ROBBED AND BRUTALLY DONE TO DEATH

NZ Truth, Issue 1182, 26 July 1928, Page 3

ROBBED AND BRUTALLY DONE TO DEATH

Stranger Relieves Chinaman of Gold In The Kyeburn Diggings, Then Shoots Him

POLICE ARREST AND CHARGE YOUNG LABORER

' (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative.) Friend to all men, white and colored, who passed the lonely way of the • Kyeburn, Jo Shen, " Chum," as he was affectionately knciwn, has passed the Great Divide— despatched fiom his solitary existence oh the Kyeburn diggings to eternity by the brutally severe and ruthless hand of the murderer. _

FOR primitive savagery, the killing of this highly respected and inoffensive Chinaman ebiipses' the tragic slaying of old Andrew Joae, the Stewart Island flßherman, whose murder laijt Deoember oaused a wave of justifiable Indignation to sweep throughout the Dominion. Whereas, the motive behind the killing of Andrew Jose was never disclosed, the murder of Chum was the lust for gold by Home aa yet unknown murderer. But all the gold that was taken from Chum's lonely hut out on the Kyeburn Diggings was. two ounces — poor recompense to quell the mental torment and remorse that the murderer must at present be suffering. Scarcely had the news reached Dunedin than the detective force spread' its net completely around whole district, covering every means of egress. Within seventy hours of the commission of the crime, William John Hardie, a young man of 23 years, a laborer by occupation, appeared m the Dunedin Police Court to answer a charge of murdering the Chinese prospector. The combination of Central. Otago and gold conjures up m the mind such names as Gabriel Reid, Edward Peters ("Black Peter"), Grogan and Fox, and of the vast hordes who followed up these men were" many Chinese and foreigners of other nationalities. The celestial took a strong hand m the early and adventurous times, but now they are represented by only a few fosslckers who seem content to struggle along on the pittance they wash from their fast declining claims. Th» passing of the years saw the gold-bearing potentialities of the district dwindle and flourishing townships quickly fell into a state of decadence m which they remain to-day. The lonely location of this brutal and murderous assault is one which the fiction writers devote pages to describe. The reader who is unable to draw upon memory and personal experience cannot possibly conceive more than a faint idea of the absolute solitude which pervades and envelopes the undeveloped interior of Otago, Never an eneniy had Chum, and few vices had he. Chum dearly loved a gamble, but even m this he tempered his desires with moderation and his spasmodic v/isits to the city were the only occasions on which he engaged m the favorite celestial pastime. Early diggers still residing m and around Naseby informed a "N.Z. Truth"- representative that Chum's .claim at one time returned a good-per-centage of payable gold, but of later years it has not been such a lucrative proposition. However, it supplied him with a livelihood, and there m contentment, with his dog (up till two months ago his only companion), he eked out an existence In the solitude of the Kyeburn.

With his clothes saturated with blood, and leaving a trail of his blood on his erratic course up the ridge, Chum heroically crawled the half-mile to where Sue was working to tell him of the tragedy. "He say he kill me .unless I give him £100," Chum Informed Sue. "I give him two ounces of gold and then he shoot." .. # -- Sue is an old man, sixty years of age, . and admits that he was terrorstricken lest he should meet a similar j fate. He assisted Chum back to the hut and laid him out on his bunk, making him as comfortable as he possibly could m the circumstances. Chum implored him to go for assistance, but nightfall was gathering, and the fear of a violent death overcame the old Chinaman. He left the hut ostensibly to go for aid, but spent, a night of terror huddled beside Chum's dog, hiding m the tussocks some distance away from the hut. Nearest medical aid was some sixteen miles away, and by. the rugged imiim/mmimimmmmmiiimiiiimiiimmiiwinimmiiiiiimiiiiiiimiimiimi

nature of the country no assistance could have/ been rendered to the dying man eyen if . Sue had traversed the treacherous track m the dark. Sue frankly admitted that he was afraid the stranger would return to the hut and kill him also, thus removing effectively any living soul whose testimony would bring the murderer within the law's grasp. . The anguish and mental suffering experienced by the unfortunate Sue during that awful night, lying out m a heavy Central Otago frost, was very apparent when he arrived m Dunedin on Thursday night. Throughout Friday he braved the ordeal well as he shiiff lied from room to room m the police station making statements through his interpreter and assisting the police to identify the man who, Sue asserted, wag the stranger who visited their camp on the tragic day. Though the greed for money was obviously the motive for the murder, the felon evidently hurriedly ransacked the hut once he had dispatched Chum on his way * from • this world, as he overlooked some silver m a drawer and also some . paper money which Chum had m his possession.

