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

L-FSisl0ture Had Just met and Reed had
been elected Speaker. He was o young
man, of exceptional power and popularity
and his life promised to be brilliant ard
illustrious. He had invited his friends
to the usual legislative supper, and the
banquet was in progress. everything
going merrily and we'll. Suddenly tall
figure, muflled in swinging cloak aud
with 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
STOMP arose aud ran down the table.
AT these cries the cloak was thrown back
and Alston was recognized. Reed rose
from his seat, and, whipping pistol out
of his pocket, leveled it at his assailant
and fired. The ball struck Aston in his
uplifted hand, carrying away two fingers.
This did not stop him, but brandishing
bowie-knife, he closed on Reed Be-
fore the men could be rarted Reed was
cut pretty severely, and Alston, believe,
wounded again. Aston 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 shotgun was poured
into his shoulder, and as he turned to
confront his assaiant, the other load
went into his heart. lie fell and died.
Colonel Alston's friends say that he had
given Reed notice that he intended 10 kill
him on sight.
KILLED By 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 Aston. Alston
hearing of it 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. DR..
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 Alston
and fired into him. A desperate fight
cnsued, in which Aston was sh ot twice,
and his stomach 40 cut that his bowels
protruded. He killed Steward, however,
pouring a load of buckshot into him after
he was prone upon the earth. He was
taken to Jail almost dead. He was n
famous fiddler, and procuring q fiddle,
sd: there with Ills eniruiis protruding," "
rs he wrote to friend, playing the old
tunes of his boyhood. His body servant
gained admission to his sell and had n
coil of rope wrapped about his body.
With this he was going to try and escape.
Suddenly mob assaulted the Jail, over
powered the Sheriff, broke in the doors
and seized Colonel Aston. 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 n
midshipman, and was drowned in the
Mediterranean. Willis Aston was n man
of wonderful strength. He once shoul-
dered n load of 500 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
"'rhe 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 ol
their troubles. The manuscript was dis
covered one morning in the yard of a
fearless widow, who published it herself
and sold it, making q gre at deaf Of money
by it.
COLONEL ROBERT A. ALsTON.
Col. r. A Aston was a remarkable
man. Filled with all the chivalry, fear
lessness and hot medicines Of his race, he
dreaded, above all other things, meeting
an end like his ancestors. 1t was not
fear, for an Alston does not know what
fear is. He was rs brave man as ever
lived. In the army, as one of Morgan's
lieutenant he was the most reckless and
daring of them all. He once actually
had biscuit shot from between his
teeth, but with laugh he continued his
breakfast. He said to your correspon.
dent once: ~ have boy who is d hot
headed fellow himself, and have taken
my wife's hand in mine many a time
and knelt with her by his bed side and
prayed to God that might bequeath
him legacy of peace and quiet DEATH
1t was his highest ambition, as he has
ofton said, to break the old tradition thai
can AlstOn must die in his boots"
| Once again, was with him when liz
was going to the field TO meet Col. f. Y
Clarke, of a rival newspaper. The chal
lcnge had been issued, and he was JUS
going TO take the midnight train. Sud
denly, he turned to dark wall, ant
leaning his head on his hand, prayet
aloud that God might spare him the
death his people had died, and ALLOW
| him to live in peace till quiet deatl
| could claim him. He never believed
however, that this would be granted him
1t made him gloomy to talk of it but Il
his friends he would say that he knew
his destiny was to Idle the Aston DEATH
He even had superstition that a certain
man was going to kill him. There hac
never been any trouble between them
but Alston always said, "That man j.
my fate" The man was his friend, ant
never became anything else. Despit,
these gloomy thoughts, Aston was ,
deyout believer in the code. After h,
had joined the church he still adhered
TO mis- belief. 1T is n peacemsker," h,
said. In South Carolina, where til,
code stood above the State law, ther.
never was oquiet and decorous commu
nifty. In Charleston county there wa