The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-02-20

LII ~ n IL OOO Mn AL
who came to this country and settled
near Paris, KY. in 1900. Later he
moved to Ohio, and there Edward
| Hogue Funston, father of the general,
was born Edward H. Funston con-
| tinued as a farmer in Ohio until the
outbreak of the Civil war, when he
entered the. Union army as a second
lieutenant. He belonged to a COM
Anderson Mitchell, and just before
| setting out for the south, in 1861, he
married Miss Ann E. Mitchell, a
cousin of the captain. The great
grandmother of Miss Mitchell was
sister of Daniel Boone, the great Ken
lucky pioneer, and perhaps it is by
heredity that General Funston comes
of his love of adventure and his
Kpluck under trying circumstances
Edward H. Funston removed to Allen
county, Kansas, in 1867, when the
subject of this sketch was years old.
E. H Funston was a congressman
Tor many years and on account OF his
booming voice was known as Fog
| horn Funston. He was also called
Farmer" Funston on occasion.
Tried IA. U. and Raiiroading.
Frederick was educated in the AL
len county schools and at the Uni
versity of Kansas, altho he never was
graduated from the university.
| OiiC NlIllSI he taught SCIlOOl, anu
for about year he worked as fare
collector on the Atchison, Topeka &
| Santa Fe railroad. During his uni
versity days he participated in many
of the expeditions sent out by that
institution in quest of natural history
specimens. After leaving the univer
sity young Funston worked as a news
| paper reporter, first in Fort Smith,
and then on the Kansas City Journal.
After brief experience on the latter
!, inin n
Bad Lands of Dakota in search of
botanical specimens, and after COM
! pletiEg this work he was engaged by
| the national department of agrlcui-
ture to accompany scientific party
in explorations and observations in
the famous Death valley of southern
! California. Here he was engaged for
| nine months, living in the meantime
on precarious supplies of food and
water, and having several narrow es-
capes from death.
Adventures in Klondike.
After completing this task he was
sent by the department to northern
Alaska He traversed the famous
! KIondike region long before it yielded
it's famous gold discoveries. and pro-
ceeded to the Arctic ocean, employ
ing snow shoes and sledges, and going
where a white man had never gone
before He spent two years on this
expedition and experienced all the
rigors of an Arctic winter, at one
time, with his single Esqu1mau com
panion, being compelled to eat all but
two of his dogs. When he started
| for civilization he came down the
| Yukon river for 1000 miles by canoe
After finishing his Alaskan work, he
delivered a series of illustrated lee
lures in Kansas, but the spirit OF ad-
venture was strong in him, and he
was soon off for Mexico and Central
America, where he sought out land
fit for coffee raising. A little later
he appeared in New York, seeking
money with which to exploit ms cor
fee enterprise, and while thus trying
his hand at financial promoting he
entered the services of the Atchlson,
| Topeka & Santa Fe as a deputy comp
troller, his principal duty being to sign
the new bonds issued by the reorgan-
lied company.
Joined Cuban Insurgents.
While thus engaged he went one
day to the headquarters of the Cuban
junta and enlisted with the insQr-
| gents. In due time he was landed, on
the island and became an officer in
the native artillery, and for something
| like twenty months he continued in
this branch of the service, reaching
the rank of lieutenant colonel. He
| commanded all of the artillery east of
| Havana and was engaged in every
fight in this region, participating in
He was wounded thru both lungs and
thru one arm, and at last was in
| capacitated for active duty by receiv-
ing a broken leg beneath a falling
| horse.
Starting to make his way to the
coast with a Cuban passport in his
possession, he was set upon by some
! Spanish soldiers, when he promptly
chewed up and swallowed the passport
and passed himself as a Cuban de-
! had of he
fight.
Led the Fighting Twentieth.
Returning to Kansas on crutches, he
| again esSayed to lecture, this time
with decided success, and he was so
engaged when the Spanish-American
! war broke out. With the raising of
the first regiment of Kansas voiun-
teers Funston was appointed as its col
| Onel, and in due time he took the reSi-
ment to Manila. His intrepid conduct
there is now matter of familiar his
| tory. On a dozen battlefields he led
his regiment to victory, and was pro-
NOTED to be brigadier general of vol
! unteers for gallant conduct upon the
field of battle.
Before leaving San Francisco he
was married to Miss Eda Blankart
an accomplished young woman of
| Oakland, Cal, whom he had met and
wooed while his regiment was waiting
| for transportation to the Philippines
MIS-. unStOn is a woman OF marked
beauty and great strength of charac-
ter, and an excellent musician. She
was with her husband all thru the is
land campaigns.
Praise for AguinaldO Capture.
While commanding a military dis
trict in northern Luzon, General Fun
ston planned an expedition to pene-
trate the mountain wilds and capture
| Emilio Auginaldo, the commanding
general of the Filipino army This
daring exploit was successfully COM
pleted March %, 1901. 1t was the
most valuable, as well as the most
dangerous feat accomplished by any
| commander of modern times. Of this
Major General Macarthur cabled the
WAR denartment: 1.-THE tranSa ction