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.
Paul Boyton and George Kiefer meet with General Astete
George Kiefer and the Necropolis of Ancon
About November, 1880, Nicolás de Piérola , Paul Boyton, George Kiefer, and a few aides-decamp stood next to the derailed engine, La Favor that had brought them from Lima to the seaside at Ancon. They tried to get the train back on the tracks, but were not successful. Someone was sent back to Ancon to telegraph Lima, and request an extra engine. (Boyton, 1892)
The party waited all day for help to arrive. They could see the ocean from where they stood, and a Chilean cruiser passed by about a mile offshore, little knowing that the Dictator and some of his officers were within shelling distance. At this point on the rail line, the train tracks ran past the Necropolis of Ancon, an ancient burial ground long associated with the fishing village in the same locality. Bones and burial remains lay scattered on the sands.
Piérola, Boyton, and the accompanying officers stood out among the sand hills in the midst of the graves, talking about the war with Chile. The soldiers entertained themselves, sticking bones up in the hard sand and rolling skulls into them in a gruesome version of ten pins. Don Nicolás ignored them, but continued his discussions. (Boyton, 1892)
George Kiefer strolled out on the side of the track and climbed the bank to the north. As far as he could see northward, the ground was white with skulls. He recalled seeing specimens of Peruvian antiquities in the Louvre and at the British Museum, and now what he saw fascinated him...bones mingled with pieces of cloth, pottery, wickerwork, netting, weed rope and wood. Everywhere he saw evidence of extensive excavations. He and other members of the party picked up a few relics, including mummified hands and arms and the mummy of a child. (Ledger, 1889)
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.
The Ledger (Warren, PA) 5/31/1889, p. 5, Vol. 40 #49. Bones of the Inca: Mr. George Kiefer’s find in the graves of an extinct race.
Paul Boyton and George Kiefer Travel to Ancon with Nicolás de Piérola
Nicolás de Piérola adeptly and routinely took advantage of what might be useful to his cause. His opinions tended towards the dogmatic, but he eagerly embraced new ideas. Technology fascinated him, and he saw technology as the way to gain superiority in the current war crisis.
As a veteran of countless conspiracies, he maintained a certain suspicion and a distance from those that he met. He planned to bring in expert help from Germany and France, while maintaining mistrust of his own compatriots.
Soon after Paul Boyton and George Kiefer arrived, Piérola invited them to an exhibition of torpedo work in the open sea. Boyton was invited to take the train to Ancon. Boyton and Kiefer met Piérola at the railroad station. Several high government officials accompanied them, including Sergeant Major Luis Reybaud, who would be Boyton's aide while they were in Peru.
They boarded a special car pulled by the engine, La Favorita, which later operated on the Oroya line. American engineers completed the line from Lima to Ancon in 1870.
Paul Boyton at the Presidential Palace
Paul Boyton Arrested as a Chilean Spy
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 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.
Paul Boyton and George Kiefer off the Coast of Peru
On October 26, 1880 the Columbia stopped first at Paita and then Chimbote, just long enough to pick up mail. Chimbote was in the hands of the Chileans.
Further south, the Huascar returned from Valparaiso to Arica with two new 180 pound Armstrong guns and continued north.
For George Kiefer and Paul Boyton, the extensive barren coast of Peru, dissected occasionally by verdant river valleys, proved of great interest. We can imagine George sitting on the deck immersed in a book of travels about Peru, while Paul eagerly scanned the horizon and thought with anxious anticipation about the approaching adventure.
Parts of the coast received less than one inch of rain per year, and others went several years without rain. Cold ocean currents from the west created this severely dry climate, but also produced one of the richest fishery in the western hemisphere. (Moseley, 1992, p 102)
A dense fog obscured the coastline at times, so dense that tiny droplets formed making the air heavily moist, a condition locally known as garua. This fog nourished the lomas, areas on slopes and plains of the higher plateaus, and made possible short-lived verdure, providing food for cattle, sheep and goats.
