The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-09

uSFCS neat OF the sum- II Was dNcOulitSu
a dangerous thing to do. but he not only
did all the government expected of him.
but he won praise by the scope and thor
oughness of hrs report
His going down :nto Death Valley was
sufficient make his acquaintance and
friends of ola wonder. They knew he was
no coward. but his quiet and retiring
manner had concealed from them his
adventurous spirit.
The young men OF the town who were
his schoolmates when he was a pupil OF
the high school were the only ones Nho
were not SURPRISED They knew some OF
the inner workings of his mind. Taey say
that as a youth in those days he was ever
ready 20 create a"stir'' and seeking N
make adventures in the peace-loving vii
Iage, which was hard TO do. One night
he gathered crowd of his companions
around him and suggested that they 90
under the cover Of darkness and lombard
with stones Joint" that had just been
opened in the town.
A Joint is a Kansas saloon. Il is an
unlicensed institution, whose Whereabouts
is known to everybody but the officers II
the law. The only purpose young Funston
had in MS mind in throwing bricks against
the windows of the. Joint" was 10 make
adventure. The other young fellows fell
lowed him. and they came near dem9l-
ishing the Joint" and were rewarded by
the excitement that followed. The joint
keeper had no recourse at law, even if he
could find the offenders. but he had
large, horny hand which ne could use
vii eo1rr TacraI old E~-a5 ES,rre.o, J57,--
mind the danger Of getting into the hands
of the jointkeeper so long as ne had rested
his mind with the diverting excitement.
Even in doing this he was not malicious.
He cautioned the other boys not TO hurt
anybody, but to make as much of a tumult
as possible so as to arouse the whole
town. He was mischievous but not ma
licious.
1t was the report written by Fred Fun
ston OF his exploration of Death Valley
that earned for him an appointment by
the Democratic secretary of agriculture
under Cleveland's second administration
in 1898 as a commissioner to explore Alaska
and report on the fora of the country.
This ability to write and TO learn what
TO write about may be traced back TO his
experiences Of three years before.
Fred Funston was a newspaper reporter.
He worked on the Kansas City News in
1890, a paper which has since passed away
He covered a territory" for that paper
but after less than a year of work he quit
Kansas City, but not newspaper work
He went to Fort Smith, Ark. where he
worked on a newspaper again. II was a
Democratic paper. and when he returned
to lola and told of his experience in Ar
kansas his friends asked:
why, Fred, how could you write edi-
torials on a Democratic paper?"
80. that's nothing. A newspaper man IS
equal to all emergencies"
Out of this the story ran and grew until
everybody in lola and Whereabouts was
telling how Fred Funston went to Arkan-
sas and printed Republican editorials in
Democratic paper.
There have been several grotesque
stories printed about Fred" his father
said to the correspondent OF The Tribune,
"and that Arkansas newspaper story is
one of them. People who didn't know
anything about newspapers thought it was
extraordinary he should do any kind of
work on a Democratic paper. knowing
that, like myself he is Republican.
There are several other ridiculous stories
that have been printed in New York papers
about him. One is that ne ran away from
home and lived with the Indians awhile.
The truth is that he never ran away from
home and he never lived with the In
dams"
Other things were printed IN eastern
papers that have caused deep grief in the
quiet and well-ordered Funston home The
| Funston family has been pictured as rude
and uncouth, and the alders as decrepit
| and unsophisticated Happily, it is true
that they are industrious. and have the
honest simplicity of the heaIth-giving sur
roundings Of the farm. Mr.. Funston works
on the farm and his dress at work IS
suitable to the labor. His hands are hard
and his face IS tanned with the sun, but
he is none the less a student and lover
of books. When he comes in out of the
field to receive a visitor in his home he is
beaming with the air Of hospitality. One
begins TO Ike his homespun clothes out OF
a king for the easy manner in which he
| convlnces one he is welcome.
| When one has sat with him talking for
| an hour he wishes ne had hornespur
| clothes also, with their unstarched shirt
| open at the collar instead Of the silly
| primpins dictated by artificial whims. His
hair is gray. but he IS rugged and strong
| and his pondrous frame is active. Mrs
| Funston is a neat little person IN a we'll
| fitting gown and Of correct speech. She
! certainly does not look old enough to BE-
| the mother Of a brtgadier general. ever
! though he is no older than was Phil Sher-
! idan when he was making folks talk about
small stature and daring a generation ago
! The second daring adventure OF Free
! Funston was that which followed his ap-
/ pointment in 1898 to visit Alaska h
/ penetrated the frozen regions whereye1
his presence was needed in the discharge
Of his commission. on one occasion 10
took some Indian guides and Travelled 2.
! miles over the snow and the ice 10 th'
rescue Of a ship that was ice-bound- h
went as far up the Yukon river as am
nave gone since. and he visited the place.
| where gold has since been found 70 excite
the whole country. He camped the |intel
OF 1894 on the kIo1dike. II vas IN TIT
! district where gald has been found II
/ greatest quantities since He heard o. go!c
/ IN the vicinity from the Indians. but ~
was busy with the duties of his office and
paid no need to the stories further thar
TO make them subject Of report lie haf
q companion in the lonely camp i1 th'
person q an Episcopal MISSIONARY
..Thinh o. Fred camping Whole Einte'
with A preacher" said his father. "ane
49,, -,s4 some ~ the things be says wheF
he gets excited 7ut n the Fn'dppineS'
and Ms deep voice rang win .a1sHteE-
The growing feat q the young CON