The Charcoal Burner Who Confessed to a Killing the Birds Made Him Do

It has been learned by the police that Ah Wah, who was arrested last Friday night on suspicion of stealing chickens, had been visiting Mrs. H. D. Vosler's chicken house. John Madican, the poultryman, was at the police station yesterday afternoon and identified the three black and one gray chickens as Mrs. Vosler's property, and signed a complaint charging the wily Chinaman with petty larceny. The case will be tried this afternoon.

Very few people know that Ah Wah is none other than Ah Chung, who was tried at Port Townsend a number of years ago for murder. Chung and a partner were charcoal-burners, living in a little house in the woods. One day Chung went to Seattle and later returned to Port Townsend, where he astonished the people among the Chinamen by making the announcement: "I kill my partner. He is under the cabin."

The information was immediately placed in the hands of the authorities, who went to the cabin and found the man, he having been shot. Chung was indicted for murder in the first degree, but when it came to getting an attorney to defend him an insurmountable obstacle was met with. Finally W. H. White, who was United States district attorney at that time, said that he had his hands full of government business but he would do what he could for the Chinaman. Then G. Vorris Haller, who was drowned in the bay with Dr. Minor, arose and volunteered to assist.

Their services were accepted by the court, so they walked over to the jail to see if their client had any defense. Chung told them that the blue jays were in the habit of coming around the house and picking up all the time, making a racket by chattering. One afternoon Chung was "hitting the pipe" when the blue jays commenced chattering again. He felt drowsy, but the disturbance bothered him very much. Finally he could not stand it any longer, so he got up, and, before he was fully awake, fired at the blue jays, but hit his partner, who happened to be in line.

Messrs. White and Haller followed this line of defense and, to their surprise, probably cleared the defendant. Then Chung's brethren wanted to hang him, and it was with some difficulty that White got the Chinaman out of town and brought him here. More trouble came, for feeling against the Mongolian was intense, so much so, in fact, that Chung was sent into the country for his health. After this White asked some of the head Chinamen why Chung told of the killing when he had plenty of time to escape. They said that the "big spirits" made him tell what he had done.