The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-12-05
FROM WHENCE DID 1T CARRY THE
BODY?
Captain Dalton Thinks Lubbock was
Shanghaied and Tried to Swim AS
hore-But Injuries Were too Severe.

of the Marine Hospital Service now in
charge of the quarantine wharf, and
who, while not actually the first to find
the bOuy of Lubbock last Saturday morn
ing superintended the taking of It from
the water; evolves a theory, which If It'll
to a great eXttnt disclaims the idea OF
actual murder, is worthy of credenceI
from its plain reasoning from the factsI
of the case.
This mornings talk brought out theI
following review of the various Circum-
stances connected with the affair.
All entering the harbor are familiarl
with the sea wall that runs from thel
shore to what was once the South Seal
Islanders village. Separated from thisl
sea wall runs a lane of water which
near the shore widens into pools wherel
sampans are moored and dredgers liel
when not in use. This lane is brdgedI
by wooden platforms that lead to theI
Healani andt Mrytle Boat houses and
connect the latter with the pilots house
This latter has a platform of it's own onl
which is built the kitchen. Between thel
various buildings are gaps of wateri
averaging from a foot to three feet inl
depth with the tide. There is a sub
stantal bridge connecting the quaran-
tine wharf with the sea wall. In thel
lane, shOreWardS of the quarantine
wharf, are always lying small craft
canoes, sampans and slNffs belonging tol
various owners. The body was found
o'clock on Saturday morning in the
gap that lies between the quarantine
wharf at its mauka end and the pilot
house and tower. The body hoated facel
downwards and was in a huddled upl
shape. The torn shirt and buttoned upl
coat with the collar torn are matters
commonly known.
After Captain Dalton had been called
he placed a bowline about the body and
hauled it out of the water onto the sea
wall close behind the "'harf where the
authorities took possession.
In the shallow Watoi Al which it was
found it was impossible for it to sink
and the buoyancy of the body at that,
time was such that very little was re-
quired to keep It near the surface.
Nevertheless had the body been inl
deeper water it would have sunk to thel
bottom. As described by Captain Dali
ton the body when seen would gra-
dually sink until one foot touched the
bottom and would then rebound toward
| the surface. In palmer words the buoy
ancy of the body and the water were
nearly equal.
1t was low tide between eleven and
twelve o'clock on Friday night, low tide
| small occurring just before midnight.
High tide large was reached on Satur-
day morning some twenty odd minutes
after seven. having yet an hour or more
| to rise when the body was found.
The tide runs in straight from the sea
to the harbor but here as elsewhere
until the incoming tide has reached its
full strength there is a battle between
the ebD and the flood in which you Canl
see the tide running both ways at onceI
for an hour or two; the flood running
braVely on and the tail of the ebb
sinking out around the edges. Even
with the tide nearly full there is always
current in Honolulu harbor, a back
water eddy that ripples among the
boat houses and washes the fotsam of
the port towards the sea wall.
In Captain Dalton's reasoning, the
chances against the body having drift
ed to the place where it was found from
shoreWards, are very small on account
Of the numerous small craft and COM
plicated piles, many of them old and
worn, of the boathouSe platforms. Onl
the other hand the piling of the quaran-
! tine wharf is practically new and theI
copper sheathing smooth, presenting noI
resistance that would tear the clothes
or prevent the body slipping past
The murdered man may have gone
seawards on the last lingering flow of
the ebb tide and floated back in the
early morning on the strengthening
food to where all that was left of him
was found.
The following is the theory of Captain
Dalton in view of these matters and his
past experience of going down to the
sea in ships and the intimacy that all
seafaring men have with shanghaied
crews and the many mysteries and
perils that haunt Jack ashore as weli
as Jack afoat.
''It seems to me-" to quote the captain
l''that Lubbock was very likely shang-
haied aboard the Packard or some
other ship as she lay out there in the
stream, and as is commonly the occur
renee, had a struggle with the men
aboard as well as perhaps a struggle
with his shippers. Some of them, per-
haps the mate with a Delaying pin or
handy weapon knocked him out after
his shirt was pretty well torn off his
| back and he was thrown into the fo'ksle
or the deck house still unconscious
Coming to later on, he buttons his
coat across his breast to cover and hide
his torn shirt, and all ready for the
swim, and sneaks or breaks out of
where they've put him ready to drop
over the side and swim ashore.
He may have thought that he had
been shanghaied to get him out Of the
way while his wife is laid seige to by
those that have done ii before, or II
may have been grudge on the part Of
others doing 1t out of spite to carry out
the threats that he has been telling
others about having received.
Anyway, in case they may be wait
ing for him ashore when he lands or in
case the mate or crew sees him slipping
over the side. He opens his knife and
slips ii into his pocket in readiness.
"He sneaks along in the shadow,
watches his chance and slips into the
water, down the moorings very likely to
avoid the splash He has been badly
knocked about and he feels pretty faint
and exhausted with that smash i'm the
stomach. The wind is blowing off shore
and, an old sailor, he resolves not to
buck against it but, with the tide help
ing him, swim towards the boat houses
making a halfway house of the yachts
moored there. He starts to swim, his
strength gives out on him and-well he
| browns.
Il remember a similar occurrence
when man was ironed after resistance
| and thrown into a deck house. He had
| beer shanghaied and he didn't mean TO
go. He broke out of the deck house
and slipping forward broke his irons
on the kedge anchor they were the old
| fashioned screw manacles, and started
| to swim ashore. He fell In with splash
Continued to page five)