere with
my getting stuff to Harper's.
"HOw do you feel about it now?"
Farmer Funston was asked.
He was looking at sword hanging
against a bookcase in the window
with the green things, probably
thinking of his own soldier exper-
fences.
"Oh, 1 don't allow myself to be
worried. He'll come out all right.
He is courageous but cautions. fear
yellow fever more than / do bullets.
The safest place in Cuba is in the
army. TIE Cubans fight with sort
of Fabian policy, a little fighting, a
good deal of running away; but that's
the way to fight. Fred's a man, 81
years Old, aud hell take care of him
self. Pm just looking for him to drop
in any time Here's another letter l
got from him before he sailed"
The second letter to his father was
as follows:
Am still in New York, The expe-
dition on which 1 am to go to Cuba is
not yet ready. Cubans delayed by
seizure of their vessels by United
States revenue cutter. One OF the
vessels now released and think will
get away in less than a week. APP
preciate your objections to my going
and, in fact, did not expect you to do
otherwise, but am pretty sure, for a
number of reasons, that it is "A good
thing for me to do. think you are
badly mistaken when you say / will
not get credit for doing it. 1t will be
q big feather in the caps of Americans
who have gone there to mix in the
row, especially if the Cubans win
their independence, which | think
they will do in less than year. The
Spaniards are on the defensive aud
hardly dare venture away from the
fortified towns. The insurgents lick
hem every time they get at them.
There is a big sprinkling of young
Americans down there now. They
are nearly all officers ana very pOpu-
ar with the Cubans. Several of them
ire also correspondents for New York
papers.
This was the last letter that got
through, as Captain Fred probably
wrote to his mother as often as possi-
Die. Farmer Funston was SO close to |
lis son that his perspective was
lightly distorted in the viewing of
linn. The result is that he forgets |
he most important and stirring
hings in the boy's career and re-
members only that ne was good and |
aithful son, who planted corn all day |
md whistled while he worked, and |
hat he was once ticket collector for
he Santa Fe road.
Carlyle is five miles from lola,
where Charles +. Scott conducts one
# the best newspapers in Kansas, the
Scott and Fred Funston
re warm friends, and no one probab-
Y, knows more about Funston than
scott. The following is a letter, dat
d in New York, July Is from Funs-
ON to Scott:
Think the motives prompt
ng me to go to Cuba are sufficient.
want to make some sort of reputa-
ion as war correspondent. | want
D see real live war for my own sat-
;factiOn and | want to help in the
ask of of boosting the unspeaka BILE
paniard body aud breeches out Of
be unfortunate island he has robbed
nd misgOverned for 400 long years.
here is not more pitiful tale iu his
lry than the story of Cuba. and of
ne brutality, corruption and genar-
cussedne-s of Spanish rule, of her
en years struggle for independence