Connecticut western news., 1917-02-22

Fought With Insurgents There, her
 Went to Philippines as United State:
 Volunteer and Captured Aguina,do
 In Command on Border Since Trou'
 bles With Mexico Started.
 Major General Funston. in charge Oi the military department of the south who had complete charge of the recent punitive expedition into Mexico and the troops on the border, dropped dead ill the St. Anthony hotel at san An. tonic Monday night, shortly after eat ing dinner in the hotel
 The doctors said death was due tC an attack of acute indigestion. The general was playing with the small child of one of the guests when he was stricken.
 Career a Picturesque One.
 Funston was one of the most pic turesque figures ill the American army In a less prosaic age his love of adven. ture and his exploits would have made him even more of a flashing hero than he was regarded. He was fifty-seven years old, and in those years he had crammed plenty of the spice of life known as danger. Even before his practically single handed capture of Aguinaldo Frederick Funston was known as game and gallant fighting that other men might balk at.
 Funston was T slightly built lad ot sixteen when his father moved from Carlisle. O.. to southwestern Kansas. In 1885 young Fred entered the State University of Kansas.
 Funston was in New York in 1896 when the late General Sickles made a rousing speech at Madison Square Gar. den in behalf of the oppressed Cubans Moved by the appeal for Cuba Libre, General FunstonN offered his services to the Cuban junta.
 To Aid Cuba Lbre.
 He distinguished himself for bravery at Guimaro in October. 1896, when Os, good was killed. He took command and with dynamite bomb in his hand led charge that broke the Spanish front and ended the fight. At Bayama he was wounded three times and had his horse killed under him. He was in the thick of the fighting at Las Tunas. After this battle the Cubans Insisted on shooting fifty prisoners. Funston protested. was waved aside and prompt. ly resigned his commission.
 When the United States went to wal with Spain General Funston was ready to fight again. He refused an easy jOh on General Miles staff and finally got a commission as colonel of the Twen. tieth Kansas regiment of volunteers The regiment was ordered to the Phil. ippines, and while waiting for sailina orders General Funston married Miss Eda Blankart, music teacher.
 His regiment held an important place in the fighting around Manila when the Filipino insurrection began in 1899 During the fighting at Malolos the regi. ment was punished by wicked fire from insurrectos intrenched on the far bank of the Marilao river.-
 swims Raging River.
 Calling for volunteers, General Fun, ston swan the river with a revolver gripped in his teeth and twenty men at his back, charged the Filipino trenches and put the insurrectos to flight.
 Shortly afterward he more than du- plicated this exploit, swimming the Rio Grande de Ia Pampagna with two men under fire and set up rope ferry by which his troops hauled themselves across the river and delivered a blow that won a battle. For this he was made brigadier general of volunteers.
 AguinaldO was fOOtlOOSe then. From inaccessible mountain strongholds he sallied out to raid American patrols and burn villages. General Funston conceived the plan of disgusting a force of seventy-nine Filipino scouts as Aguinaldos expected re-enforce, ments. At the head of this command and accompanied by four ex-insurgent officers and four American officers, Funston plunged into the jungle where no white man ever had been.
 After eight days march through the jungle, posing as prisoners taken by Aguinaldo's re-enforcements, General Funston and his men reached Aguinal. dos hiding place and arrested him without the loss of Q man. The presi. dent made General Funston a briga. dier general of the regular army in recognition of the exploit
 Busy Since Then.
 Funston was in command of the de, partment of the Pacific during the San Francisco earthquake. He rushed troops there, kept order and saved what remained of the city.
 When ex-President Taft, then secre- tary of war, went on his mission to Cuba General Funston went with him. Subsequently he served as head of the army service schools at Fort Leaven- worth and in other routine posts of duty. Then came the Mexican crisis of the spring of 1914, when General Huarta'S SuhordinateS rnf1Spd to 60