The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-30
DEATH Of CAPTAIN
R. H. HATHAWAY
Had lust Come From His Shin
With B. Griggs
Holt.

3
The following account of the death
of Captain Hathaway of the steamship
Mongolia is from the Shanghai Times
of March II. 1t seems from this that
he died in the office of the Pacific Mail
Company whittier he had just come
from his vessel in company with B.
Griggs Holt, who is we'll known here.
What is not mentioned in this article
is the fact that F. T. P. Waterhouse
was talking with Captain Hathaway
at the time he died:
Death, save by the bullet or the
sword, has seldom struck with such ter
rible suddenness in Shanghai as he did
in the Pacific Mail office yesterday
morning, when a splendid, vigorous
man, in the pride and prime of life,
namely, Robert FL. Hathaway, COM
mander of the p C. steamship Mon
golia, who had just come ashore from
his vessel in company with Mr.. B. G..
Holt, the P. NJ. agent, dropped, life
less corpse, on the office floor, just as
he was in the very act of greeting a
friend.
At the American Consulate General
yesterday afternoon. the Hon. C. Dem
by, Consul General, opened an official
enquiry into the circumstances con-
nected with the sad occurrence.
DIR. Goode made an affidavit to the
effect that he had examined the body
of R. Il. Hathaway within a few min
utes of his death, and was satisfied
to the best of his knowledge that death
was attributable to- natural causes and
not to violence. He had made fpost-
mortem' examination of the body and
found death to be due to heart disease
of long standing.
B. G. Holt, agent of the Pacific Mail
Steamship Co., sworn, said that on his
recent trip to Japan on the Mongolia
he had extended an invitation to Cap
tain Hathaway to come to Shanghai
on his homeward trir and have tifin
with him. He had gone to the tender
at the Customs jetty about eleven
o'clock and there met Captain Hath
away After the usual routine bust
ness he had remarked to the deceased
that as it was only short distance
to the office they should walk across.
When opposite the Shanghai Club the
Captain said, "Look here, Holt, you
are sort of a whirlwind. How far
is it, to the office9' Witness replied,
q You can see the fac right there. 1t
isn't far - The Captain said, "All
right, = and witness remarked, Z" There s
nothing wrong with your heart, |
hope.'' The deceased laughed, and
stood for two or three minutes looking
at the street ears. They then walked
across to the office, and the deceased
had stood at the outer counter, pass
ing greetings with members of the
staff. Shortly thereafter witness asked
him to come inside and take a chair,
and he then noticed that the deceased
took off his hat, RESTING his head in his
hand. Having seen him do this before,
he thought nothing about it, but al
most instantly thereafter Captain Hath
away sank to the floor and seemed to
be in considerable pain Both Mr..
Silverstone and witness loosened his
clothing. and the latter went to Mae
lavish and Lehmann's to get medical
aid Dr. Goode was telephoned for,
while witness got a glass of stlmulant
and returned. but as soon as he ar
rived he saw that the Captain was dead.
DIR. Goode arrived shortly thereafter
and pronounced life to be extinct.
Captain Hathaway was only As years
of age, and to all appearance had still
a long and honored life before him.
Tn consequence of this terrible oe-
currenee the departure of the Mon
golia has been DELAYED for twenty
four hours, sand Mr.. w. II. Fisher, chief
officer. Will assume command when the
boat leaves at O'Clock this after
noon