The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1914-02-27
is
SHROUDED IN
MYSTERY
Reluctance Of Witnesses to Testify
at Inquest Prompts Coroner
Rose to Continue Hearing to
Further Investigate Facts Sur
rounding Setting of Of Dyna.
mite, Causing Death of Japa-
nese.
tFtom Thursday Adycrtisor. !

tFrom Thursday Advertiser.)
Much mystery surrounds the death
Of sato a Japanese who was fatally
injured in an explosion at waiahole on
the morning of November 20 last
sato died at the Queens Hospital last
Sunday. A eoroner's inquest was held
yesterday which adjourned until next
Tuesday to give Coroner Rose an op.
portunity to unravel the mystery sur.
rounding the death.
According to the evidence brought
out yesterday morning at the inquest
Sato with thirty other Japanese labor.
ers went to drying room which is
used by the employees Of the waiahole
Ditch Company at six thirty clock
in the morning Of the accident. |
Explosion in Brass Pipe.
II. Koga, foreman on the Job stated
that the men were in the room for
NEARLY half hour on the morning Of
November 20, finally leaving for the
tunnel in which they were working,
some GOO feet distant. Sato and Su-
zuki returned to the drying room to
get a rain coat. Koga says he heard
an explosion and ran back to the room
where he found Sato and Suzuki lying
on the floor apparently dead. M
The stove-pipe had been blown to
pieces and on the floor was brass cyl
inder which showed evidence of hav.
ing been shattered by dynamite,
The injured men were sent to the
Queens Hospital. Doctor Hodgins
who has been in attendance on the in,
jured men since the accident stated
yesterday that Sato presented ter
rible sight when he was brought to the
hospital. Bits of brass and pieces of
iron stoye-pipe had been blown into
his body extending from his head, to
his feet. One piece lodged near the
base of the brain which was the most
serious wound Sato received and which
eventually was the cause of his death.
Yoshinaga and Hiyama, two fellow
workers, gave testimony along the same
lines as Koga fsss st d.
Witnesses Prove, Reluctant ~, y
Information reluctantly given by
these witnesses yesterday shows that
brass cylinder about eighteen inches
long, loaded with either giant powder
or dynamite, had been placed in the
stovepipc in the drying room. Each of
the witnesses stated that the stovepipe
had come apart on several occasions,
and i. was their opinion "that some
one had put this loaded cylinder in the
pipe to fix it.p r.'o a.H.
How n brass cylinder loaded with
dynamite could be used to mend hot
stovepipe was not learned from these
witnesses. Coroner Rose said the story
of these three witnesses sounded de-
cidedly improbable and will probably
be further investigated. a.. s#v
The strange and mysterious feature
Of the ease is the fact that both of
the injured men refused TO make any
statement while they were in the hos.
pital for the past three months. Sato
was in full possession of his senses up
to the time of his death, and Suzuki,
the other injured man, has practically
recovered. Suzuki still refuses TO shed
any light on the subject as to how the
loaded cylinder was placed in the stove.
pipe. '."..# r.n....
John JoIgcnson, manager of the Wal.
ahole Ditch Company was at a loss
to account for the accident which cost |
one life and seriously injured another
man. ....., 60. " ~
81 don't know what to make of this
affair." said Mr.. Jorgenson yesterday. |
"The japanese maintain elam-like
silence over the case and can get |
nothing out of them. .a.
"Some one placed u brass cylinder
in the stovepipe. Whether il was done
from the inside or the outside / don Z
know II could have been done from
the outside by some one climbing on
the low roof and dropping it down the
pipe, The men have been making enues
in their spare time and Use these cylin-
ders TO make ferules out of. II might
have been placed in the stovepipe by
one OF the japanese who wanted TO get
the powder out of it, That is the the.
DRY that the japanese advance, but il
don't sound reasonable to me. II was
fortunate that the accident did not hap
pen earlier. -
Thirty Others Have Close Call.
Twenty minutes lefore the explo.
sion occurred there were thirty Japa.
nese and two white men in the room.
The injured man at the hospital re,
fuses TO make statement have
done all i could to find out the facts
in the ease, and it is now up to the
detective department to get busy. "
Mr.. Jorgenson stated that the brass
cylinder used was one of discarded
lot that was in use during Engineer
Bishops regime. These cylinders are
rsed while blasting in water The cyl.
lnders now used in this class of work
are constructed of tin. "'..
"There is certainly an air of mys-
tory about this case,' said Coroner
Rose Yesterday, "and am Handicapped
in handling ii for the, lack of Japa,
nose detective However, we win do
tho hest we can under the circum.
stances. =, ~. =. .....'... -
The schooner Annie johnson departed