Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-01-21
[F1om the Philadelphia Times

witnesses.
F1om the Philadelphia Times.
Some of the bloodiest duels on record were |
fought in Florida. The Seminole war, in
1887, brought to the front lot of reckless
young blue bloods that were full of fire and
sparkle. Gay ivers for the most part, they
headed carelessly through the world and car
ried the whole defence of their lives in their
pistol fingers. A pressure of the trigger wa
the answer they gave to protest or depreca-
ton. The brush they had with Osceola and
his yellow devils warmed them up sharply,
and when Prince Murat settled upon their
coast with a colony of Frenchmen, challenges
flew thick and fast The Frenchmen, of ne
cessity and with pleasure, fought their way
through, and very soon the already turbulent
society of Florida had received deeper tinge
from the splendid drilling of the cut and
thrust followers of ''the Prince 1t was
in Florida that the feud began N
which the Alstons, Willis and Angus.
tus, lost their lives. I was sit
ting one night in Browns Hotel-a famous
old rendezvous Of forty years standing
picking myself in orange brandy and MUNICH
ing soaked biscuit, when shutting old fell
Mr.. Zabran, ragged postscript to the life of
humble but respectable business of washing
dishes at the hotel Pushing him glass Of
brandy, asked him to tell me all about it.
Then and there, in that musty and half
ruined hotel, full of its wild and riotous
memories, the old fellow told me story that
for fierce gallantry and recklessness put fic-
ton to shame.
Gin the Seminole war; said Mr.. Zabran,
evidently amblinG down well-worn groove
of conversation, ''Goy. Call, of this State,
commanded crack regiment. One morn
ing he receiveda note announcing that his
wife was quite ILL., He at once repaired to
her beside. During his absence battle was
fought. Shortly afterwa1d an article APP
peared in the Chronicle and Sentinel of
Augusta, insinuating that Gov. Call
had purposely absented himself from
the battle. The paper contain
ing this cruel article reached the
camp, and was at once the subject of COM
ment. Lieut.. Augustus Aston, determined
in the absence Of his Colonel, to protect his
through the woods to Augusta. Reaching
that city, he made his way to the Chronicle
Office and demanded to know the author of
the offensive article. It turned out that it
was Gov. Reed, of Florida, for long time
a bitter political enemy of Calls. Lieut..
/ Aston at once sent him peremptory chal-
lenge. Gov. Reed replied that he would be
happy to accommodate Lieut.. Aston with
satisfaction as soon as he had concluded an
affair with Lieut.. Williams, of Calls staff,
who had already favored him with note
upon the same subject. Aston thereupon
had to content his soul in patience until the
affair with Williams was over. He did not
have to wait long. A meeting was soon
arranged between Reed and Williams, the
conditions Of which were that they were to
fight with bowie knives until
one or the other should be cut
down. At the meeting the men came upon
the GROUND stripped to the shirt. They adj
vanced until they met each other. They
then elapsed their hands together in a firm
and dead game grasp, standing toe to toe.
The keen and shining knives were then
placed in their right hands. At a signal
they were dropped perpendicularly along
their legs. At the next word they were rails
ed into the air, and then the terrible fencing
began. It was brief strenuous struggle.
The long knives cut and .gashed through the
flesh of the combatants and clashed and
sparkled against each other, now buried in
vital tissue and now whipped out with dim,
blush moisture yelling the blades, until at
length Lieut.. Williams FELL hacked almost to
pieces. Gov. Reed escaped without disabling
injury.
"He then tnrned his attention to Lieut..
Aston. Being the challenged party he had
the choice of weapons. He selected muir
derous weapon, now happily obsolete, but
then of common use, and known as a wager.
} It was a broad-mouthed, funnel-shaped
, smooth-bore gun, that carried a handful Of
shot, and was warranted to hit everything in
! AZ a:-l,1.z
, a most unfortunate one in it's direct and re-
, mote results Capt. Kenon was Lieut.. AL
ston's second. The principals were posted
/ with their backs to each other. AS the word
wheel was called it is claimed that Aston
slipped and stumbled. The command, Fire,
-two-three?' followed almost imme-
diately, and before he could recover, his gun
went off into the air, Gov. Reed took cool
aim, fired promptly at the word, and Lieut..
Aston dropped dead. Thus two gallant
young fellows had already fallen in defence
of the honor of an absent comrade. But the
cruel feud was hardly opened.
"Col. Willis Aston, then living in Louisi-
ana, heard of his brothers death, and be-
came impressed with the idea that he had
! not been fairly killed. He claimed that
Gov. Reed should have withheld his fire
: when he saw his brothers gun spring aim
lessly towards the sky. Indeed, it is said
, that a sister of Lieut.. Aston had the lead
taken from her brothers body and new
!, bullet moulded, which she sent to Col. Will
lis Aston, and demanded that he should
come and ayenge their brothers death. Col
Aston came as fast as possible to this hotel
Gov. Brown met him as he rode up to the
piazza, and at once OWNED his purpose
You have come here TO challenge Reed?' he
!, oc1y lo1 OH ,+oI
then begged him to be very deliberate
and cool and quiet about it. On
the very night he got here he was sitting
near the fireplace yonder, with a large cloak
around him, and his head bowed upon
hand. He had been sitting there only few
moments when some one burushed past him
rather roughly. Raising his head he dis
covered that it was Gov. Reed, the very man
he had travelled SO far to challenge to deadly
} combat. In an instant he was ablaze with
excitement, and rising exclaimed: you
have murdered my brother, sir, and now do
, you presume to insult me? Draw and de-
fend yourself sirr AS quick as he thought
} Reed drew six-barrelled pistol and fired,
tearing away Alston's third finger, just as
the latter poured broadside into
into him. from horseman's pistol
lodging pistol ball into his side
The fire was repeated, each man receiving
another bullet. Col. Aston was then out Of
ammunition, having only two horsemans
pistols. Throwing back his long cloak, how
ever. he drew his bowie knife and closed
with his antagonist. In few seething
strokes Gov. Reed was cut to the floor, and
J. his opponent sank in a fainting fit. It was
in that melee that that bnllet hole was made
up there.
..The two men were taken to their beds,