Paul Boyton and George Kiefer meet with General Astete

Don Nicolás de Piérola, Paul Boyton, George Kiefer and the rest of their party still remained at the Necropolis of Ancon at dusk. A relief engine arrived at dark and pulled the train back on the track. The group finally returned to Lima.

The following day, possibly November 1, 1880, Piérola gave Boyton a letter for General German Astete, commander of the fort at Callao. The letter directed Astete to furnish Boyton with the best small vessel that he had that could be used for torpedo work.

George Kiefer and Paul Boyton went to Callao to meet with General Astete. Their train trip to Callao followed first vehicular road from the coast in the 1540s. The train route crossed parched fields, irrigated alfalfa fields, and canals of willows, vines, and nasturtiums, interspersed with the huacas (sacred tombs) built with sun-dried bricks by the ancient inhabitants of the region.

General German Astete, 48, took them to the Punta del Mar Bravo, where he patted an American parrot gun, saying "these are some compatriots of yours" He then gave a demonstration of the guns. The Chilean fleet lay several miles out near the high cliffs of the island of San Lorenzo. They fired four or five shots that fall short of the ships, the iron balls landing ineffectually in the sea. General Astete said: " This is a salute in your honor."

Resources
Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.