Iron County register., 1882-10-26

A Sketch of slayback,s. Life.

| a Sketcn OF SIayDdcA,B Liz
Alonzo William Slayback, whose suntimel,
| and tragic taking off Is recounted in another
column, was born July {. 1855 in Plum Grove
Marion County. at the Homestead OF hi:
I grandfather on his inother's side, Mr. ~. "A
Mnter. His parents were peoplesof remark.
i able eharaeter. hisfath ther, Alexander'L. 5lay-
back. being q lawyer &c emineut ability. hile
I his mother, who survives him, is & woman o
| considerable force of character and strongly
| imbued with deep religious ideas. In his
/ youth "'Lon"@ @Siayback-shared the Joys and
sorrows of the average boy, bat received
elementary training from his mother
who attended to his early education and in
l structed him in those rudiments which are
usually gainedfrom strange and unsyuipa-
thetic tutor. To this divergence from the or
T dfnary common SCHOOL tuition the deceased
was indebted for that sturdy. spirit of inde-
| pendence that characterized alL his utter
| ances and governed his movements. At ten
years of age he passed. he req uisisev exaznin-
alton a1idwas decepted as a strlGent in the
| Masonic Colleges ats Lexington, where after
| eight years Of application, he was graf
| uated in 1856, and carried off the very high
est honorss His chief study was framed from
the writings of renowned jurists, and
displavings an aptitude sforg tire profes
slonsS aAFeeleritv 3 at eemprehendfns de-
tails, and a wonderful power of seizing the
salient points of an argument. the young stu
dent was deemed eminently. fitted for prae
defng law ana his ambition was encouraged
by shis parents and friends. during the last
foir wears of fsis sfafe career Re devoted
his entire attention to the law, and afteT u
brilliant gra duafion, he Taught school while
still pursuing hfss stud les tilatg were destined
oeleyRte hfIn tosa IA enNis.,)e position among
the leading paffisters 6f trfe day. He CON-
menced practice in ST.. Joseph, where his
name was enrolled in the register Of the bar
in Sc ptember, 1857, and coIrtiHued in his pro-
fession to 1851. When the civil war divided
the country, he espoused the Confederate
cause, and became an active participant in
many important cant gns. He Joined Gen.
Prices command at Lexington in June, 1861,
aud departed from his home, accom- panied by
the blessings ofaloving mother aand~ ~deVated
father. His younger brother, Charles E. Slay--
back, now president of the Merchants ~Ex=
change, StaLoais, In speakin glofsth event.
has been heard to say: 81 remember the time
very well, as followed Lon teaRrices camps
distaaee=so of severity five miles, carrying the
clothf,g and various. thines thai his mother
had packed M tor him. After That did not
see him for four years. At one time hewas-
taken prisoner, and the way he Outwitted his
captors makes me ifaEsh aeYerss time think
of it. He was accustomed to follow a
servant down to a spring to draw water and
carry it back to the camp, and on one of these
trips he made up his mind to escape. It was
one Sunday morning; he'had made his usual
trip, and while the other man was STOPPING
to ill his bucket, Lon quietly pushed him in )
to the barrel that covered the spring and then
took to his heels. The soldier scranIbiedout
and seizing his rife, began blazing away, but
as his eyes were full of water he corrid not see
anything, and Lon got away in safety. For
three weeks after that Igused to- garry his
meals to him in a cor'n-feld, where he
hidden This is one of many, incidents which
friends have heard recited and have laughed
over immeasurably. ct the battle of Elkhorn
Colonel Slayback was assigned to a mixed
regiment composed of State and Confederate
troops. The company did some excellent
service: and was ordered to the east side of
the Mississippi, where promotion was earned
by the commander for gaantry at Corinth
and Pennington. He, subsequently, served at
the front under Gen. Hindnan, and ultimately
took charge Of a2cavaIry regiment which was
attached to Shelby's brigade. In that con-
nection he served to the close of the war.
When his regiment was disbanded he
linked his fortunes to an adventurous de-
tachment of two-score men who had
volunteered for SheIby's expedition to Mexico.
The guerrilla warfare carried him into the in
terror, and wrapped in the life OF excitement
he became insensible to the claims of the low
dead. But the affection of a mother proved
too strong to bide9with time to restore her
son, and she determined to brave the wild
overland journey, and set out in quest of her
boy. The mother discovered her son, who.
after much persuasion, consented to return to
He resumed the practice of his
profession in st. Louis in 1856, where ever
since his mpaSsioned Oratory welded pow
erful influence in forming the verdicts of lrun
dreds of juries. His eloquence was powerful, |
and his appeals to the people, W neither on the |
political field or in the court. rarely failed to
win popular appreciation. The gift of oratorv
more than anything else induced his friends |
to prevail upon him to accept the Democratic
n nomination for Congress. Since his retirement |
from active politics he has studfously devot-
ed his time to his profession, and while he |
was ever ready to sway public opinion by an |
eloquent address, he soughtafor nope-sonal
favors. and demanded only the recognition |
. B T. Misce1lane e Gus items. 70