The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-04-03

ton, demanded the name of the author.
be Eas furnished with the name o.
General Reed, who who was the leader
OF the opposite faction. He at once
CHALLENGED General Reed, and 8 meeting
Was arranged. The weapons selected
were yagers," this deadly weapon
beiDg, SIS have said. favorite with the
AlstOns. Colonel Aston was attended
by Mr. Kenon, his brother-in-law At
the word One" Colonel Alston's gun
exploded, it being half triggered. The
contents were discharged into the air
General Reed, aiming with deliberation.
Rred, and Colonel Aston dropped dead
in his tracks. His sister, q most spirited
woman. was nearly crszed st the news OF
his death. She secured the lead that
had killed him, and with her own hands
she nodded it into bullets and sent them
to her brother, Willis Aston (the
father of B. A. AIston), and implored
him TO come and avenge the death OF his
brother. She wrote that he had been
muTsered, RHd - Alstons adhered to
this belief, although the general state
ment is that the meeting was fair one,
General Reed using only mis- just right
after the explosion of Aiston's ' yager' d
At any rate it was very well understood
that Willis Aston would seek revenge
for his brother's death, as the family Tor
generations had made one of all their
quarrels. The first meeting between
Aston and Reed was dramatic. The
Legislature had just met, and Reed had
been elected speaker. He wss a young
man, of exceptional power and popular
ity, and his life promised to be brilliant
and illustrious. He had invited his
riends to the usual legislative supper,
and the banquet was in progress, eve! y
thing going merriiy and well. Suddenly
tall figure, muffled in q swinging cloak
and with sloUch hat down over the
face, stalked through the open door.
Without word it made for the head OF
the table, where General Reed was sits
ting. Instant Y cries of " Alstoni Ais
ton % arose and ran down the table. At
these cries the cloak was thrown back
and Aston was recognized. Reed rose
from his seat, and, whipping his pistol
out of his pocket, leveled it at his assail
ant and fred. The ball struck Alston
IL his uplitted hand, carrying away two
fingers This did net stop him, but
br8ndisbing bowie knife, he closed on
Reed. Before the men could be parted
Reed was cut pretty severely, and Ais
ton, l believe, wounded again. Aston
was taken from the room, and for some
meDths nothing more was heard OF the
matter. One day General Reed was
walking down the streets OF Tallahassee
when he was fred upon by Colonel is
ton. The contents of one barrel of q
shotgun was poured into his shoulder,
and as he turned to confront his assailant
the other load went into his heart. He
ell and died. Colonel Alston's friends
say that he had given Reed notice that
he intended to kill him on sight.
Willis Aston went to Texas, where
he lived for some time. He settled near
FIsz )ria. There was a DE-. Stewart, who
for some reason or other, pursued the
matter of the B ed killing and used re-
marks deregatory to AlstOn. Alston
hearing of It wrote the lemarks down,
and meeting Stewart on the prairie one
| day he ked him to say whether or not
| he wss responsible for these remarks
DIR. Stewart took the paper. and while
pretending TO read it, put his hand into
! his holsters and drew his pistol. He
| Jumped off his horse on the side opposite
| AlstOn. and fred into him. A desperate
| fight ensued, in which Aston was shot
| twice. ard his stomach so cut that his
| bowels protruded. He killed Stewart,
| however, pouring a load Of buckshot
| into him alter he was prone upon the
earth. He was taken to jail almost
dead. He was a famous fiddler, and
procuring a fiddle, sat there with his
bowels prOtruding," as he wrote to a
friend, playing the old tunes of his boy
hood. His body servant gained admis-
sion to his cell and had a coil of rope
wrapped about his body. With this he
was going to try to escape. Suddenly a
mob assaulted the jsil, Overpowered the
sheriff, broke in the doors and seized
Col. Aston. He was game to tue last,
and fiddled up tc the veg instant he was
seized, his dauntless face lOOKing full
upon his assailants. He was tumbled
into blanket the ends twisted, and then
he was hustled out of the jail. Once out
on the street he was thrown to the
ground, still enveloped in the blanket,
and 8 hundred bullets were fired into
his body. Thus died the last of the
& Halifax Alstons." They were q re,
markabiy athletic and handsome race
of men. Gideon, who was killed by
Pelat, is always cited So the handsOmest
voungster of his day. 1t mGy be said
here that the young Castilian who killed
him was put into the navy as g midship
man, and WAS drowned in the Mediter
ranean. Willis Aston was a man o.
wonderful strength. He once shouldered
load of 500 pounds dead weight, ano
, carried it through fhe streets of SpaTts
on a bet. His lite vas q stormy one
His feud with the Ipgrams, brave anc
I powerful family, was the sensation o.
Georgia for the time it lasted. He
slways carried his yager" with him
and escsped the whole difficulty with
! only one finger shot away. This feuc
was dramatized under the title of The
Watch" and sold largely. It's authoTl
were never discovered, or they woulC
have been killed, as the heroes OF that
dsy did not tolerate the publication o
their troubles. The manuscript was dis
covered one morning in the yard OF s
, fearless widow, who published it hersei
! ard sold il, making great deal OF money
by it.
Col. R. A. Aston was q remarkable
, man. Filled with al the chivslry, fear
; lessness and hot~headedness of bis race
he dreaded, above all other things, meet
ing an end ike his ancestors. Tt wss no
t fear, for an Alst n does not know Wha
fear is. He was Rs brave man as eve
? lived. In the sTmy, as one OF Morgan
I iisutensnts. ne was she most reckless ana
daring of tbem al. He once sctUali,
I had 8 biscuit shot from between hi
teeth, but with laugh he continued hi
breakfast. He said TO your coHespoD
, / dent once: 9" 1 have boy who Is hot
? headed fellow himself, and have taken
} nay wiie's hand n mine many q time ant
: kneIt with her By his bedside aud praye'
to God that might bequeath him iegacl
OF peace and quiet death" 1t was hi
: highest ambition, as be hiss often said, Il
/ break Ehe old tradition thst ''g1 Aist
must die in his boots Once sgsin,
was with him when be was going 70 th
, field to meet Col. e. 7. Clarke, of