The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-06-03

around the shop. Arao proved a hard
working boy and later on was taken
in as partner.
Arao soon became dissatisfied with
the partnership agreement and after a
month or so left Sam Chong and OPEN
ed a shop of his own not far away.
Business was slow in coming his way,
and Arao soon suspected that Sam
Chong had something to do with it.
He soon learned that the Cninaman
was telling customers who inquired
for Arao that he had left the country.
The little japanese soon incurred a
bitter hatred for his former employer
and finally determined to kill him at
the first opportunity.
Whetted His Knife.
Arao owned a big knife, fashioned
after dirk, and a few days previous
to the killing he purchased a whet-
stone at a hardware store near his
shop. He also purchased a box of
cartrides for a revolver he owned and
being all ready to carry out his in
tention to murder Cam Chong, waited
a favorable opportunity. Arao visited
Sam Chong's place of business on the
| night of December 20 to inquire after
some work, but he did not stay long
| Early the next morning he appeared
at Sam Chong's door and knocked.
Mrs. Chong answered the summons
and as an excuse for calling so early
in the morning, Arao explained that
he had lost IS gold piece in the
house the night before, and wanted
to search for it. Mrs. Chong gave him
permission to search the room and
then she went to the back part of the
building to start a fire. Sam Chong
was in an adjoining room fast asleep.
few minutes afterward Mrs. Chong
heard her husband cry out. She rush
ed into his room just as Arao jumped
through the open door into the street.
Mrs Chong found her husband dead in
bed, covered with blood from a dozen
knife wounds in his head and body.
The police were notified of the murder
and search was begun for Arao, but
the little Jap had disappeared from
his usual haunts.
| Made His Escape.
For several weeks the authorities
| searched the country over for the MUIR
derer. Finally, one day word was re-
| ceived at Spokane that Arao had been
seen west of that city and a day or so
| after the Jap was captured and taken
| back to Spokane. At his subsequent
| trial he was convicted of murder in
the first degree. Arao was sentenced
March 16, and March 26 was received
at tine state penitentiary.
His Life in Prison.
Immediately upon his arrival at the
prison he was placed in the murIerer's
row, and a death watch placed over
him. Unused to prison life Arao at
first was awed by his surrounding, but
he soon became accustomed to his new
environment and was one of the most
He became favorite with his guards
! and they did as much as possible to
| make the last weeks of his life pleas
ant.
| Arao was greatly interested in tine
Japanese-Russian war, and inquired
daily if there was any news. Last
| Tuesday he was Informed Of the great
victory his countrymen had gained
over the Russian fleet. The little Jap
Rugged close to the iron bars of his
cell, eagerly taking in every detail of
the battle. At the conclusion of the
narrative Arao stepped back from the
door, and raising his eyes, declared
| that he was now ready to die Thurs
day Arao remarked that he only had
two more days to live, but he did not
seem affected in the. least as a vision
of himself on the scaffold doomed be-
| fore his eyes.
Little is known of Arao aside from
the fact that he came to the United
States several years ago. For a time
he worked around the sound, but later
went to Spokane. He was a small man,
barely feet and 2 inches high, and
weighed less than 120 pounds.