The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-23

| tban of Gen. Reed, who was the leader
of the opposite faction. He at once challenged
| Gen. Reed, and q meeting was arranged. The
weapons selected were "yagers," this deadly
| weapon being, az have said, a favorite with
| the AlstonS. Col. Aston was attended by
Mr.. kenon, his brother-in-law. At the word
zone" Col. Alston's gun exploded, it being
| hair triggered. The contents were dis
charged into the air. Gen. Reed, aiming
with elaboration. fired, and Col. Aston
dropped dead In his tracks. His sister, a
most spirited woman, was nearly crazed at
the news Of his death. She secured the lead
that had killed him, and with her own hands
she moulded it into bullets and sent them to
her brother Willis Aston (the father Of r.. A.
Alston), and implored him to come and
Gvenge the death of his brother. She wrote
that he had been murdered, and the Alstens
adhered to this belief, although the
general statement is that the meeting
was fair one, Gen. Reed using only
his just right In firing after the explosion
of Alston's wager" At any rate 1t was very
well understood that Willis Aston would
seek revenge for his brothers death, as the
family for generations had made one of all
their quarrels The first meeting between
Aston and Reed was dramatic. The Legis
lature had just met, and Reed had been
elected Speaker. He was young man, Of
exceptional power and popularity, and his
life promised to be brilliant and illustrious
He had invited his friends to the usual legis-
lative supper. and the banquet was in
progress, everything going merrily and well
Suddenly tall figure muflled In a swinging
cloak and with slouch hat drawn down over
his face, stalked through the open door.
Without word it made for the head of the
table, where Gen. Reed was sitting. In
stantly cries OF "Alston Alstonp' arose and
ran down the table. At these cries the cloak
was thrown back and Aston was recognized.
tol out Of his pocket, leveled 1t at his assal-
ant The bali struck Aston on his uplifted
hand, carrying away two fingers. This did
not stop him, but, brandishing n bowie
knife, he rushed on Reed. Before the men
could be parted Reed was cut pretty severely,
and Aston [ believe wounded again. Aston
was taken from the room, and for some
months nothing more was heard Of the mat
ter. One day Gen. Reed was walking down
the streets Of Tallahassee, when he was fired
upon by Col. Aston. The contents Of one
barrel of a shotgun was poured into his
shoulder. and as he turned to confront his as
sailant the other load went into his heart.
He fell and died. Col. Alston's friends say
that he had given Reed notice that he intend
ed to kill him on sight.
KILLED BY MOB.
Willis Aston went to Texas. where he lived
for some time He settled near Brazoria.
There was q DR.. Stewart, who for some reason
or other. pursued the matter OF the Reed kill
ing and used remarks derogatory to Aston.
Aston hearing of 1t wrote the remarks down,
and meeting Stewart on the prairie one day
asked him to say whether or not he was res
ponsible for those remarks. DR.. Stewart
took the paper, and while pretending to read
1t, put his hand into his holsters and drew his
pistols. He jumped off his horse on the side
opposite Aston and fired into him. A des-
perate fight ensued, IN which Aston was shot
twice and his stomach 50 cut that his bowels
protruded. He killed Stewart, however, pour
ing load of buckshot into him after he was
prone upon the earth. He was taken to jail
almost dead. He was famous fiddler and
procuring fiddle sat there with his entrails
protruding,' as he wrote to a friend, playing
the old tunes of his boyhood. His body SER
want gained admission to his cell and had a
coil OF rope wrapped about his body. With
this he was going to try and escape. Suddenly
q mob assaulted the jail, overpowered the
sheriff, broke tin the doors and seized Colonel
Aston. He was game to the last, and fiddled
up to the very instant he was seized, his
dauntless face looking full upon his
assailants He was tumbled into a blanket
the ends twisted, and he was then
hustled out Of the jail. Once out In the street
be was thrown to the ground, still enveloped
in the blanket, aud hundred bullets were
poured into his body. Thus died the last OF
the "Halifax Astons." They were remark
ably athletic and handsome race of men,
Gideon, who was killed by Pelat Is always
cited as the handsomest youngster of his
day 1t may be said here that the young
Castilian who killed him was put into the
navy as midshipman and was drowned in
the Mediterranean. Willis Aston was man
of wonderful strength. He once shouldered
load of 800 pounds dead weight and carried it
through the streets Of Sparta on a bet. His
life was stormy one. His feud with the In
grams, brave and powerful family, was the
sensa ion Of Georgia for the time it lasted
He always carried his wager" with him, and
escaped the whole difficulty with only one
finger shot away. This feud was dramatized
under the title of "The Watch" and sold
largely. It's authors were never discovered
or they would have been killed. as the heroes
of that day did not tolerate the publication of
their troubles. The manuscript was dscov-
widow, who published it herself and sold it,
making great deal Of money by 1t.
COL. ROBERT A. ALsToN.
Col II. A. Aston was q remarkable man
Filled with all the chivalry. fearlessness and
hot-headedneSS OF his race, he dreaded, above
all other things meeting an end like his an
cestors. 1t was not fear, for an Aston does
not know what fear Is. He was as brave
man as ever lived. In the army, one Of Nor
gans lieutenants, he was the most reckless
and daring of them all. He once actually had
a biscuit shot from between his teeth, but
with laugh he continued his breakfast. He
said to your correspondent once: II have a
boy who Is a hot-headed fellow himself, and
have taken my wife's hand In mine many
lllllt hLu WIN Ltl Wy his uSuSlut anu
prayed to God that might bequeath him
legacy of peace and quiet death" 1t was
his highest ambition, as he has often said, to
hreak the old tradition that IAN Aston must
die In his boots" Once again, was with him
when he was going to the field to meet Col.
r. Y. Clarke, of rival newspaper. The chal-
lenge had been issued, and he was just going
to take the midnight train. Suddenly he
turned to dark wall, and, leaning his head
on his hand, prayed aloud that God might
spare him the death his people had died, and
allow him to live in peace till quiet death
could claim him. He never believed, however,
that this would be granted him. 1t made
him gloomy to talk Of it, but to his friends he
would say that he knew his destiny was to
"die the Aston death" He even had SUI
perstition that q certain man was going to
kill him. There had never been any trouble
between them, but Aston always said, THAT
man is my fate" The man was his friend,
and never became anything else. Despite
these gloomy thoughts Aston was a devout
believer in the code. After he had joined the
church he still adhered 70 his belief. 1T is a
peacemaker," he said. In South Carolina,
where the code stood above the State law