Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-03-13
MUIINOUS CREW
IS KEPT At BAY
BY CAPT. PILH
With Only Delaying Pin For
Weapon, Schooner's Master
Controls His Men

i
home safe to her owner. Judge Henri,
+. Cooper. IS this weak the talk Q
The waterfront
Armed with nothing more than tk
ever-reliable Delaying pin and singl
handed the captain stood off for day
q crew which had openly threatene
to murder him. That he brought tn
vessel In without even the protection
of q pistol Is wonder to old salt
around the piers.
The captains hair was brown whel
he left Honolulu one the nintL Of las
December; when he arrived Saturda,
| 1t was quite gray. But II the old shil
master who has been in these water.
now for 40 years was q true hero d
the seas he had two worthy associ
ates, his dog Sweetheart, and a Ha
waiian sailor, Andrew Kalehua, {
young fellow who remained true to his
captain in the face OF a threat Of death
Went to Buy copra
The southern trip was for. the pur
pose OF buying copra. The Luka'i
hold Is good for, 20 tons OF the profit
able cargo and 1000 onepOund Eng
lish gold pieces we're in the cabin FOL
trading purposes. The TahitiaD mate
Matuu, who tried to kill the captain
and get the gold, is now in Penrhyn,
and Filipino. Nicholas Bilbea, who
is alleged TO have been implicated In
the plot. Is under arrest in Honolulu,
as told in the late news columns Of
the Star-Bnlletin yesterday.
-. "a a.. =
of six. the Hawaiian boy, three Ko-
reans. one q cook and the other two
sailors; the Filipino. and Matuu, the
mate, who had been with the Luka
for about three years, first as a cook.
In the latter capacity he had also
served Capt. Piitz at his home at
Makena, Maui, where the captain has
now gone to visit his wife and three
children.
From here the Luka headed due
south, touching IN turn at Tanning.
Penrhyn, Rakahanga, Hanahiki and
Raratonga. The last named island lies
in the Cook group about $500 miles
south OF Oahu In latitude 2112 south
and Longitude 1885 west. 1t was here
that all the trouble started.
Crew Learns Of Gold
The Luka stood propped up high I'm
the air In the Inter-Island drydock for
general repairs and cleaning up as the
captain sat In his little cabin yester-
day afternoon fOndly Detting his dog
which had been his only companion
through those terrible long sleepless
nights far out in the sea with gang
Of would-be cut-throats ready to do
their worst. telling the tile Of the
fiercest proposition ne has buclxed up
against in his Sc years, 81 Of which
have been on the sea. He started In
California but most Of his life has
been in the south.
At Rarat0nga, Capt. Piltz tried TO-
get q license from the British govern.
ment to buy copra but failed on &C.
count of the war, but he declares he
viii try again To make matters worse,
Matuu beat him up when taken to
task for disobedience and then de-
serted with all Of the crew but the
Hawaiian boy. British authorities
brought the men back to the ship.
Matuu then accidentally learned of the
1000 gold pieces in the cabin and inn
nediately laid plans to do away with
he captain.
Ignorant Of this state OF affairs and
in having to go home
with an empty hold, Capt Piltz hove
10 and started north, January % he
'irst learned his perilous position on
hatuu nrandislnes Knife
That day, as the captain was coming
I'D from the cabin late In the evening,
Aatun sprang at him with long knife
md would have ended matters there
{ the captain had not luckily lodged
lOWn the hatch. The Filipino was
With Matuu, says Piltz, and together
hey tainted him, calling him Cow
lrd" and asking him to come up with
he promise that they would not try
% hurt him.
Piltz did go up but not until both
lad backed away from the door. That
night he barricaded himself in the
,abin so they would have to awaken
Tim If they broke in, and went to sleep
With Sweetheart on guard. His only
Weapon was huge Delaying pin which
le had close at his side
The next day Matuu told the captain |
hat be felt he must kill him sooner or
ater and Piltz laughed 1t off by de- |
.laring that he, too, would have q hand
n any killings on board. but he real
zed fully what desperate straights he |
vas in In the meantime, the crew
lad threatened to kill the Hawaiian
he did not Join them and the cap |
ain was afraid he might be poisoned |
IS be had reason to believe Matuu had
RED to kill him that way before.
The captain could not put the men
lshore, according to the English law;
re dared not try to arrest any. one OF
hem without a gun, to put them in
,hains, so from January % until Feb
-uary / he watched his step by day
ind locked himself in at night. At
Penrhyn Matuu ran off In the first
,oat and without the treacherons mate
he captain came home safely to tell
he tale.