The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-29
CALLANTRY COST CAPTAINS LIFE:
 CREW IS SAVED
Capt. John Matthias, R. N. s. Meets Tragic End on Home
 Voyage.

voyage.
 New York, Dec. 29.-Just two days from port on his way home to spend the holidays with his family after two years continuous service patrol ling in the Far East. Capt. John Matthias, R. N. S., commander or the auxiliary cruiser Laurentc, was kill ed while attempting to rescue his chicf officer and a number or ms crew trapped in the blazing hold. AL though the details of his death were suppressed, only the bare notice of his death being cabled to this side, the story of the captains tragic fight reached his relatives in the city to- day.
 Flying the homeward bound pen nant at the peak. the Laurentic with orders to return steamed at full speed for port From the sooty eyed coal passcrs in the stoke hole to the off cers on the bridge every roan on board was bent on pushing the auxil- iary cruiser forward at top speed to reach port in time for the holidays. Since the government had taken her over from the White Star line two years bsfore, -fftted her with eight guns and sent her cruising in the h. dian Ocean for commerce raiders, she had not been home once.
 In a: hamlet in Yerkshire, Capt. Matthias wife ana two young chill dren heard that the Admiralty had announced that the Laurentic had been ordered to return to her home station and would arrive in port in time for the holidays. Mrs. Matthias, with her two little girls, aged 10 and 12 years, made the trip, to Liverpool to: be on the dock to greet the return ing captain. @ S..-..
 Killed Near Home Port.
 On. December: 1 $, within two days run. from port, a serious fire was dis covered in hold No. 2. With the chief officer at their head a squad of men plunged into the hold to fight the fire. The.z.are had gained such headway that it was sweeping toward the powder magazine, cutting off their escape.
 Signalling franticaIIy to their com rades on the deek, the trapped meh succeeded in getting word of their desperate plight to Capt. Matthias on the bridge. Without a moments 8 hesitation, Capt Matthias ordered some of his crew to follow him and plunged to. the rescue in the smoke filled eompartmept,. The rescue sc1ad succeeded In dragging out sonaezof the imprisbned men and then went back for the rest.
 When Capt Matthias was entering the furnacelike hold to rescue the last of his crew ,an iron beam warp ed out of place by the intense heat of the blaze fell on him and. his squad of rescuers. Capt. Matthias was in stantiy killed and several of his men were injured. Another squad of sea- men removed the injured sailors and succeeded in recovering the body of the captain. The fire was got under control and the cruiser put into Liv- erpool. ,-is-s
 Under Admiralty instructions the officers of the ship were not permit ted to wireless the news of the acciz dent and fire With the homebound /pennant still at the fore the Lauren tic docked at Liverpool. Mrs. Matf- ias and her two children waited for the. captain, whom they had not seen
 
 Finally an officer appeared and told them how the captain had sacrificed his life for his men. - =, |. .,s'--
 Well Known in New York.
 Capt. Matthias was we'll known in this port and many Americans have cruised with him. The -I.aurentic, his last command, after she finished the Montreal-Liverpool summer ser vice, used to sail from New York on [ winter cruises to the Mediterranean and tho Caribbean seas, and Capt Matthias consequently had many friends in New York who had been his passengers.
 The captain first went to sea be- cause. of the jilting he received at the hands of little Irish girl He was born in York, County Cork, and at the age of Is was keeping company swith a fair colleen who lived near the Rushpool Docks, Queenstown One day he declafed nis Intentions to the girl,Molfy by name. !
 "Jack,''ishe replied,s so the story goes; "any time you want your socks darned. a shirt patched or tear in your brooches mended, you're welcome enough here. But you're only an ap- prentice and I could never take what you say seriously"
 When I come back I'll be captain of an Atlantic liner" the youth an ewered hotly. Straightway he set about looking for a chance to go to sea. After several years he secured third mates, certificate and shipped on board a Dominion liner in the Canadian service His first command was the Dominion liner Vancouver After the White Star Line took over the Dominion Line in 1907, Capt Matthias was given important com. 1nands in the White Star service.
 He was 46 years old at the time o1 his death. He left several relatives in this city, among them his sister Mrs. Patrick Murphy, who lives al 20 East 1S2d street.
 Fuel Gone, Norwegian
 Ship Brought to Port
 Nn~r enIoo .Doo 1I,oy