The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-04-17

ouarrels. The first meeting between
Alstou and Reed was dramatic. The
Legislature 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 legislative supper, and the
banquet was in progress, everything
going merrily and we'll. Suddenly a tall
| figure, muffled in a swinging cloak and
with a slouch hat drawn down over the
face, stalked through the open door:
Without word it made for the head OF
the table, where General Reed was sit
ting. Instantly cries of "Alston! Al
ston I" 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 pistol out
of his pocket, leveled it at his assailant
and fred. The ball struck Aston in his
uplifted hand, carrying away two fingers.
This did not stop him, but brandishing
a bowis-knife, he closed on Reed. Be-
fore the men could be parted Reed was
cut pretty severely, and Aston, believe,
wounded again. Alston was taken from
the room, and for some months nothing
more was heard of the matter. One
day General Reed was walking down the
streets of Tallahassee when he was fired
upon by Colonel Aston. The contents
of one barrel of q shotgun was poured
into his shoulder, and as he turned to
confront his asssilant, the other load
went into his heart. He fell and died.
Colonel Alston's friends say that he had
given Reed notice that he intended to Kill
him on sight.
KILLED BY A MOB.
Willis Aston went to Texas, where he
lived for some time. He settled near
Brazoria. There was DR.. Steward, who
for some reason or other pursued the
matter of the Reed killing, and used
remarks derogatory to Alston. Aston
hearing oft wrote the remarks down, and
meeting Steward on the prairie one day,
asked him to say whether or not he was
responsible for those remarks. DIR.
Steward took the paper, and while pre-
tending to read it, put his hand into his
holsters and drew his pistol. he jumped
off his horse on the side opposite Aston
and fired into him. A desperate fight
ensued, in which Alston was shot twice,
and his stomach so cut that his bowels
protruded. He killed Steward, however,
pouring load of buckshot into him after
he was prone upon the earth. He was
taken to Jail almost dead. He was g
famous fiddler, and procuring riddle,
sat there "with his entrails protruding,"
as he wrote to friend, playing the old
tunes of his boyhood. His body servant
gained admission to his sell aud had
coil Of rope wrapped about his body.
With this he was going to try and escape.
Suddenly a mob assaulted the Jail, over
powered the Sheriff, broke in the doors
and seized Colonel Alston. He was
game to the last, and fddled up to the
very instant he was seized, his dauntless
face looking full upon his assailants. He
was tumbled into blanket, the ends
twisted, and he was then hustled out of
the Jail. Once out in the street he was
thrown to the ground, still enveloped in
the blanket, and hundred bullets were
poured into his body. Thus died the
last of the "Halifax Alstons." They
were remarkably athletic and hand
some race of men. Gideon, who was
killed by Pelat, is always cited as the
hadsomest youngster of his day. 1t may
be said here that the young Castilion who
killed him was put into the navy as a
midshipman, and was drowned in the
Mediterranean. Willis Aston was man
of wonderful strength. He once shoul-
dered load of 800 pounds dead weight,
and carried it through the streets Of
Sparta on bet. His life was stormy
one. His feud with the Ingrams, a
brave and powerful family, was the
sensation of Georgia for the time it las.
ted. He always carried his "yager"
with him, and escaped the whole difficult
ty with only one finger shot away. This
feud was dramatized under the title of
''The Watch" and sold largely. Its
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 dis
covered one morning in the yard of a
fearless widow, who published it herself
and sold it, making great deal of money
by it.
COLONEL ROBERT A. ALsToN.
Col. R. A Aston was a remarkable
man. Filled with all the chivalIy, fear
lessness and t-headedness of his race, he
dreaded, above all other things, meeting
an end like his ancestors. 1t was not
fear, for an Aston does not know what
fear is. He was as brave man as ever
lived. In the army, as one of Morgan's
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 correspon-
dent once: ~ have boy who is hot
headed fellow himself, and have taken
my wife's hand in mine many time
and knelt with her by his bedside and
prayed to God that I might bequeath
him legacy of peace and quiet death"
1t was his highest ambition, as he mas
ofton said, to break the old tradition that
ian Alston must die in his boots"
Once again, I was with him when he
was going to the field to meet Col. E. Y.
Clarke, Of a rival newspaper. The chal-
lenge had been issued, and he was just
going to take the midnight train. Sud-
denly, 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 Idle the Alston DEATH -
He even had superstition that 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
| dayort helinyer in the code fter he