Paul Boyton Ascends San Lorenzo

Paul Boyton took two torpedoes and paddled across the narrow channel to the main island, struggling against heavy waves. Finally reaching the shore, he pulled the torpedoes up on a beach and hid them under a shelf of rock. He took off his rubber dress and his boots. Climbing over the guano beds and broken rocks in his bare feet, he began to sweat heavily. He reached the top of the island, where a cool breeze was blowing. He gasped with pleasure as he sat down to cool off.

Suddenly, a dark figure popped up only 30 yards from him. Boyton saw a flash, heard a report and a bullet whistled by his head. He drew his pistol, but decided not to shoot. The figure disappeared from sight. Gunshots came from several quarters. With a general alarm sounding, Boyton descended rapidly in an avalanche of guano and frantically looked for his rubber suit.

He raced up and down the beach until he saw one of the pantaloons sticking out from under a rock. Quickly, he pulled the suit on and swam across the narrow strait, looking for the sloop. Finally, he saw the sloop in the distance, its canvas spread as it headed for the mainland.

Boyton would not be able to swim all the way back to the coast before daybreak. Finding no shelter on El Fronton, he crossed back to San Lorenzo, apprehensively expecting a torpedo boat to appear at any moment.

On San Lorenzo, he found a cave at sea level. Hot salty air greeted him at the entrance to the cave. He heard the sound of breathing and the stirring of the seals as he disturbed their rest. He drew himself up on a slippery ledge, being careful not to cut the dress on the sharp edges of shells wedged into the rocks. From a back wall, a seal growled, followed by heavy breathing, snapping, snarling, and growling. Unable to sleep, Boyton lay awake throughout the night.

At sunrise, he saw the rock ledges covered with seals and sea lions. They stretched their flippers and yawned, and then, one by one, dropped into the water in search of breakfast. A young seal turned his great round eyes on Boyton, circled his ledge, but then with a flip, darted out to the fishing grounds. Some returned later, with fish in their mouth. Boyton spent the day in the cave surrounded by baby seals.

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.