Great ceremonial pyramids, now abandoned, lay hidden in the sands and in the upper river valleys. The ancient inhabitants fished the seas, planted in the valleys, and hunted herds of guanaco, wild camelids related to the llama and alpaca, that pastured on the fog plants. (Moseley, 1992, p. 41)
Resources:
Moseley, Michael E. 1996. The Incas and their ancestors: the archaeology of Peru. London, Thames and Hudson.272 pp.
Paul Boyton and George Kiefer Leave Panama
The Columbia finally arrived in port. In his autobiography, Paul Boyton didn't provide details, but based on the stories of other travellers, we can imagine that:
Tenders and lighters lurched alongside the wharf tossed by the swell of waves. Boyton and Kiefer hustled their luggage on board in the utter confusion of a heavy downpour. They squeezed into a small hot cabin, not big enough for all the passengers, dodging the cargo that slid from side to side. They watched anxiously as their luggage was loaded, looking for serious onlookers, and then took shelter in their cabin until evening. Near dusk the sun finally came out, and they emerged from the cabin to purchase fruit from vendors that came alongside in small boats.
On October 24, in his autobiography, Paul reports that the Columbia arrived on the coast of Ecuador and steamed 60 miles upriver to Guayaquil. A multitude of parrots and parakeets circled overhead, and alligators rested on the banks among the mangrove trees. Quayaquil stood on the right bank, a hot and filthy town, fever flags flying from every third or fourth house. Rafts of balsawood clustered along the water's edge laden with pigs, fowls, parrots, macaws, bananas, platano, oranges, and pineapples.
The steamer remained in the middle of the river while lighters discharged the cargo. The slow unloading provided an opportunity for the passengers to explore the town. Paul and George went ashore. Crowds of young boys besieged them, offering monkeys for sale. They also offered what Boyton called alligators (probably caiman) from six inches to three feet long, strapped on boards to keep them from biting. Boyton compared them to American alligators and found them more agile and savage.
Research Note:
On October 25, the Wachusett, an American warship, arrived off Guayaquil on its way to Panama.
Resource:
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 and George Kiefer Cross the Isthmus of Panama
On the 10th or 11th of October, 1880, Paul Boyton and George Kiefer boarded the steamship Crescent City and headed for Panama. They took with them a full array of rubber suits, torpedo cases and electrical appliances. Boyton was eager to talk with Nicolás de Piérola. He hoped to use a suitable launch that might already be available, while waiting for the special launch that had been ordered. A fellow traveller on the Crescent City, a relative of a woman clairvoyant, asked Paul to accompany him on an expedition to seek treasure on a distant island. [See Research Note]
On October 19th, Captain Porter brought the Crescent City into the harbor of Aspinwall, Panama in the afternoon. Newspapers reported that on board were S.W. Jackson, agent of the empresa Atlas de Vapores, E.L. Salmon, James and Frank Schuber, and Doctor W. C. Downs. No mention was made of Paul Boyton, for once at least required to maintain an inconspicuous profile. After crossing the isthmus, presumably by railroad, they arrived at Panama City.
With probable impatience, Paul and George waited two days at the coastal city for their ship, the Columbia, to arrive. Shallow rocky black reefs extended beyond the fortifications of the town. Steamers stood at anchor almost six miles away near an island.
A Chilean warship, the Amazonas, lay offshore, having arrived recently in Panama on the 17th of October. Boyton claimed that it was on the lookout for a torpedo launch being sent from New York to the Peruvian government. Boyton decided to board the warship with his press credentials. The Captain escorted him through the vessel and he took copious notes on its construction. As he was going over the side and back to shore, an English engineer on board approached him saying, "Your face seems familiar to me. Where have I seen you before?", to which Boyton responded, "I cannot possibly tell, as my work takes me all over the world." Boyton quickly left the boat.
