Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1899-06-22
GENERAL FREDERICK FUNSTON

Funston left the Kansas farm in his
teens, where his fathers household
was established. He went to Mexico.
There he picked up Spanish. He en-
tered the Kansas state university in
early twenties, alternating annually
the pursuit Of knowledge with the pur-
suit of dollars-first as Santa Fe
train-colleetor, then as a Kansas City
newspaper reporter, and later as a
government botanical explorer in the
Dakotas and in Montana, and finally
in the terrible death valley of south
ern California. In the Cuban army
he rose from lieutenant to lieutenant
colonel and chief of artillery, under
Garcia. Funston fired the first dyna-
mite-gun ever used in actual war,
with only the printed directions of the
gun-makers 10 guide him. At this
time he did not know as much about
artillery as he did about a sulky-
plough. but he made what a boy
calls a stab" at it; and when a chunk
of Spanish fortifcation caved in Fun
ston was happy and went on making
ruins with his new toy After he was
appointed colonel of the twentieth
Kansas Volunteers by Governor Leedy
of Kansas, Funston was called TO Tam
pa to consult with General Miles
about the topography of certain parts
OF Cuba. Funston would not wear
MS c0iUneis uniform at Tampa; ne
went about in the linen clothes Of a
civilian. When some one asked why
he did not put on his uniform, he re-
Piled Now I'd look pretty, wouldn't
|, trotting up and down in a colonels
rig, when all around here are sure
enough sodiers-men who have fought
their way up from the line in the reg
ular army, who have been in the civil
war and in a score OF Indian wars,
who have the right to wear only a
captains or at most a majors uni
FORM wouldn't be a daisy, letting
men like that salute me in my tin
soldier clothes? Well, | guess not
not without stimulants, anyhow" SO
he scampered about in his unadorned
clothes, and jrered at what be called
the liyery-stable brigadiers who did
not know tours right from balance all.
Funston did not know very much
about the fine points of the art of war,
but he was candid and acknowledged
his ignorance. When the regular
army men at Tampa began to ques-
ton him about his range with the
artillery Funston told them, with a
boyish innocence too sweet to poison
with military science, that he pulled
his guns up within four or five hun
dred yards of his mark before firing.
Whereat the army men laughed quiet
ly, winked at one another, and listened
obviously thereafter Later, when
some Spanish officers were taken
prisoners at Santiago they told in
horror Of a little damn fool Ameri-
can" fighting under Garcia the year
before, who poked the nose of his gun
50 close to the Spanish Notifications
that his powder burned their eye
brows. Then the American regular
army men remembered Funston, and
laughed again. When Funston joined
his Kansas regiment in San Francisco
he put his best bib and tucker on and
went to school to his majors. He de-
voted his time to keeping the camp
clean. When the Kansas boys dressed
up they Immediately took rank with
the best regiments in the camp, Their
sick list was the smallest in the diyi-
sion they drilled like machines; came
to love their colonel 50 chat when he
anointed them with the Walls of his
| fluent wrath they were ecstatic in
their happiness. He made speeches to
them that were not in the regulations.
Il have noticed ne said TO the regi-
ment one day in August, that you
boys are getting sloppy in your man
ners. When you meet a superior Of
/ fcer you kind of brush a fly from your
ear and so on. Now hereafter you
just stop brushing flies and salute. -
Harpers Weekly,
CHApNS 0IS COUNTRY LIFE