The Mystery of Hawai‘i’s Doctor’s Pit
David Douglas was many things: a horticulturalist, a mountaineer, and a famed botanist. He was last seen the morning of July 12, 1834, hiking around Hawaiʻi’s Mauna Kea; later that day, his body was found at the bottom of a cattle pit trap. What killed Douglas? Was it a rare instance of carelessness? Or, as unfounded rumors had it back in 1834, was he murdered by a man who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Note: This video was filmed in July 2019, and access may have changed. Please always check with Hawaiʻi local or regional offices for real-time updates on park access and closures.
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