The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-03-13

pneumatic dynamite gun, the first ever
used in battle) that the Spaniards set
a price upon his head. AT the battle
Of Samai his lungs were pierced by a
Mauser bullet and while he was re-
covering from this wound his hip was
injured by his horse falling upon it
during a cavalry charge. This was
followed by an attack Of fever and
with his health broken Funston at
tempted to reach the coast and escape
TO the United States.
He was arrested by the Spaniards
but succeeded in convincing them that
he was a deserter from the Cuban
army (after swallowing the passport
which would have betrayed him) and
although they at first sentenced him
to firing squad and a stone wall, he
was finally freed and sent to the
United States. This was in 1890 and
the next few years Funston spent on
the lecture platform.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-Amer-
lean war he organized the Twentieth
Kansas Volunteers regiment similar
to the Rough Riders, of which he was
made a colonel. His regiment was or
dered to the Philippines and in No
vember, 1898, he joined Gen. Wesley
Merritt at Manila and aided In the
capture of the capital.
1t is at this point that Aguinaldo
comes into the picture. The early life
and ancestry of this leader is cloaked
In mystery. He is said to have much
Spanish blood in his veins from which
came his intelligence, his courage, his
military ability and his political
acumen. When in August, 1898, he
declared himself president of the revo-
lutionary government of the Philip
pines and general in chief Of its army,
he called himself Don Emilio Agui-
naldo Fanny. He was even then
dreaming of independence for his ma
tive land, after the Americans had de-
feated the hated Spaniard and these
dreams led to the instruction against
the new masters of the islands.
Almost from the beginning of the
instruction Funston had been in the
field against Aguinaldo's followers.
His strict discipline had not made him
especially popular with his soldiers,
but after the affair at Murilao river
in April, 1899, he had their unbounded
respect. There he found the bridge
across the river destroyed and a
strong force Of insurrectos on the
other side to resist a crossing by the
Americans. Selecting 20 of those who
volunteered TO accompany him, Fun
ston swan the river, drove the enemy
back and took so prisoners. A few
days later, with only As men, he
crossed the Rio Grande at Calumpit
on a raft, and after desperate fight
drove $500 Of the enemy from an in
trenched position. For this feat he
was promoted to brigadier general Of
volunteers and at Santo Tomas on
May 4, although shot through the
head, he had his wound hastily band
agedd and then led daring charge
upon the insurrectos' Entertainments
Throughout 1899 and 1900 there was
constant fighting but always the lead
er of the insurrectoS eluded capture.
Sometime during 1900 he seemed to
have dropped out of sight entirely but
in January, 1901, from his hiding place
in the province of Isabella. Aguinaido
sent out a letter denouncing the sub
chiefs who had taken the oath Of al
legiance to the United States and or
dered certain insurgent forces in
southern Luzon to join him at the
rendezvous in Isabella. The messen-
ger entrusted with this letter surren-
dered to an American lieutenant In