The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-21


brought him a beat which the first day
convinced the city editor that Funston
was phenomenal reporter. When a letter
came from a man in Fort Smith to the
newspaper office asking the city editor to
send him first class man to take care
OF country daily, Funston went. He
didn't know any more about a country
daily than he knew about the climate of
Mars, but he tackled it. When the United
States District Court met at Fort Smith
Funston started in to take sides in a muir
der case, and Judge Parker, the famous
hanging judge, who has sentenced over a
hundred murderers to death, called Funs-
ton into his study one evening, ostensibly
to talk about the case in question. The
judge opened the conversation by telling
Mr. Funston in confidence, that journal
ism wasn't his profession, and closed the
incident by intimating that the climate
of Arkansas was very, very unhealthy at
that particular season. Not desiring to go
to Jail for contempt, Funston got out of
town on a night train, and the owner Of
the paper found a new man the next
morning. But Funston had enough money
saved up to go to school another year, and
so went back to the university. At the end
of the year he took the civil service exam
nation and got place in the agricultural
| department at Washington, and was sent
! TO Montana and the Dakotahs making a
| botanical collection of grasses. After that
he Joined the government expedition that
made the first official survey of Death Val
| ley, the famous California death trap.
The rigors of this undertaking may be
| inferred from the fact that Funston, the
youngest member of the expedition, is the
| only one alive and sane to-day After
| the work in Death Valley was completed
! Funston made one of the party of five that
| effected the fist back door" entrance
| into Yosemite valley down the sheer sides
| of the mountains.
In the winter of 1892 his mans work
began when the government sent him to
| Alaska to make a botanical survey OF
| certain parts of the coast. Later, in 1898
| he returned to Alaska to make botanical
survey of the Yukon river.
| To-day the trail over Chilkoot pass is
as familiar as the walk along Broadway.
| But in 1898 the pass was known only to
| Indian guides, and its devious ways had
been found only by the feet Of a few
daring miners and fugitives from society.
Then il was that Funston and two miners
went up the pass and over 10 the Yukon.
| The Indian guides struck one day, and
| Funston tells about 1t in one of his let
| ters: 1.-THE Indians carried the loads
| while we dragged the empty sleds and
dld the swearing, Inc SNOW zen Hioes,
sanity for fVe Gays, ana II lay aIons
our route from hVe 10 nlty Ieet ueep' l,
was day after day OF walloWihg ana
struggling through snow as we Worke t',
our way = auue,ty l,e,,1 AL 1li-.ar
of the range; one cheerful little diver
sion occurred on the second day' Inc
| low-browed eX-cannibal who was chlei
packer, and seemed to nave charge Oh Inc
other Indians, threw ms load INTO inc
snow, and announced that unless theli
pay was materially increased ne ana the
| other packers would get themselves pach
to the village, and thus leave us IN pref
| ty pickle. My temper had been at a
white heat all day. and without thinking
WhaC hls,' Nc .no oJ ,ls =,
a move like fool, showed the muzzie o.
a cooked winchester INTO the lace OF ths
advisory committee Oh that sItlAe, anu tii'
way that the Most Serene Grand master
of the Amalgated order OF Chncoot sal,
mon Bitter reshouldered ms sack Oh
beans and tugGeda through the proal
expanse of the beautiful snow SHOWS tha
it is sometimes good thing Iof every
well-reguiated lamily 10 nave gun III Tue
house."
He went down the Aukoh 20 tle moutn VI
| the Potcu,line river where he lett the mi