The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-10-27
TANBARA'S STORY
OF MASTERS DEATH
HOW DEATH OF CAPTAIN JACOB
SEN OCCURRED ACCORDING TO
TESTIMONY OF GUILTY MAN.

The part of the Japanese Colony
which has taken an interest in the trial
of Tanbara Gisaburo for the murder of
Captain. Jacobsen, feels quite strongly
that the, story of Tanbara himself,
never got to the jury, as he told 1t,
except N the argument of counsel. A
very large number Of the most promi-
nent and influential Japanese in the
e3fnmunity have taken interest in the
TRIAL, and some of them have been in
attendance nearly every day. Some OF
these speak English fiuently and others
while not speaking il so readily under
stand 1t thoroughly. The interest they
have felt has not been due to any other
feeling, they say than that they want
ed Tanbara to have a fair trial and the
advantage of every right the law gives
a defendant.
Tanbara's s story as some of these Jap
anese who attended the trial and heard
it was this Tanbara's understanding
when he was hired as cabin boy was
that he and the cook were to get $50 a
month between them, and that of this
the cook was to get $45 and he SIS.
When they came to sign for their
wages, however the division made by
the captain was S42 for the cook and
SIS for the boy, the captain assigning as
a reason that the boy was a good one.
From this time on the cook was con-
Stant in his expressions of dissatisfac-
ton and his enmity toward the captain
He kept repeating that he would desert
as soon as they got to China. He also
displayed a revolver in connection with
his expressions of dissatisfaction with
the captain.
On the morning of the death of the
captain, Tanbara had taken the early
morning coffee to the captain and had
gone back to his bunk when the cap
tain came into the cooks galley where
the cook was at work, and asked where
! the boy was. The cook replied that
he was in his bunk, and the captain
directed that he be called, which was
done. Tanbara being called got up and
seated himself on an orange box. The
captain asked the cook if he could
make a sweet soup, to which the cook
replied that he could if the captain
would give him a cook book. The
captain said he had no cook book but
he would show him how to make it,
and asked the cook where the neces-
sary materials, which he mentioned,
were. The cook in reply opened the
various containers in which they were.
! The captain noticed that the apples
| WerG a new supply but recently brought
| from the storeroom and angrily told the
cook that he had given orders that
nothing was to be taken from the store
! room, except on his order On this a
quarrel ensued between the cook and
the captain and the cook seizing the
knife began slashing at the captain one
1f the first strokes cutting the captain
on the side of the face.
! AS soon as this fight began Tanbara
says he jumped up and seizng the
! cooks arm wrested the knife from
him, though the cook kept on. fighting
The captain then called out boy, give
me that knife" as the sailor More tes-
titled to hearing. But Tanbara claims
that he did not give the knife to the
captain as the latter was excited and
| angry, and he feared he might either
| kill the cook with it, or kill Tanbara
himself The noise made by the sailors
in the forecastle who had heard the
struggle and the captains words was
heard in the galley at this time, and
Oto the cook Immediately escaped from
the galley. The captain continued his
efforts to get the knife from the boy
backwards into the passage to the dom
key engine room. The boy claims that
he tripped up on an obstacle here and
fell on his back with the knife firmly
grasped in his hand in his efforts to
keep the captain from wrestling it from
him. AS he fell backwards, the captain
still closely following him, fell also on
top of him and must have received the
injuries that caused his death as he
fell But in the excitement of the
time Tanbara says he did not know the
captain was dead but that his mind was
still occupied with the thought that he
must keep him from getting the knife.
And so when the second mate came up
and tried to take the knife away from
him he still clung to it under the inn
preston that it was the captain still
seeking to wrest the knife from him,
until looking up, he saw the mate :
face when he instantly released his
grasp on the knife.
Such is the boys story on the witness
stand, according to a humber of Japa-
nese who We're present and heard 1t and
understood 1t in Japanese.