The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1897-02-05
1T is NOW MAJOR FRED !!
Our Brave Boy is Winning
Fame and HOnOrS at the
CannOn'S Mouth.
SUCCESS is CERTAIN
For the Cuban Cause, he thinks, and
when the Cruel War is over
he is Coming Home to
fill up on Pie.
SUCCESS is CERTAIN
A BREEZY LETTER.

The following letter from Fred
Funston to the editor of the REGIS
TER was dated "In Camp, Province
of Puerto Principe, Cuba, Nov. 8,
1896" The envelope bore Jamaica
postage and was pOstmarked Kings
ton, Jamaica, and Boston. 1t reach
ed lola only last Saturday, having
been nearly three months making the
journey. 1t is purely personal let
ter, of course, but there is such keen
and sympathetic esgerness for news
from Fred, not only among his home
folks but all over the State, that we
would hardly feel justified in not
making the letter public. 1t is a
most characteristic letter, speaking
lightly of greater dangers and mod
estly of great honors, full of conf
dence and hope. There is only one
Fred Funston. Here is his letter:
NV dear ScOtt:-The mail facilities
| in this war-wasted island are so bad
that there is almost no use in writing
| letters at all. | have had OppOrtun-
ity to send to Harpers but twice and
am not sure that those letters got
through. But l am going to try my
luck at writing to you anyhow.
To start with l cannot attempt to
Tell the hundredth part of what l
have seen, for the sights and exper-
| fences of my three months here would
Cd N
some mighty stiff fighting, but as yet
| have not been hit and sincerely hope
| l will not be. | am rather glad am
in this war. 1t is a game fight and is
steadily gaining. Next summer will
see Cuba a free and independent
nation. The prevalent notion in the
States that a large proportion of the
Cuban rebels are retired bandits and
ex-toughs, is a great mistake. They
are the best people of the island, and
men of every rank and profession are
fighting just as they did in our own
civil war. The officers are nearly all
men of education and good family.
The Cubans are unanimous for the
war, and all statements to the con-
trary are Spanish lies.
The situation now is this: The
Spanish troops remain in the fortified
to Hns and never venture out except
in large bodies. On October s, at San
Miguel, we administered hot drub-
bIng to one of those columns. and in
cidentally had the pleasure of hav-
ing a horse killed under me during
the exercises. The Cubans roam at
will over the country, watching for
Spanish columns and conveys, but
rarely attacking the fortified towns.
We recently made an exception to
this rule, however, and as a result
have gained the greatest and most
substantial victory of the war. Gen.
erals Gomez and Garcia besieged the
town of Guaimas, defended by twelve
Spanish forts, and as most of the
fighting was done by artillery L had
something of a finger in the pie. On
the second day the Chief OF Artillery,
Major OsgOOd, (the famous football
player of the University of Pennsyl-
vania), was killed and l succeeded to
the command. For days we pitched
shells into the Fort, and on the night
of October p the infantry assaulted
and captured a number Of the badly
damaged forts. 1t would take day
to tell you all about that terrible
night. but the short of it is that we
dragged cannon by hand into the
streets of the town and compelled the
surrender of the place, capturing
many rifles, great quantities of ammu-
milton, and carrying away the gar
risOn as prisoners of war.
On account of some of the Kansas
funny business done by my battery
during the siege 1 have been promOt-
ed to Major, or "Comandante" as they
call it in Spanish, and made Chief of
Artillery of all the forces operating
in the eastern half of the island. |
have in some way managed to get
pretty big stand in with the leaders
of the revolution, and think my
chances of attaining the rank of col
onel are fairly good.
Now that the rainy season is over
the conditions of life in the field are
not half bad, and L certainly enjoy
the responsibility and power of my