Resource:
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.
Research Note:
I am tempted to wonder whether the clairvoyant mentioned here might have been Madame Blavatsky, although texts place her in India during this time period for about three years. I note, however, that she formed the Theosophical Society in 1875 in New York with Civil War colonel Henry S. Olcott, also a newspaper man, and the location of the society was at 443 W. 34th St., the same street upon which Paul Boyton and George Kiefer met with Guillermo Bogardus, so it is possible that she or Henry Olcott may have crossed paths with Paul Boyton at some time.
Paul Boyton and George Kiefer Head to Peru
In a letter to the dictator Nicolás de Piérola dated the 9th of October, Guillermo Bogardus wrote that Paul Boyton planned to depart on Monday , the 11th of October. He would be travelling as a correspondent of the New York Herald, under the name O. Delaport. (Yabar, 2001, pg. 559)
This letter corroborates, with the exception of smaller detail, Paul Boyton's own recollection of the events as told in the Story of Paul Boyton. Boyton was enthralled with the opportunity for new adventures and the possibility of big prize money. He and George Kiefer received press credentials from the New York Herald. Paul said his credentials identified him as Pablo Delaport, and he planned to sail on the 10th of October on the steamship, the Crescent City, boarding at New York City and heading to Aspinwall. Paul decided to keep his destination secret from his family. He told them he was sailing to Panama. (Boyton, 1892)
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.
Paul Boyton and George Kiefer Offered Contract
Near the end of September 1880, in a private home on 34th street, Paul Boyton, then 34 years of age, and his agent, George Kiefer, age 26, met with a stranger, who identified himself as Guillermo Bogardus. Bogardus told them that Nicolás de Piérola, now supreme chief in Peru, needed Boyton's help to break the blockade of the harbor at Callao. (Yábar, 2001, pg. 558)
Don Nicolás wanted them to bring their gear and torpedoes, including dresses, torpedo cases, and electrical appliances. In his autobiography, Boyton said that the agreement was to pay them 100,000 for the first Chilean boat destroyed, 125,000 for the second and 150,000 for the third. Don Nicolás wanted to destroy principally the Huascar, the Blanco Encalado and the Almirante Cochrane.
Naval officer Francisco Yábar, in his book Las Fuerzas Sutiles, describes a memorandum of agreement he discovered in the Piérola archives in Lima. The memorandum of agreement is between Daniel Raban and John Johnson for the purpose of using force to destroy boats. It is dated the 23rd of September, 1880, New York, with the name, Guillermo Bogardus, at the bottom. Yábar believes it is the contract made up for Paul Boyton and George Kiefer with the names obscured because of security reasons.
The contract has details of remuneration possibly relating to Boyton's mission: transports at 8,000 pounds, corvettes at 8,000, armor-plated ships of the first class such as the Huascar at 30,000 and armor-plated ships of the second class at 50,000. (Yábar, 2001, pg. 558) George Kiefer in a later letter to his niece told her that they were offered 100,000 for each ironclad, 60,000 for each corvette and 40,000 for each transport.
Bogardus gave money to Paul Boyton for his family's subsistence while he was in Peru. They also drew up a letter of credit with the House of Grace for 1000 soles per month for the families of both Paul and George Kiefer (Keifer) (Yábar, 2001, pg. 559).
Bogardus says that Paul wants to leave immediately for Peru, while Paul contends it is Bogardus that wants him to leave right away. Bogardus still sought a steam launch able to travel from Panama to Paita without having to refuel, and able to sustain an expedition up to ten days. Boyton needed such a vessel, capable of steaming up to and leaving him in his rubber suit near the enemy and, afterwards, capable of returning to pick him up out of the sea (Yábar, 2001, pg. 559)
Paul was promised a commission of captain in the torpedo service. Bogardus instructed him to go to Peru under an assumed name. Piérola expected him to arrive in November (Yábar, 2001, pg. 558)
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.
