SENSATION AT TE KANAKA.

Gisborne Times, Volume VII, Issue 319, 21 January 1902, Page 2

SENSATION AT TE KANAKA.

YOUNG MAX TIMES TO SHOOT MISS HOW CIIOW.

THEN ATTEMPTS SUICIDE,

At 9 last night a telephone m- sage was received by Sergeant Sidd - from Te Karaka that a young mat .uicd John Fletcher had attempted ■ flii-jt Miss Chrissie How Chow, eh laughter of Mr George How Chow, < .cr and licensee oi the Te Karaka Hurt . He was seized before the shot was fir* an.; ‘he revolver was taken from him. ile was allowed to go and then rode off towards Ormond. Detective Nison and Constable Crawford, also Constable Farmer, were do spatclisd to the scene. Y\ ord was later on received that the body of John Fletcher had been found a quarter of a mile on the town side of the Karaka; it was at first thought that the young man was dead, but that was not so. He was found by Mr TifTen, and the strong smell of carbolic indicated that Fletcher had attempted to poison himself with it.

FURTHER DETAILS,

THE GLEAM OF THE REVOLVER,

It appears that a warning had been despatched from Ormond that Fletcher was on the way out on mischief bent. A call had been given at the Karaka for Mr J. Neagle; he was sent for, but did not arrive until nearly an hour later, and when he did Miss How Chow was also at the telephone bureau. Whife there Fletcher was seen to ride up the road ou a grey horse, towards the hotel, of which Mr G. How Chow is the owner and licensee. Miss How Chow was afraid that some harm was intended, and refused to go up tiie road towards her home unless accompanied by an escort. Messrs Neagle and Silva went with her, one being on either side. Fletcher rode towards the trio, and when he had approached Miss How Chow noticed in the moonlight the gleam of the barrel of a revolver. She dodged aside and then dropped to the ground to try and get out of range, at the same time giving a warning scream. The two men at once seized Fletcher and wrested from him the revolver. It was a six-chambered revolver, fully loaded.

Having disarmed , the desperate man, lie was released and rode off. As lie rode away he was heard to exclaim : “ Oh, my God ! oh, my God ! ” The affair occurred about 8 o’clock, and about half an hour later Mr Tiffen discovered Fletcher lying down, apparently dead or dying. He was in the throes of agony from what the smell indicated to he a dose oi carbolic poison. The word was taken in to Karaka, and every effort was made to save the life of the foolish young fellow. Mrs A. Lewis gave valuable assistance in this direction, providing all that was required by those, endeavoring to overcome tiie effects of the poison. Dr Williams left town last night to see if anything further could lie done for the sufferer. PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE DEED, There is no definite explanation for the attempt on the life of Miss How Chow, who is a very popular young lady, and has a large circle of friends. It is known that at one time Fletcher was very fond of her, and sought to gain her affection in return. For a time he worked for Mr How Chow, but latterly had been out of work. He had been heard to give expression to a statement that he would yet be even with the How Chows, on account of some fancied grievance that iie had. He hails from Auckland, but has been employed in this district for some time. He had been staying with .his brother-in-law, Mr Ellis, and lias also a brother in Gisborne ; the latter left for Karaka last night. The news of the affair came as a great shock to the relatives of tiie young man. He had his dinner in town as usual yesterday, and there was nothing in his demeanor to indicate what his fell intention was. He left home at one o’clock, and made no remark as to what he had in his mind. A DELIBERATE DEED,

That the attempt at self-destruction at least was carried out after due deliberation was apparent from the fact that Fletcher laid the carbolic acid in his possession. There is at present no information available as to where he got the revolver, cartridges, or carbolic acid from. COMMOTION AT KARAKA.

The affair naturally caused a great commotion at the Karaka, where the intended victim is well-known, and where ’ Fletcher also was known to many. The whole affair itself was ' done very quietly, and those who prevented Fletcher carrying out his evident intention at the time hardly realised the seriousness of the affair. It was fortunate that Messrs Neagle and Silva acted so promptly, also that the revolver was so quickly descried by the moon shining upon the bright surface. Even as it was, Fletcher must .have paused before lie was seized, or when iie had taken aim he could hardly have been prevented firing, THE POISONED MAN. The latest advice received during the night was that Fletcher was still alive. He was removed to Mr How Chow’s hotel, where he was receiving every care.