Editing David Douglas (botanist) (section)

== Death ==
Douglas died under mysterious circumstances while climbing [[Mauna Kea]] in Hawaii at the age of 35 in 1834.<ref>Lyman, Sarah Joiner. ''Sarah Joiner Lyman of Hawaii: Her Own Story.''Ed. Margaret Greer Martin. Hilo: Lyman Museum, 2009. 67–69.</ref> He apparently fell into a [[trapping pit|pit trap]] where he was mauled to death by a [[Hawaiian wild cattle|bull]]. He was last seen alive at the hut of Englishman Edward "Ned" Gurney, a bullock hunter and escaped convict. Gurney was suspected in Douglas's death, as Douglas was said to have been carrying more money than Gurney subsequently delivered with the body; others suggested he might have been robbed and murdered by two native Hawaiians. However, no evidence was found to contradict Gurney's story.{{sfn |Nisbet |2009 |pp=294–5}}
In 1856, a marker to Douglas was erected on an outside wall at [[Kawaiahao Church|Kawaiaha{{okina}}o Church]] (Kawaiahao Church Cemetery). A monument was built, at the spot where Douglas died, by members of the Hilo Burns Society, including [[David McHattie Forbes]]. It is called ''Ka lua kauka'' ("Doctor's Pit" in the [[Hawaiian language]]), off Mānā Road on the [[Hawaii Island|Island of Hawai{{okina}}i]] ({{Coord| 19|53|17|N| 155|20|17|W|display=inline |type:landmark_region:US-HI |name= Kaluakauka }}).<ref>{{GNIS| 365728 |Kaluakauka }}</ref> A small stand of Douglas fir trees has been planted there.<ref name="greenwell">{{cite journal |title=Kaluakauka Revisited: the Death of David Douglas in Hawaii |journal= Hawaiian Journal of History |author=Jean Greenwell |year=1988 |publisher=Hawaiian Historical Society, Honolulu |volume=22 |pages=147–169 |hdl=10524/246 }}</ref>