The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1917-03-14
Capt. John llathioe -
Bound After nvo Toar9
Away From Fanny
An EFFORT At lEseE I'M
Chief Officer Led He Men 0meo 49,
OF Burning Vessel 70 Save In.
prisoned Suckers Of the
laurentic.

the sea was told recently when details
of the death Of Capt. John MathiasL
commander of the auxiliary cruiser
Laurentic, reached relatives here By
mail. The Laurentic is a White Star
liner. taken over by the British adj
miralty.
Only two days from his wife and
babies. and on his way home after
two years continuous patr0lling in the
Far East, Captain Matthias died at
tempting to rescue men trapped In
the blazing hold Of his ship near the
powder magazine.
Flying the homeward bound pen
nant at the peak. the Laurent1c
steamed ut. full speed for port From
coal passers in the stoke hole to on
GERS on the bridge. every man was
bent on pushing the cruiser to reach
port in time for the holidays.
In hamlet in Yorkshire Captain
Matthias wife and .two young children
heard the Laurentic had been ordered
to return to her home station. Mrs.
Matthias. with her two little girls. aged
ten and twelve years. made the trip
to Liverpool
They Discover Fire.
On December IL, within two DAVIS
run from port. "A serious fire was dis
covered in hold No. >. With the chief
officer at their head a squad of men
plunged into the hold to fight the fire.
The fire had gained such Roadway
that it was sweeping toward the pow
der magazines, cutting off their eS-
cape
Signalling frantically to their COM
rades on the deck. the trapped men
succeeded in getting word of their des-
perate plight to Captain Matthias on
the bridge.
Captain Matthias ordered some Of
ms crew t" follow him and plunged
|" the rescue in the smoke filled com.
partment- The rescue squad succeed
ed in dragging out some of the i'm
prisonod men and then went back for
the rest
When Captain Matthias was enter
ing the furnacelike hold tn leScue the
last of his crew nu iron beam warned
ont "f place by the intense heat OF
IN" hiiz" fell on him and his sound
~ r"Srli"rS. Captain Matthias was in
SiantlN killed amt several of his men
W"r'' injured Another squad of sea-
men removed the injured sailors and
succeeded IN recovering the body Of
he captain. The fire WAS got under
control ana the cruiser put into Liy-
erl,onl
Forbidden to Wireless.
Under admiralty Instructions tho Of.
h''f> ~ he ship were not permitted
!" Wlr"!'-S> the news of the accident
ana ire. With the home-bound pen-
haih stu At the fore the Laurentic
locked at Liverpool. Mrs. Matthias
anu her two children waited for the
captain. whom they had not seen for
"" years, I" come off the ship. Fin
ally an officer appeared and told them
no" III" captain had sacrificed his life
FOR his men.
captain Matthias was well known i'm
thlS port. The Laurentic. his last conn
llatid' after she finished the MontreoI-
ANfflooi summer service used to sail
IRON New York on winter cruises To
ne Mediterranean and the Caribbean
seas.
hq captain first went to sen ha-
cause of the lifting he Received at the
hands of a little Irish girl. He was
porn IN York. County Cork, and at tbe
re - hif"en was keeping conpanv
WIN fair colleen who lived near the
iinshr""l Docks. Queenstown. One
lay he declared his intentions To the
1fl. Molly ~ name.
''ii'N She replied. So the story
.'eS' any time Nou want your socks
shirt PATCHED or a tear in
our brooches mended. you're welco,na
I''ii-i' here. But you~e only an an
''h'ice ana could never tax. what
on say seriously"
men come back I'll be cantafn
! an Atlantic liner" the youth an
~ered holly.