Paul Boyton in New England
On October 30, 1879, Paul Boyton shot Bellows Falls on the Connecticut River in his rubber suit. He completed the descent of the Connecticut River from Canada to Long Island Sound, arriving at Saybrook light on November 7th.
In a testimonial dated December 30th, 1879 (an advertisement for Wei De Meyer's Catarrh Cure), Paul Boyton claimed that while swimming the Connecticut River, he contracted a dangerous cold and this Catarrh Cure accomplished all that was claimed for it. In fact, it completely cured his agent, Mr. George P. Kiefer, of a terrible catarrh from which he had suffered for a long time. So Paul asserted that he would always include this valuable remedy in his outfit. (Brooklyn Eagle, January 17, 1880, pg. 4) Several sources published between 1882 and 1910 identify the ingredient in this cure to be bicarbonate of soda.
Boyton Promotes His Life Saving Suit
The Dec. 11, 1878 Baltimore Daily News reported that Paul Boyton was sailing to New York from Queenstown [Maryland?]. It reported that Paul recently took refuge in Belgium to avoid legal entanglements. A young girl was allegedly wounded in one of his torpedo experiments. Her guardian sued Paul and won a judgment of 500 francs and 1,000 francs cost. Boyton challenged the young girl's counsel to "coffee and pistols for two." When the authorities heard of this threat, Paul quickly departed for Belgium.
By December 28th,1878 Paul Boyton was back in New York, showing off his medals, one presented to him by the late Queen Mercedes [of Spain?]. Prominent citizens entertained him. He must have vividly recalled his youth, when he immediately threw himself into promoting a voluntary life saving corps, then manned by young Nan the Newsboy and two of his companions. Boyton went on a fund raising campaign to put together ongoing support and an organization to assist the work of these boys on the waterfront.
The Baltimore Daily News (January 15, 1879) reported that Boyton swam to Hunter's Point from the Battery and towed back a boat , fulfilling a promise to the members of the Amateur Life Saving Association. The boat was presented to him at New Rochelle , and not forwarded to him in New York. At his waist he carried a knife. He took with him a bottle of French brandy. With a small American flag attached to his right foot, he seized his paddle and commenced his voyage. Mr. E. B. Woodward, Captain C. B. Dix, "Nan the Newsboy," and two reporters followed him in a row boat. The crossing took three hours in the icy water.
On January 25 Paul made a midnight journey to Stapleton on Staten Island accompanied by James Creelman of the New York Herald, who was also in a rubber suit. (At that time the Herald was probably the most profitable and powerful of all the newspapers in the world and was very news oriented)
On an invitation from a member of Congress, Paul visited Washington, where President Hayes and his Cabinent received him with high praise for his daring acts to promote the public interest in life saving. On February 1st, 1879, at the request of the President, he gave an exhibition in the naval yard for members of the Senate and House of Representatives. A few days later, he travelled to Pittsburgh to visit with old friends.
On February 6, accompanied by newspapermen, he started a float down the Allegheny from Oil City. On February 24th, he was at the Point, the junction of the Monongahela and the Allegheny. The March 28 New York Times reported that 100,000 people lined the shores at Pittsburgh and cannons boomed when he made his departure down the river.
Captain Boyton received an invitation to visit a friend in St. Louis. Ice still floated down the Mississippi and the temperature was below zero when he decided to float from Alton to St. Louis, about twenty-five miles. A boat containing newspaper reporters was to accompany him, but finding the weather too cold, they abandoned him after a few miles. At his arrival in St. Louis, the deafening noise made by the steamers and tug boats as they passed the bridge was heard far beyond the city limits. In St. Louis, he gave a lecture for the benefit of St. Luke's Hospital. General Sherman presented him with a massive silver service. (Boyton, 1892)
From St. Louis he continued on to New Orleans, arriving there on April 27th badly tanned and exhausted. He was welcomed by large crowds that gathered along the river banks. In the New York Times (May 8) an editorial speculated on Paul's motive for all these river trips. Reportedly a bill in the Senate would require that all American sailing and steam vessels be equipped with the Boyton suit. The bill would require from one to five on sailing ships based on tonnage and seven on steamers.
