The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-09-15
ALL ABOUT LAYSAN ISLAND
WHERE BIRDS AND FISHEE
ABOUND.
Ugly Looking weapons Introduced as
Exhibits in the Spencer Case-Jap
Testimony Nearly Ended.

The wonders of Laysan Island are be-
ing described before Judge Wilcox in
the long winded murder case of Captain
Joe Spencer 1t appears that the birds
at Laysan are SO plentiful and many
of them so helpless that there is no diff
ficulty at all about killing them with
an ordinary stick or catching them in
the hand. Some of the very small birds
are not able to fly. The birds, big and
little lay eggs all over the ground, and
shippers who have been to Laysan
say that there is nothing so plentiful as
eggs.
Fish are also to be had with little
trouble. The Japs took pieces of hoop
iron and made swords out of them, to
kill fish. They would wade out into the
ocean and kill the fish by blows with
these swords.
A lot of such swords are now exhibits
in the Spencer case. They are ugly
looking weapons. The defense claims
that these particular ones were in the
hands of the crowd of Japanese who are
alleged to have been advancing upon
the white men when Captain Spencer
said go Ahead" and the white men
fired on the Japs, on August II. 1t is
claimed that the appearance of the cloth
handles put on the weapons is evidence
that they were never in the water, and
that they must therefore have been
newly made, as Kinney put it, for
white mems skulls"
The first shot at the Japs was fired
by the son of Captain Spencer, accord
ing to all the witnesses that have been
examined so far. The Japs have all
testified that the white men stood arm
ed facing the Japs, just before the
shooting. According to some of the
Japs there was general forward move
ment among the Japs, according TO
| n nc hI1t n Org
| Captain Spencer suddenly said GO
Ahead! Go Ahead" and that young
| Spencer then fired the first shot, the
| other white men following his example.
| Tanaka's story about ended the tes-
| timony of the Japanese witnesses. Cap
I tain Spillner then took the stand He
told about his going to Laysan Island
on the bark McNear, her wreck, the es-
| cape in boats and their arrival at the
! Island. When the first question was
! put to him touching the troubles, At
| torney Kinney, for the defense asked
! that the prosecution state what posi-
ton Spillner was in, whether he had
been promised immunity if his testi-
| mony suited the proSecutian, whether
! he was virtually brought to the witness
stand in irons. He insisted that all the
| testimony so far had shown that spill
ner as well as Spencer had shot into the
! crowd of Japanese, and therefore Spill
ner was liable to testify against him
| self Attorney General Dole said the
| prosecution had no purpose but to get
at the truth, and had made no promises
| to Snillrer Thew expected to be able
to show that Spillnerwas in no way res
ponsible FOR the deaths that occurred.
| Spillner on direct examination testified
, that on the morning of August II, the
men went to work at o'clock in the
| morning Some went to the guano
house while nine. who We're to work on
the float sat arond the wharf. CAPTAIN
! Spencers son come down about fifteen
minutes later and finding the men not
at work, and that they demanded extra
pay in addition to the extra pay they
| were already to receive, he told them
to go home. Later when Captain SDen-
Ger asked Captain Spillner why the men
had struck he told Spencer that young
Spencer had ordered them to go home.
Some time after this, when Spillner
was in his room. Tanaka came to
him and said: "All the japanese are
coming tonight to break Captain Spen-
GERS house and make him sore" This
conversation Spinner reneated to Spen-
Ger and the latter said: Let them
come"
At o'clock in the evening all the
| Japanese came to the platform near
Spencer's house. All the white men
| came on to the platform. Tanaka and
three other Japanese were allowed to
come on the platform. They talked
about rice first and then demanded two
and a half days extra paw and when
this was conceded thew wanted three
days extra pay This Spencer refused.
"Then," testified Spilner, "I heard a
shot, then a second shot and then Cap
tain Spencer said, Shoot! Then we
four shot"
Did you shoot?" asked the High
Sheriff
81 fired two shots"
81 shot once in the air and once into
my house."
"Why did you do this?"
81 saw no one rushing on the old man,
so I didn't want to hurt anybody"
who fired the first two shots?"
Captain Spencer"
! did you seen anybody fall?"
YES; l saw Japanese fall"
How many shots were fired?"
81 don't know. We all shot and then
| Spencer said, Stop firing"
Spillner then went into details about
how he nursed the wounded after the
shooting.
Attorney Kinney introduced in evil
dence a letter written by Spillner while
at Laysan Island to Dr. Averdam, ma
mayer of the guano company. Tt con-
tanned charges that Captain Spencer
was drunk much of the time and not
doing his duty and told how Spillner
could run the place If he had oppor-
! tunity. Spillner acknowledged the let
ter as his but insisted that he was
Spencer's friend when he wrote it.
DR.. Averdam's reply was also intro
duced, 1t ignored Spillner's charges and
rather tartly told him to look after his
business and, II he wanted to stay on
the island, to try and gain the conf
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