The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1892-10-13
A Native Man is Shot Through
the Head.
A Friendly Challenge Ends Fatally The
Homicide Behind the Bars,

About 8 o'clock this morning a
native horseman was seen galloping
for all he was worth on King street
headed for the Police Station. He
looked excited and on arrival at the
Station he impaired the news that
man had been shot dead at Palolo
Valley. Police Captain Hopkins
was soon on the way and found
man lying on the veranda of two
story house at Palolo, dead.
The following particulars have
been gathered from several witnesses
of the shooting. A native named
Hau came down from house farth-
err up the valley and after partaking
of breakfast with the people of the
house went upstairs and brought
down an old musket which was used
for soaring off chicken thieves. Hau
sat on the steps and commenced
monkeying with the gun, not know
ing it was loaded. He did not know
how to handle gun. Two or three
times he pointed the gun at wo-
man sitting near him, saying he
would shoot her She replied that
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thing was not loaded.
A man named Kaneakalau was
standing on the veranda at the time
watching the other two fooling with
the musket. Finally Hau put the
stock on the ground and holding
the gun obliquely upright pulled
the trigger Like a flash the gun
went off. and the charge of shot hit
Kaneakalau on the right side of the
head above the cheek. He fell down
unconscious, although he breathed
for about fifteen minutes, when he
expired
The gun was the property of Ke-
aka Hawai-, who kept it for the espe-
cial purpose of soaring off chicken
4 thieves. He had just left the house
to go to the rice fields when he heard
the explosion. The body was brought
to the Police Station, where a jury
of Hawaiians viewed it. DIR. Chas.
Peterson was called and examined
the man, pronouncing him dead
The weapon which caused the
death is an old-fashioned, rusty
muzzle-loader. Hau stated himself
that the shooting was accidental.
He and the victim were very friend
ly previous to the affair, having
sat down to the same table
at breakfast His evidence is con
firmed by the other witnesses. The
deceased was a middle aged, mus,
cular man of medium size, and the
other is young man of about
twenty-five years of age, stoutly
built, and of a somewhat soft and
Z easy disposition.
A coroner's inquest was held to-
day by Deputy Marshal j. A. Mehr-
ten. The evidence of the witnesses
is the same as given above. DR.. c.
Peterson's evidence is as follows: ex
amined and found lacerated wound
on the right side of the head. The
bones were comminuted and frac
tured, the brain protruding ;lacerated
about six inches, such as might
be made from small projectiles
through the scalp. The main orifice
Of the wound was clear of bone, the
bone having been carried into the
brain. There was evidence of the
charge OF shot having spread about 2!
inches. The bones at the side of the
head including part of the front
parietal temporal and at the back
the occipital fractured. In the skull
piece of lead was found imbeddeC
which could not be dug out without
breaking it all to pieces-charge
must have been fired close at hand
The jury returned the following
verdict: That Kaneakalau came tC
his death on the morning of October
18th from a shot accidentally free
from gun in the hands of Hau Ok
without his knowing the gun wa
loaded.
The witnesses have been notified
not to leave the city, as their evi
dence may be needed at some future
time. The body was taken home b,
!, the relatives of the dead man thi
afternoon for burial.