The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-09-08
CHARGE N|uFUL MURDER


" i''"l bdb' oItD
eating hold of the Ceylon have "a kicI,
coming ana there Is "a prospect Us a
side issue, of a case for damages.
LaNsan island is under the iurisdic-
ton of the United States. having been
annexed To Hawaii some years ago. and
the United States district court viii
probably have to settle the trouble.
captain and Mrs Spencer have lived
Tor many years on Laysan island The
captain Is skipper of fifty years eX-
perieice and has passed through many
adventures but says he has never met
with one equal to the thrilling sitia
lon when he faced the forty Japs to
save the lives of himself and wife. Lay
san island is near nowhere, and if tne
Japs had won victory they might have
had their own way for some time.
The captain has been known i'm Ho-
nolulu for over 81 years, and is mem
per OF very well known family. He
is brother of Charles Spencer. AT one
time minister of the interior.
The Laysan island business is done
by Hackfeld and company who char
tered the Ceylon. They have a lease
OF the island and have maintained a
small colony there. sending vessels
from Honolulu for carEoes of fertilizer.
Captain Spencer, the man who looks
after the business has a comfortable
home on the little island. II is about
500 miles northwest of Honolulu and is
a small. low island whose only valuable
product is guano.
The trouble at Laysan island will be
very expensive to those in the guanO
business there. 1t has already cost n
useless trip back and forth by the bark
Ceylon, and Will cost a similar trim by
the schooner Aloha The Aloha left
here two weeks ago, expecting to get
a cargo of guano. She has probably
arrived now, found the place deserted,
except for the Carpenter Luhr and
Spencer's son. who We're left in charge,
and started back empty.
Attorney Chillingworth will make an
appeal to the court to get bail for his
client. Captain Spencer is able 10 sup
ply bonds in any sum, but as the law
does not provide for bail in such cases
Judge Wilcox refused to make an order
this morning. The preliminary trial
will proceed on Tuesday.
Frank r. Wilburton, a we'll known
water front man who has had many
years experience at sea in the Pacific
tells story of an uprising on Clipper
ton Island that was very similar to
that in which Spencer was involved. In
Wilburton's case there were 70 Japs
against white men and for a time
the whites seemed to be in Tor an ex-
citing battle
we ltll san francisco Tor the ISL
and in 1897, in the steamer Alice Blan-
chard," said Wilburton, with 20 Jap
anese which had been engaged by me in
Honolulu and taken to San Francisco.
In addition to myself there were Cap
tain Freeth, in charge of the eXpedi-
ton, two carpenters and bookkeeper
We were going to work guano, like cap
tain Spencer at Lavsan.
No sooner had the steamer left us on
island than trouble began.
The Japs had kicks to make about
everything. They didn't like their
quarters. their food or their work
we got them to work for a time. but
1nallY there came a day when they
went on the war path. They tore up
the railroad track that had been built
and looted our building Of all its tools.
IN order to get weapons and assembled
IN a mob which we expected to attack
US al any moment.
The five white men. all armed took
up position behind a barricade with
an open space in front. For six hours
We waited there, resting on our guns
ana expecting all the time that we
should be rushed by the 20 men. Final
y there was a barley and the crowd
eft
I'VE found out afterward that the
men had quareled among themselves.
From that time on until the steamer
anne again 1t was constant watch
only weighed 100 pounds when 7 got
lacF home. and 7 wouldn't go on an
,Npedittnn of the kind again for n mill !
ion dollars"