Paul Boyton and George Kiefer Land in Peru

From the deck of the ship, Paul Boyton and George Kiefer got their first view of Callao, a town of 35,000. Lima, the Peruvian capital, lay just a short distance inland. Paul took mental notes of the Chilean ships blockading the harbor. The ship steamed passed the Chilean battleships to a port further south along the coastline. A passenger eyed Boyton suspiciously, asking him what he planned to do in Peru. Boyton thought he could be a spy and watched to see if he would signal one of the Chilean vessels. Kiefer later wrote that detectives hired by the Chilean government saw both he and Boyton in New York with the Peruvian agent, and that news of their arrival arrived with them on the same ship.

On October 27, the Peace Conference concluded with no agreement. Possibly the following day, the Columbia stopped for a night landing at Chilca. Kiefer and Boyton disembarked with five other passengers. A few miserable houses provided flea-bitten accommodations for the new arrivals. Needing to keep an eye on their luggage, Kiefer and Boyton slept fitfully.

The next day, they chartered a mule train heading north along the leafless coast to take them to Lima. Boyton found mules to be an uncomfortable mode of transportation. Hawks, vultures and condors circled overhead, waiting for any weak or fallen animal overcome by the heat. Water was scarce. Condors pecked out the eyes of fallen cattle and chased animals separated from the herd. Boyton's group found relief and water in a small village along the way.