The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-11-15
TERRIBLE DEATH OF
IR0N-WORKS EMPLOYE

The principal event in police circles
yesterday was the death of kahula, an
Hawaiian employee of the Iron Works
of twenty years service. The accident
occurred at half past eleven at the
hydraulic press on the Eva side OF the
machine shop at the Kakaako works
of the company. Deputy Sheriff Ka-
lakiela Immediately empaneled the fol-
lowing jury: J. J. Egan, w. r.
Coombs, K F. Brown, w. H. Arm
strong, James McSwarnter and William
Savidge, who proceeded at once to the
scene of the accident and thence to
view the remains at the morgue. Pend
ing the doctors post morten examin-
alton, the jury adjourned until 1880
p. m.
At 9:15 last night, after carefully
weighing the evidence produced. the
jury brought in the following verdict,
THAT the name of the deceased was
Kahula, that he was a native of the
Territory of Hawaii, that he was about
fifty-three years of age and that ne
came to his death on the fourteenth
day of November, 1905, from a shock
and crushing of the skull caused by an
accident, to wit, the striking by the
shaft of a mill roller in the machine
shop of the Honolulu Iron Works.
The gist of the testimony of the wit
nesses was that the deceased, with two
others, the usual force employed in
such operations, was engaged in pre-
pairing a mill roller of about five tons
weight, with shaft inserted, to be re-
moved from the truck used for trans
portation of such machinery, to the
jaws of an hydraulic press. The shaft,
| it seems, had been already shrunk in
to the roller, but measurement showed
| that it lacked about six inches of hav-
| ing been inserted far enough.
For the purpose of inserting these
| steel shafts tight enough to withstand
| the excessive pressure to which they
are put when in use, the Iron Works
use frame which holds the roller,
with shaft partially inserted, in place
| while a fire is built under the roller.
| The fire heats the roller, and the metal
| expands Then by means of a very
powerful hydraulic press, operating
| against the larger end of the shaft,
| the steel shaft is forced into the heat
| ed iron roller until the required dis
| lance is reached. Then the fire is put
| out and the roller cools and 'shrinks"
| tightly onto the shaft.
| AS stated, the process was not COM
plete and the roller, with shaft at
| tached, was still on the heavy iron
| car used to move it to and from the
press and the chains of the press had
not been attached. The men We're at
| tempting to pry the roller into proper
position to receive the chains, when
the heavy iron started to roll toward
the unfortunate employe. He had
his foot under the car and instead OF
placing the wooden wedge under the
roller to prevent it going further than
was intended, he stopped to first ex-
tricate his foot. The result was fatal
His foot caught and he neither re-
leased his foot nor inserted the wedge.
The roller began to swing and the
heavy steel shaft struck him on the
head and then the roller itself rolled
off the car and onto his feet and legs
and abdomen. Inconsistencies was I'M
doubtedly produced by the blow from
the shaft, so that his actual death
must have been painless, though hor
rible