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It seems apparent that though he had fatally wounded Chum, he was afraid to grapple with him and rifle his pockets. The three-roomed hut whioh Chum knew as his home for the past two decades, is a squat, dingy, baked brick and iron structure on a .wind-swept ridge overlooking the claim. It is a typical miner's dwelling, with heavy boulders on trie iron roof to stay it against the gales which sweep the ridge. The front porch was littered with buckets and shovels used by the prospectors m their work, while two pieces of beef hung from nails beHeath the roof of the pqrch. The interior furnishings are crude — a litter dt cooking and eating utensils and all manner) -of canned provisions, condiments, spices and bagged rice covering the table m the kitchen. Thexmly decorations are two colored views of the Dunedin exhibition, depicting the dome of the grand court and a bird's-eye view of the whole layout." y .- These pictures were purchased by Chum at, the exhibition, whioh was the. last. occasion of his visit to Dunedin. It is suggested' that these may play a prominent part m the murder trial. Sue Pee's bedroom opened off .the rear of the kitchen, while a door to the right gave entrance to the murdered man's apartment. . ,- It was on, a bunk iri this room that his body -was found' at 10.30 .on Wednesday morning. . ; /

The top of the body was still warm, but rigor mortis had set m, indicating that death had taken place at about 8.30 a.m., or some twelve hours after the , unfortunate man had been left by his terror-stricken comrade to his fate. An ell lamp, lit by Sue before he left Chum on the previous afternoon, was still burning when Dr. Eudy and Constable Fox, of Naseby, first visited the scene of the murder. Chum was fully dressed, and wore three shirts,'; while his body was covered with blankets and coats. The dootor expressed the opinion that on account of the haemorrhage there was little chance of Chum having survived had help been immediately available to transport him over the rugged country out to civilization. The problem at present engaging the attention of the police authorities who visited Kyeburn under the supervision of Superintendent J. C. Willis, is the whereabouts of the rifle with which Chum was slain. The murderer made a quick getaway, evidently taking the rifle with him, and lt is surmised that he made for the railway by a devious route known as the Back Road, a little-used by-way, as no strangers passed through Kyeburn and Dansay's Pass that night. , A man was Been m unusual circumstances at Ranfurly on Wed- \ nesday morning, and on the same morning two ounces,. of gold were' sold to a bank. What happened to the rifle which sped Chum to eternity will probably remain an unsolved mystery, as "there are miles and miles of rugged country Into which it . could be planted safe m the knowledge that it would never be discovered. Where the gold was actually given to the stranger is another point on which there ls not much light, though it is considered probable that the transaction took place m the hut where Chum's empty chamois gold bag ,was found on the table m his bedroom. The aged Sue Pee is a religious subject, and still wears the pigtail. Like n_ariy more of his race he is nervous of violence and adheres strictly to his faith m the protection of his own God. He is the only human who can give any practical aid m bringing a callous murderer to- justice. In fairness. to Sue, whose efforts to assist his injured employer might seem rather futile, the police state that at no stage have they • suspected him of being m any way Implicated with the murder of Chum. The shooting was apparently accomplished at short range. Evidently the Chinaman endeavored to protect himself by lifting 'his right arm against the first discharge, as the •bullet entered near the elbow. The. second shot penetrated the chest and the third perforated the abdomen.

