The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-04-12
GEN. FUNSTON WAS
ALWAYS A FIGHTER
From His Boyhood He Has Been
Seeking Adventures and
Facing Dangers.
HERO OF MANY A GALLANT EXPLOIT

Fought With Cubans In War Against Spain
and Has Figured in Numerous Daring
Adventures In tho Philippines-Win
Allen Whites Estimate of Him.
In the entire army, there is probably
no man who has seen more fighting in
proportion to his age than General Fred
Funston. He Is a born soldier and has
generally contrived to be in the vicin-
ity Where bullets We're flying thickest
and, although he has been wounded a
number of times, he has always es-
capped serious injury. His friends say
this is partly because there is so little
of him to hit, for he is only feet 5
inches In height and his top weight Is
about lis pounds. His most notable ex-
plot previous to this one was when he
look his Kansans across the Rio Grande
de la Pampagna on raft hastily con-
structed for the purpose under a heavy
fire from the Filipinos, formed on the
other side, and took the Notifications at
the charge.
From his boyhood days Fred Funston
has been fighter. He was born in
Ohio in 1866, but his father, E. H.fFuns-
ton, soon moved to Kansas, where he
as Foghorn Funston. His first public
appearance was made when he was
about 16 years old, at political meet
Ing at Fort Scott, Kan. The political
meeting happened to be opposed to his
fathers candidacy, but that made no
difference to young Fred. In fact, it
was the reason for his being there. At
ter all the speaking was over and Fog
horn Funston had been pretty well 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 OPP
position. but when the audience pres
emily discovered that he was telling
good story on his father 1t uuieted
down. He finished that story and then
another, and began to tell what kind
OF man Foghorn Funston, who had
been the butt of SO much ridicule, real
ly was In vain did the organizers or
the meeting howl for adjournment; the
boy now had his audience with him,
and by the time he had finished brief
but Well-put statement of the political
situation 1t was a Funston audience.
and the effect of his oratory was evil
dent on election day.
Educated at State University.
Two years later Fred Funston en-
tered the Kansas state university,
where he was classmate Of william
Allen White, who made himself famous
by his inquiry, What's the matter
with Kansas?" White says that IL it
hadn't been for himself Funston would
have stood at the foot OF the class, and,
even as it was. it was close race He
tells this story Of the young fellows
college career:
He is not afraid Of anything
that can walk. Once the towns
bad coon tried to run over Funston.
Nln n o,,1rH osrrl,., ]
pounds and was a .scrapper with a
razor record Funston was five feet
three and weighed about ninety-flve.
He 'bluffed' the colored brother to a
'standstilp and went for a warrant
and marched the boss bully through
the main streets Of Lawrence at the
point of gun"
Owing to difficulties which he exper-
fenced with some Of the text books, he
did not graduate, but in 1887 became
city editor of the Fort Smith Tribune,
q stanch upholder Of the local democ-
racy. A few days before the election,
the editor-in-chief went away, leaving
the paper in F'unston's hands. He had
been getting pretty weary Of the dem
ocratc, who had been conducting their
campaign on a basis OF bribery and
intimidation, and his first act when he
was put In control vast write an edi-
torial stating his opinions with de-
gree of frankness which left no room
for misunderstanding. 8
BesieEed In Newspaper Once.
This engaging observation-disclosures did
not appeal to the worthy citizens OF
Fort Smith. who set about showing 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 Geographic summons from
| his friends and appeased the wrath Of
| the democrats by Z. hasty issue, ex-
planning editorially what had hap
| pened. Naturally, young Funston 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. In
stead he wandered around the place
with nose in the air. looking for some
Of the alleged singleaders In the pro-
posed scheme. When he did finally
| leave there were no feathers attached
to him except the feather in his cap
at having bluffed practically the whole
/ town. When a friend asked him why
he had so foolishly thrown away his
situation by printing such an editorial
the young man said briefly:
II was tired Of the rotten pol!Sics,
and tired Of the rotton town, ard tired
| OF the rotten sheet, and ready to go,
anyway, 30 thought / might just as
I we'll wake the place up and let 'em
know was alive before ] left"
| serves rs Railway Conductor.
For time Funston was out OF a
/ job. Then he drifted into the railroad
= business and became conductor on