The davis family was used to jane owing them money. But when she hadn't paid them for an entire year's rent and was prepared to come back again for another summer, mattie davis decided to make the trip from catoma to boston to settle up. The day before she actually had a fall. People reported that she was fine. She was also diabetic. They attributed her fall to possibly the diabetes. Unfortunately, i she died the next day. So when she died, captain davis, as he was called, captain was simply a a title. It wasn't he wasn't really captain.