Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-05-04
DYNAMITE JOHNNY"
FETED BY CUBAkS
At Eighty, He Longs for
Hi s Fri d, Fred
Funston - Veteran
Filibusterer, Crippled
by Illness, Dire a m s
and Reminisces of Old
Days of Sea Adven-
ture.

The one regret Of Dynamite
Johnny" O'Brien on this. his eightieth
birthday. was that Erred" Funston
the late Major Gen. Frederick Funston,
U. S. A., could not be present at the
reception given in his honor by the
Government of Cuba at the Hotel Nc
Alpin, New York. 1t was Dynamite
Johnny" who, on one of his numerous
blockade-running trips through the
Spanish patrol fleet, landed Funston
on the coast Of Cuba back in the days
of the revolution, and ever since then
Funston has been his hero. Not even
the extraordinary honors which have
been heaped upon Capt. OBrien by
the Cuban Republic. the cablegrams
of congratulations which came to him
this morning from President Menocal
and Vice President Nunez, have served
to blot from his memory the friendship
Of the man who typif1ed for him the
true adventurer.
II never thought Fred would go be-
fore me-" he said, with a shake of the
head, as he smoked a black cigar
mo, I never thought he would go first
All, he was the great little man.
with us a little longer. He would have
been a great help just now. I liked
Fred the first time I saw him. Yes,
sir, I'll never forget that. picked
him up off the beach, you might say.
1t was after that meeting in Madison
Square Garden where Fred heard the
Cubans needed men, and the Junta
turned him over to me. I took him
down to Cuba. Yes, Stree, landed him
on the coast of Cuba. And he made
good, Fred did-just like he made good
at everything"
Mind Still Clear.
Dynamite Johnny" wagged his old
white head and blew feeble puff from
his cigar. At so years. despite the
ravages of paralysis, govt, rheumatism,
and lumbago, he is as vigorous in in
telligence as any man Of so. And the
cool. reasoned bravery that won for
him from the Cubans the title of
Captain Unafraid" enables him today
to bear pain without a murmur, with
ogy for the halt In his speech that is
dictated by overstrained muscles.
Eyes, sir" he went on. Fred always
made good. After he went into the
army they sent him to the Philippines,
and he made good there. And then
they sent him to Cuba at the time of
the second revolution, and he made
good again. And then he went to
Vera Cruz and he made good again
And when they sent him to the border
biggest job of all, that was, 1 guess
he made good again. Always made
good, Fred did, and he was little bit
of fellow. just my size, only more
corpulent, maybe. BY God, l wish old
Fred was here today"
He paused. and his steady eyes,
puckered and wrinkled from years Of
peering over bridge screens, dreamed
through the cigar smoke.
after l dropped Fred on the coast
of Cuba, way back there in the old
days, I never saw hin. again until he
came back in command of the army of
intervention during the Second Revo-
luton. But I'd read lots about him,
and never forgot him. And Fred
never forgot me. When his transport
was nosing in to Havana Harbor, he
asked the mate if they knew me-
Sure said the mate. 'O'Brien's on the
bridge coming us in Fred jumped up
when he heard that and went on deck
to the foot Of the bridge-ladder and
stood there until 1 anchored her Then
he came up the ladder two steps at a
jump and threw his arms around me
and gave me the Spanish pat"
Dynamite Johnny" illustrated the
Latin-American embrace and in doing
so brought on another spasm of pain.
Fred Remembered Him.
Damn. that-that-what dye call
it?-the lum-dago is it?" he apostro-
phized. Where was l? Oh. yes, and
Fred gave me the Spanish pat, and do
you know he remembered me just as
wen as l remembered him? He put