The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1899-05-10
COLONEL FUEsroN's CAREER.
Wherever There Was an Adventure.
He, Too, Was there

He, Too, Was there
William Allen White, in an inter
view, gave this story of the career Of
Colonel Frederick Funston:
Fred. Funston was a sixteenth CEN
tury knight, horn three centuries too
late. He did the best be could TO rec
tify the error of his birth by praneing
up and down the frontiers Of the world
hunting adventure He got as good an
education as the schools of his town
ship and county and State could give
him, and in 1850 set out for the jOusts
and the tourney.
sHe began his career as a Santa Fe
train collector, and half dozen cow
boys in New Mexico and Colorado and
Western Kansas, who laughed at the
little toy collector, as they called him,
put their faces in court plaster and
bought new guns. One Of his favorite
pasiimes was to disarm burly cowboys
who insisted on shooting holes through
the roof OF the smoker.
"He got place in the Agricultural
Department At Washington as bOtan-
ist and went into Dakota aud Montana,
collecting grasses for the collection in
the Government Museum. a year later
Funston was assigned to the Death
Valley expedition, which was sent to
survey that fearful alkali waste in
Southern California, where the temper
ature ranges above 30 degrees Fahren-
heit all the year round. Every man
who went in that expedition except
Eunston is either dead or insane.
Zone day Funston started across the
desert, l25 miles, after the mail; he got
lost; the canister of water gave out,
his horse fell under him aud for twen-
ty-four hours he walked without food
or water, with the thermometer regis
tering 10, and the sun beating down
upon him. Two days later he wrote
me letter and devoted less than three
lines to the incident, and it was only
by prodding and questioning that |
ever got the truth from him.
after coming back from Death VAL
ley Funston went to Alaska, still work.
ing for the Government. collecting
botanical specimens. After fifteen
months he returned home and equip
ped himself for another expedition
which to-day is a record breaker for al
Alaskan travellers.
ain April, 1895, Funston left Chill
eoot Inlet, and with a party Of miners
went over the divide to the head of the
Yukon River. Two Indian guides took
him down tine mouth of the POreupine
River; he tackled his boat, the Nancy
Hanks, up the Porcupine TO Rampant
House, an abandoned Hudson Bay
Company trading post. There he and
missionary started to spend the
Arctic winter. The monotony Of the
thing palled on Funston, and with a
single Indian he started for an even
ing's walk to the Arctic Ocean. Fun
ston and the Indian got lost. One day
they came across q party OF Indians
-goingto a whaling fleet in the Arctic
Ocean. Fdnston aud his Indian join
ed the party and came up to the fleet
which was frozen in the ice, where h'
told the news of the Presidential mons
iuation in 1892 aud OF the election O
| CleveIand.
"He started back to Rampant HOus'
and got there just as the morning o
spring was dswning. He had made 1
| journey of 900 miles in the dead o
night of an Arctic Winter. Peary'
/ famous journey in Greenland was onl,
400 miles, and il was made in the ligh
of midsummer.
''He made his report, quit the Gov
erament service and went to Contra
1 A nerica, where he tried to establish
elffee plantation and failed.
'rrhen he showed up in the Cubal
army when he served under Garcia
enlisting As private and coming ou
as lieutenant colonel and chief Of al
tiIlery in that division of the army le'
by Garcia. He was wounded thre
: times, once through the lungs, one
through the arm and once in the thigh
He lay three months on bail-hid
hammock in the Cuban hospital. Tn
story of no other American who ha
lived in the last half of the nineteent
century has so much adventure and r.
nance in it AS this brief story Of Free
l Funston.
"He is as honest as he is brave, an
/ If he should ever care to serve his eouI
E try in peace as he has served her
, war he will make a careful, eOurageou,