Goidfields Drama

When the horde jof prospectors, seized by aura sacra lure, had. found themselves so utterly deluded m their quest .for. gold m the El Dorado of the south, Chum went m and by dint, of his own labor he established himself firmly m the little known interior. From poverty to affluence, was but a short step, and, at the height of his prosperity, Chum gained many. friends, both white and colored, who had lived to appreciate the charitable gestures of this likeable Chinese. Though the Kyeburn is ona of the most isolated, of the Otago goidfields, acts of violence were few and far between m the good . old days, the most notable event being the murder about forty-five years ago of a Mrs. Young, who was stoned to death by two Chinese, one of whom paid the supreme penalty, y From the chain of evidence now being forged, and as the result of minute investigation of the hut and its immediate surroundings, it is most apparent that the motive for the crime was robbery. There is nothing to indicate, however, that Chum" fought desperately for his life as an athletically-built man of his type would be expected to do. The hard-baked clay outside the hut and the wooden floors inside give no evidence of a struggle. . The only known witness of the brutal attack was Chum's collie dog. But before he passed into- that happy land beyond the Rising Sun, Chum was able to stagger half a mile to his mate, Sue Pee, and tell him sufficient to lead as he thought to the identity of his alleged murderous assailant. Chum had lived by himself up to the end of May last, when he befriended Sue Pee, a miner from Waiporl, and gave him employment? on the claim. Until the facts of the case are thoroughly gone into, conjecture is not even permissible, so we will let Sue Pee tell his own story. . At one o'olook on the afternoon of Tuesday last week (July 17), a stranger, who had visited the oamp three weeks previously, called at the hut, said Sue, speaking m pidgin English. I He was taken inside where a meal iof pancakes and hot milk was prej pared. j During the course of conversation the visitor astonished his hosts by announcing that he was a policeman inquiring about the murder or a man m the district and the theft from him of £200. The stranger astounded Chum, by accusing him of the crimes. His interrogation shifted from murder to guns and theft,,, and then* centred for a long while on the productivity of , Chutn'a claim, about which many questions were asked. The strapger asked if -Chum had a gun, and the Chinese* produced a .22 calibre repeating -rifle, from his bedroom. This weapon, Sue said, he had never .previously seen m the hut. 'Having partaken of their hospitality, the stranger suggested that he and Chum might, have a lobjc over the claim and perhaps shoot a rabbit. So Sue departed for his work, firewood cutting, half a mile over the ridge, and Chum and the stranger left, walking m the direction of the claim. The stranger was then carrying the •rifle. ' : ... .: J' J j What happened and what' conversation passed between Chum and the stranger, from that time until Chum; --. staggered, fatally ! wounded, up the ridge to his mate, is only told m part.

Hardie Arrested

Fatally wounded, - the unfortunate man lingered for about twelve hours till the next morning, when Fate drew the curtain across his eventful life. And while Chum's life ebbed away, his mate lay terrified, hidden m the tussocks some distance away, lest the murderer should return and silence the only lips which could throw any light on the 'outrage. Owing to the inaccessibility of the hut, great difficulty was experienced m bringing the body out, a specially improvised sledge, built to withstand the rough going, comprising the poor Chinaman's hearse. A pathetic scene was witnessed on Thursday morning when the horsedrawn limber moved off with Chum's body strapped to it. His cortege comprised the police officials and journalists.. Ari inquest was formally opened at Naseby and adjourned, following which Chum was laid to rest m this country of his adoption. Hardie, .who was arrested, is a .strapping youth, 6ft. l%ln. m height, of sturdy build, forceful features, and fair, flaxen hair. He has been camped m the vicinity, of Naseby for some time, where he has been fossicking for gold. On Wednesday night he arrived on the Central Otago train and alighted at Caversham, and on the following rhorning he was accosted m Cumberland Street, m the oity, by Acting Chief-detective Lean and Detective Royeroft. He was accompanied to the police station where he was interrogated and detained throughout the day. Sue Pee arrived from Kyeburn on Thursday night and on Friday morning he attended an identification parr ade m the prison yard, where eighteen young men, including Hardiei all of similar build, were lined up. Sue identified Hardie as the man who he alleged visited the camp on the day of the murder, hut he would not go near him. One/or the- men who volunteered for the parade told a "N.Z. Truth" reporter that Sue, on account of his religion, would not perform .the formality of placing his hand on the man's shoulder. > "He kill me, I die," was Sue's only defence for his disinclination to comply'with formal procedure. A method of counting from the end of- the 'file was resorted to, and Sue, after some persuasion, glanced along the file and called "Seven,"' which place was occupied by William John Hardie. Hardie was accordingly arrested ahd appeared later In the morning before Magistrate Bundle, when he was charged with having murdered Jo* Shen, at Kyeburn, on July 17. The ordinary business of the , court was suspended to bring the charge on, but the usual batoh of .court habitues were outside basking In the morning sunshine and missed a glimpse of the accused man.. ' Hardie stepped into the box wearing a blue serge suit, light grey socks and black shoes. He had no collar or tie. ..',■■ He displayed no outward sign pf emotion as the charge was read ahd quietly, stepped out of the dock when Magistrate Bundle granted a remand fbr eight days, till the 28th.Hardies mother died two weeks ago m Dunedin, and the accused man came down from Naseby to attend her funeral. ■'...- '