The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-05-02

inlet and with a party of miners went
over the divide to the head of the Yu-
kOn river. Two Indian guides took him
down to the mouth of the POrcupine
river; he tackled his boat, the Nancy
Hanks, up the Porcupine to Rampant
House, an abandoned Hudson Bay COM
pany trading post. There he and mis-
sionary started to spend the Arctic
winter
Funston. and with a single Indian he
started for an evenings walk to the
Arctic ocean. Funston and the indian
got lost. One day they came across a
party of Indians going to a whaling
fleet in the Arctic ocean. Funston and
his Indian Joined the party and came up
to the fleet, which was frozen in the ice,
where he told the news of the preSiden-
tial nomination in 1892 and of the cleo
ton of Cleveland.
He started back to Rampant House
and got there just as the morning of
spring was dawning. He had made
journey of 900 miles in the dead of night
of an Arctic winter. Peary's famous
journey in Greenland was only 400 miles,
and it was made in the light of mid
summer
EVEN FAME COULD NOT CATCH
HIM.
But Funston was too busy to get
famous Leaving Rampant House he
went down the POrcupine river and on
down the Yukon to its mouth alone in
an open boat, a journey of over
thousand miles. He made his report,
quit the government service, ana went
to Central America, where he tried to
establish coffee plantation and failed.
Then he showed up in the Cuban
army where he Served under Garcia,
enlisting as a private and coming out
as a lieutenant colonel and chief of ar
tillery in that division of the army led
by Garcia. His rank is higher than
that of any other American officer in
the Cuban revolution.
He was wounded three times, once
through the lungs. once through the
arm and once in the thigh. He lay
three months on bull-hide hammock
in the Cuban hospital, fearing every
moment that the guerillas who slaugh-
tered the sick might come and end his
misery.
THE story of no other American who
has lived in the last half of the nine
teenth century has so much adventure
and romance in it as this brief story of
Fred Funston. The love of the roman
tic is so strong in the people, even in
these humdrum days, that when the
young Kansas colonel comes back to his
people he can have any office within
their gift.
He is as honest as he is brave, and
if he should ever care to serve his coun-
try in peace as he has served her in
war, he will make a careful, courageous,
THE HERO OF LUzON.
The Cincinnati Times-Star says of
General Funston:
The military operations in the Phil
ippines have produced no more con-
spfcuous figure than Col. Funston of
the Twentieth Kansas. The work of
this ardent patriot is the material for
some of the most brilliant pages of the
worlds war history. He has been in
almost every battle; always in the
greatest peril and where he could do
the most good. He has ever command
ed Come on never Go on" He has
been a leader, not a follower He ap-
pears to be absolutely devoid of fear
and is constantly imperiling his life to
advance his country's flag and to con-
quer his country's enemies. He rivaled
the daring efforts of Lieut.. Blue in
Cuba when at the dead hour of night
he passed through the Filipino lines
and secured valuable information to
the numerical and munition strength
of the enemy. Hobson's bravery at
Santiago was no greater than that of
Col. Funston when with 20 men he
SWAN d s0ift-f1owing river and cap
tured 30 Filipinos and their arms He
was the first man to enter MalolOs and
when Col. Egbert fell it was Col. Fun
ston who remained in the front rank
cheering and leading on the men to vic
tory.
1t was at Calumpit that he perform
ed his crowning feat of valor With
five men he crept half way across the