1880 November Timeline for Paul Boyton

In putting together this history, I've tried to maintain a healthy skeptism for the various accounts of Paul Boyton's activities while in Peru. The dates that refer to Boyton's arrival in Peru and his actions up through the end of November are somewhat conjecture, as Paul's recount of the events fails to pinpoint dates.

As for the trip to Callao, we do know that Kiefer in his letter to his niece mentions meeting top officials in the government, visiting fortifications and receiving a salute from a thousand pound gun. In his book, Boyton says they went to Punta del Mar Bravo, where fortifications were located, and where American parrot guns were located. Francisco Yabar's book mentions a battery called "2 de Mayo" which was previously known as "la Punta" where both Dahlgren and Rodman "1000 pound" cannons were located, and German Astete was in charge of this section of the defenses.

Paul says that Nicolás de Piérola commissioned him as a captain in the Peruvian navy. At this point, Paul says they sailed the Alicrán around to Chorrillos, the best point from which to begin operations, basing their headquarters at the hacienda of a wealthy Peruvian. They anchored the sloop close to shore. Boyton planned to head down the coast to find more vulnerable targets, as the Chilean blockaders kept a strong watch for potential torpedo activity in the harbor at Callao.

Francisco Yabar's book mentions that the Peruvians shipped a "balandra" by railroad from Callao to Chorrillos towards the end of November, and put together provisions for an expedition possibly for Paul Boyton at that time. This leaves open the question as to whether Paul ended up using two different boats, sailing the first sloop to Chorrillos and possibly losing it, and then needing a replacement, or whether it took him most of November to prepare for his first expedition. In any event, we still need to unravel when he was doing what from November to late December of 1880.

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.

Yábar Acuña, Francisco. 2001. Las Fuerzas Sutiles y la defensa de costa durante la Guerra del Pacifico. Lima: Dirección de Intereses Marítimos. 650 pp.