The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1889-07-10
ANDERsoN.s GROVE.
ny opfE P. READ

Il
| AT the breaking out of our civil
war my father and John Hightower
became involved in a deadly y quarrel:
my father, Andrew Stark by name,
was an exceedingly popuI:.r main III
\ the Station Camp neighborlIood He
HAD been an ardent admirel Of
Henry Clay, and, with Clay 5 teach
ings still warm IN his mind, had in
a determined manner, opposed the
lsecession movement in Kentucky,
Hightpwer was a r;abid advocate Of
SEPARATION, ann, on one occasion,
when he and my father met att pos
litic:ll gathering, the argued vip-
llently with each other, then quar-
relied and then engaged in a fight.
Al number of friends interfered or
there would have been blood shed.
As it was, the combatants escaped
with a few slight bruises. Every
one knew that the matter would not
be suffered to drop, and it was evil
dent that the Hightower and Stark
families, with all their branches of
kin and twigs of connection, would
be drawn into the quarrel. such
proved to be the case, for, within a
week from the day of the "falling
out" the Starks and Hightowers,
numbering fifty or sixty men to a
side, met in the little town of Hale
burg and spent a bloody afternoon.
John Hishtower and my father were
among the slain.
! shall never forget what my.
brother said to me when he had
come home and told us of the fight.
L was about nine years old at the
time, but was SO full of desire for
Hghtower blood that 1 sat nursing
an old pepper-box pistol, formida-
ble-loolsing weapon, but one that /
am sure could not at distance of
ten PAGES bury bullet in a piece of
soft pine. Mother sat sobbing, hold
ing little sister Lizzie close to her
breast. Dave, my brother, turned
to me and said:
"Howell, 1 am going into the
Union army, together with num-
bcr of our male relatives. The
Hightowers are going into the Con-
federate army, so they pretend; but
l am afraid that they are going to
hang around here and do all the
harm they can to our people. l
want you to keep my revolver and
my shotgun within easy reach, and
whenever Hightower comes on the
place 1 want you to shoot him. Do
you hear?"
Did 1 hear2 Could tree-toad
crying for rain hear it thunder? 1
was stricken with grief, but felt
the hot blood of pride tingling
through my veins. ran to mother,
put my arms around her neck and
told her that would protect our
home. AT this moment 1 can sec
her hallowed face-a face that then
bespoke broken heart. She put
little Lizzie upon tho trundle-bed,
and sinking down on her knees
stretched forth her trembling hands
and prayed
My brother did not return from
the war. Three of the Hightowers
and two adherents of the Stark side
of the feud came back, but they
were all killed in a fight that oc-
Cured early in 1866. By this time
was "pretty good chunk of a
boy" and was quite old enough to
keep shrewd watch of zeb High
tower, the only remaining male
member of the family. He was of
about my age, and had acquired a
knack, bad heard, of killing birds
with revolver.
Ofcourse / held in high disdain
the reports of his wonderful marks
manship and am sure that with
the cause had for hating him, 1
felt contempt for his reputed cour-
age. We were kept apart, except
on one occasion, when we met at
church. We fought. / hardly
know how it came about, but know
that / went home with much less
hair than 1 had brought with me
that morning. For a number of
years did not see zeb, partly ow-
ing to the fact that ] spent the most
of my time at an Eastern college,
and partly accounted for by thef fact
that / did not look for him. How
ever, one day shortly after had
been graduated without honors, Zeb
and 1 met at county fair. We ex-
changed several shots and | went
home with a bullet hole in my left
arm. Not great while after this
encounter l met, at the bouse of n