Paul Boyton and George Kiefer arrived late in the evening at Lurin. Peruvian troops guarded the town. The officers suspected Boyton of being a Chilean spy and arrested him. Though late at night, they forced Boyton to continue on towards Lima, leaving the rest of the mule train of passengers to pass the night in Lurin. Kiefer stayed behind to protect the baggage, with great concern for the fate of his travelling companion.
Just before dawn, the officers with their suspected agent, Paul Boyton, arrived at a hacienda just outside of Chorrillos, a summer resort on the coast south of Lima. Boyton refused to go on, so they rested there until daylight. Boyton was exhausted, but the relentless fleas only allowed him a brief rest. In the morning, possibly October 30, 1880, he and the officers boarded the train to Lima.
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.
Paul Boyton Arrested as a Chilean Spy
The Covadonga is Sunk
In early September, the Chileans again bombarded Callao. On September 13th, 1880, while the Covadonga blockaded the small port of Chancay north of Callao, firing at the town with artillery, the Chileans saw an empty gig adrift. The crew of the Covadonga sent a boat to examine her. Having checked her thoroughly, they brought the gig alongside the Covadonga, and hooked her with tackles to hoist her in. As soon as a strain was brought on the after-tackle, the gig exploded. The blast blew in the side of the Covadonga.
The Covadonga sunk almost immediately. Apparently, the gig had been fitted with a false keel, packed with dynamite, and connected to an igniter, so that no explosion could take place unless an effort was made to hoist the boat. Twenty men, among them the Commandant, drowned or died as a result of the explosion; the rest reached land and were made prisoners. In retribution, the Chileans bombed the bays and neighboring ports of Callao, including Chorrillos, Chancay and Ancon. (Mason, 1885)
Resources:
Mason, Theodorus B. M. 1885. The War of the Pacific Coast of South America Between Chile and the Allied Republics of Peru and Bolivia. 1879-'81. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
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