DEATH OF CAPT. CHARLES ALSTON

     A dispatch from Dyersburg, Tenn. of the 9th
nst. says: Capt. Charles Alston, one of the old-
est pilots in the South, who for many years has
directed boats on the Mississippi, Ohio and
Forked Deer Rivers, died at his home near Dyers-
burg, of Malarial fever at 3 o'clock this afternoon.

     He was the pilot who handled the famous
Dyersburg lumber boat, Alf Stevens, that plied
between Dyersburg and St. Louis. The vessel
was called the floating sawmill, from the fact
that she carried such immense quantities of lumber
that the negro roustabouts in St. Louis, hired to
unload her found their job so great that they de-
clared the captain was sawing lumber in the hold
while they were unloading. Capt. Alston was a
prominent Mason and will be buried tomorrow
afternoon.

     Capt. Alston was a pilot on the Forked Deer
and Obion Rivers before the Civil War, and was
for several years a pilot on the Mississippi
River.

     He was a skillful and careful pilot, and had
but few accidents to happen to boats in his care
during his long career on the river. He was "at
the wheel" on the steamer Chesapeake when she
burned on the Mississippi River some years
ago.

     He has been a consistent member of the Metho-
dist Church for several years, and said he was
ready to die.