The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-05-02
COLONEL FRED FUNSTON
INCIDENTS IN THE CAREER OF THE
LITTLE MAN WHO FIGHTS SO WELL.
He WINS n LamentabIe Failure MT
school and College, but Never
Missed a Chance for q Fight.
New York Sun.

In the entire army there Is probably no
man who has seen more fighting in proper
ton to his age than Col. Fred Funston. He
Is born soldier and has generally contrived
to be In the vicinity where bullets were fly
Ing thickest, and although he has been
wounded number of times he has always
escaped serious injury. His friends say that
this is partly because there Is so little of
him to hit, for he is only five feet five
inches tall and his top weight is about lis
pounds. His latest exploit, when he took
his kansans across the Rio Grande de Ia
Pampanga on a raft hastily constructed for
the purpose, under a heavy fire from the
F1ipinos, formed them on the other side and
took the Notifications at the charge. adds
one more heroic service to q record already
long.
From his boyhood days Fred Funston has
been fighter. He was born in Ohio in 1866,
but his father, E. II. Funston. soon moved
to Kansas, where he became congressman
and was known as Foghorn Funston. His
first public appearance was made when he
was about sixteen years old, at political
meeting at Fort Scott, Kan. The political
meeting happened TO be opposed to his
fathers candidacy. but that made no diff
reason for his being there. After all the
speaking was over and Foghorn Funston
had been pretty we'll torn to pieces the
young fellow got up, took the stage and
said that he had few remarks to make.
He proceeded to make them in the face Of
strenuous opposition, but when the audience
presently discovered that he was telling a
good story on his father IL Quilted down. He
finished that story and then another, and
then began to tell what kind of man Fog
horn Funston, who had been the butt of so
much ridicule, really was In vain did the
organizers of the meeting howl for adjourn
ment. the boy now had his audience with
him, and by the time he had finished a brief
but well put statement of the political situa-
ton 1t was a Funston audience, and the
effect of his oratory was very evident on
election day.
Two years later Fred Funston entered the
Kansas State University. where he was a
made himself famous by bis inquiry.
Whats the matter with Kansas" White
says that IL IL hadn't been for himself t'uns-
ton would have stood at the foot of the class.
and even as II was II was close race. He
tells this story of the young fellow COLI
lege career:
walk Once the towns bad COON tried to
run over Funston. The darby weighed pref
ty nearly go pounds and was scrapper
with razor record. Funston was five feet
three and weighed about ninety-five. He
'bluffed' the colored brother TO stand
still and went for warrant and marched
the boss bully through the main streets OF
Lawrence at the point of gun.
EXPERIENCE AS EDITOR.
Owing to difficulty which he experienced
with some of the textbooks he didn't grad
uate, but in 1887 became city editor Of the
Fort Smith Tribune. a stanch upholder of
the local Democracy. A few days before the
election the editor-in-chief went away. leav-
ing the paper in Funston's hands. He had
been getting pretty weary of the Democrats,
who had been conducting their campaign on
a basis of bribery and intimidation. and his
first act when he was put in control was to
write an editorial stating his opinions with
degree of franknsss Which 1eftrno room for
misunderstanding This engaging open
mindedness did not appeal to- the worthy
citizens of Fort Smith, who set about show
ing the young editor the error OF his ways
by burning down the Tribune building.
Funston gathered his staff about him and
prepared to defend the place. but the editor
in-chief hastily returned IN answer to urgent
telegraphic summons from his friends and
appeased the wrath OF the Dmeocrats by
.h hasty Issue explaining edit0ral k,v what
did not retain his Job. There was talk of
tarring and feathering him before he could
get away from town. but he didn't evince
any haste in leaving. Instead, he wandered
around the place with his nose in the air,
looking for some of the alleged ringleaders in
the proposed scheme When he did finally
leave there were no feathers attached to
him, except the feather in his cap at hav-
ing bluffed practically the whole town.
When a friend asked him why he had so
fooishy thrown away his situation by print
ing such an editorial the young man said
briefly:
II was tired of the rotten politics and tired
h vrnff o,.1 frn1 nf fhn ton
sheet and ready to go, anyway; so thought
/ might just as well wake the place up and
let 'em know / was alive before left"
For time Funston was out OF a job. Then
he drifted into the railroad business and be-
came conductor on the Santa Fe line. One
day a cowboy full of rum became rampa-
geous in his car and lying down on his back
In the aisle began TO shoot holes in the cell
ing. The little conductor kicked the revolver
out of his hand, yanked him along the aisle
and threw him off the back platform. The
which broke an end window. then started
and ran down the track, with Funston In hot
fugitive distanced him. BY the time he got
back to his train. sweating and GREATNESS.
half an hour had been dropped on the seized.
u.le. The superintendent made inquiry about
il and the conductor explained.
1t was all right to throw him on, SAID
the superintendent, but what did you go
and chase him for?'
Il suppose l was mad" said Funston.
Wouldn't you be mad II a man threw a
rock through your window"
Probably: but don't do IL again., said the
superintendent.
Whether because of this restriction or for
other causes the young man soon left the
railroads employ and cast about him for
something else to do. The chance came In
an expedition to Dakota. followed by one to
Death Valley From this latter half of the
travellers came back permanently disabled,
but ii seemed to agree with Funston and he
liked SO well the exploring OF unknown
countries that he looked around for some
thing else in the same line. The Agricultural
Department wanted some one to collect
botanical specimens I'm the interior of Alaska
and friend got an offer Of the place for
Funston, at the same time warning him that
IL was perilous job.
That's all right" said the young man,
"but as my botanical knowledge doesn't ex-
tend much further than knowing a violet
from sunfower, 1 don't think I'd be
valuable collector"
HIS LATER CAREER.
Nevertheless the prospect was so alluring
that he set to work to learn practical
botany. and in 1892 was in Alaska. He went
over Chiikoot pass in late blizzard. struck
for the interior reached the spot where
Dawson City now is and started down the