The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-03-12
At A LUAU
SUNDAY MORNING FIGHT ON
LILIHA STREET.
Charles o. Downing Uses a Jack-Knifa
With Terrible Effect-Three Natives
Seriously Wounded.

A pocket knife in the hands of Charles
Osborne Downing fearfully wounded
three natives during q row in a house /
on Liliha street, early on Sunday morn
! ing. When the row was interrupted, by
Frank ID. Haskell, friend of Downing,
the latter, knife in hand, was holding
q crowd of q dozen natives at bay, I
while they were closing around him to
| do vengeance for the injury of their /
three companions. One of the natives |
| is so seriously hurt that the charge of /
murder may yet be placed against |
Downing, and but for the arrival of |
Haskell it appears that there would |
have been even more bloodshed.
The fight was the end of a luau last |
ing all night. Downing claims that the |
l,atives attempted to rob him. He states |
that one of the women in the party told
Lin of the plans of the natives to get |
his money and that as he started to
leave in consequence Of this warning,
they knocked him down and took $40
from one of his back pockets. IT had
the knife open in my pocket, ready for
them," the prisoner said to Deputy
Marshal Chillingworth, land when
they came at me 1 slashed in all direc-
tions. 1t was dark, as the lights were
all out, and l did not know how many
of them there were attacking me.
could feel that I cut some of them.
drove the knife into one mans shoulder
and turned the blade around in the
wound was trying to cut his arm
off"
1t was at this stage of the fight that
Haskell made his appearance He says
he was in a neighboring house, playing
seven-up with a native, when the latter
said he heard trouble among those in
the luau. "I left the card game and
went to see what was the matter talk
ing lamp" said Haskell. Il had
small billy in my pocket, which have
been carrying because 1 have had
good deal of money on my person.
When got to the scene of the trouble,
Downing was standing with his hand
in front of him while about dozen
natives were trying to get at him. One
OF them got long plank and used 1t
as spear and then threw it. went
through the crowd and took hold of
Downing by the shoulder asking him
what was the matter. He said the ma
tiVes had robbed him and that he had
cut some of them. After that Downing
hacked away and got out of the sight
Il went into the house to see what
had been done and found one native
lying on the stairway, with blood ala
over, and another lying on the piazza.
Ihe one on the stairs was the worst
and / got pillow and something to
cover him, while the natives telephoned
for the police"
Haskell corroborates Downing's
statement that he had some gold coin
, with him. The man who used the knife
says that he got held of $40 when tho
natives were taking the money from his
! pocket, but that it was left on the floor.
Downing is quite badly used up He
has black eve and n number OF
! bruises on his head, which he saws We're
made by the natives with sticks. A
bruised knee and the condition OF his
kIak h..
ground at some time during the fight.
After leaving the scene of the quarrel
: Downing says he hid himself, with
= stones in his hands ready for natives
who might follow him. Then he went
TO sleep in the open air, going horne in
the morning, when he was arrested, in
q the Myrtle house on Fort street
The knife that was used was lost
somewhere, says Downing. It was an
ordinary jack-knife, which the owner
says he used for cutting tobacco. He is
: held in Oahu prison, no charge having
yet been placed against him, as the re-
suits of the wounds he inflicted cannot
: be told.
George Poai, Edwin Kanae and File
akala are the three wounded men. Tie
first named has a stab in the lungs a
e very serious wound. His recovery is
nj considered doubtful. Kanae's shout,
e ders are both cut, the LETT side having
z, | thC NOiSS ldCeTdllOH. InlS mans lie
2, is In danger, from the terrible hacking
OF the knife In his left shoulder blade.
Eleakala has two cuts in the left shoul-
der and a fearful tearing of his left
hand, as IL he had caught hold of the
knife by the blade. The positions of the
= wounds indicate that the men were en-
gagged in actual wrestling with Down
ing when they were cut, or else that
they were struck from behind.
The natives all agree in the story that
DoWning was the aggressOr. They say
q that he was drunk and quarrelsome and
. suddenly made a vicious assault upou
. the men with whom he had been drink
! ing swipes and watching the hula.
Roth Downing and Haskell deny that
D, they were drunk. Both men were de-
. tention camp guards. The police do
: not credit Downing's story about the
e money. Deputy Marshal Chillingworth
says that Downing has a bad record
having been in the lock up several times
for drunkenness. The police have had
their eyes on him for some time. and II
is stated that he lives by small gam
= tling.
George Poai was porter for Hymer
brothers. Kanae was employed by
= Lewis & Company as driver Of a de-
livery wagon and Eleakala was resi-
n dent Of Waialua, unable to get home
= from Honolulu because of the quaran-
!. tine.
n The house in which the cutting was
If done was terrible sight, when Officer
Kelly of the mounted patrol, went there
re on Sunday morning. "The house looked
like slaughter house." said the Off.
GER There was blood all over and the
L three injured men lay helpless in pools
OF 1t. It was the most fearful scene
ever witnessed.
p Haskell threatened the officer witt
the billy he had on his person, wher
= Kelly placed him under arrest. He wa.
very indignant at being taken into Gus
= tody and was about to use his weapor
on the officer. A pair of loaded dice II
ts one or his pockets spoke volumes as tt
his habits
-Four months on the reef was the sen
tence given him this morning by Judg'
] Wilcox. Haskell pleaded guilty to hav
ing carried a billy in his pocket, Rnt
Continued on page hve)