On May 15th he possibly sailed to Baltimore from New York?
On July 6 Boyton went to discuss the Volunteer Life Saving Corps with the young boys, Nan the newsboy and his friends. With him were George Kiefer and James Creelman. Paul met with Gilbert Long at the Volunteer Life Saving station and later met up with Nan the Newsboy in the street. George Kiefer and James Creelman heard the conversation. Nan complained about the payment for his services and Paul said for him to stick by the station, but if nothing turned up, he would take him in his employ. However, Paul was discouraged by the stories that Nan was spreading to the papers about him. (New York Times, July 16, 1879)
On July 16, 1879, Captain Paul Boyton returned to New York from Portland, Connecticut. The following day, at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the New York Volunteer Life-Saving Society, Nan the Newsboy resigned, claiming that promises made to the young men had not been kept. The committee accepted their resignation.
Nan charged that Captain Boyton only desired to use the Society to advertise himself. Paul's efforts had not made their work better, and they were not better for his acquaintance. Captain Boyton responded that he would never "try to ride into notoriety on the backs of boys." Nan accused Paul of using them as a send off for his swim down the Narrows. He explained that Boyton promised more than he delivered, such as saying he would lecture for them.
On October 7th Boyton started down the Merrimac from Plymouth, New Hampshire.
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.
George Kiefer
This research began with a letter that I found in family papers. The letter was from George Kiefer to a cousin or another relative. It was written in Peru around 1881. The letter led me to search further, to find out where he came from and what he did with his life. I have been able to discover only a little about who he was as a person, but at least a little more about what he did and the times in which he lived. I have been able to do this only through the help of friends and complete strangers. And I hope that I will continue to hear from people who can help me with this work.
When I first began this research, all I knew about George, mostly from the letter, is that he travelled with Captain Paul Boyton and they floated down rivers in strange rubber suits. I also knew that he dug up relics in Peru in a place called the Necropolis of Ancon. The Necropolis was within the sphere of the Huari culture around 1000 AD, that produced pottery such as the one here photographed by User:Haylli in December of 2004. (http://www.wikimedia.org/).
I still know very little about George's family or how he came to meet Paul Boyton. In my research, I have built a shell around a man who still remains an extreme mystery. It is possible that George arrived in America around 1857. He probably came from Germany or Bavaria. I expect to know more as this story unfolds.
For the past five years, I have been vicariously living in the Peru of the 1880s. I've met, through books, letters and documents, the people who walked the streets of Lima at that time. I've seen the beautiful public squares of Lima, the ruined towns of Chorrillos and Miraflores, and the remains of those who gave their lives in battle. I've imagined the fear and emotions of the citizens of Lima when rioting broke out within the streets and the Chilean army approached the city.
BUT I have never been to modern Lima, have not walked the desert coast at Arica, nor seen the port of Callao. I've not ridden the railroad from Lima to see the dunes of the Necropolis at Ancon nor visited the mountain town of Matucana. So my view is unfortunately flawed. If I visited Peru, I would only have a vague idea of where I was. To some extent, I think it would be like visitng my birthplace after an absence of 60 years.
This story is a rough draft, with parts missing and no doubt rife with misinterpretations unintended. The events are seen through the lense, as much as possible, of contemporary observers. I can only imagine that each perspective was colored or distorted by the observer's experience or agenda. As you read, I want you to be aware of this.
I am still grappling with documenting each event accurately and identifying timeframes that will help fit everything into an approximate timeline. I am skipping over significant events in the War, only because I have not discovered any relationship of these events to the protagonists in this story. Some of my dates are real and some of them are relative, and some of them may be good guesses. My scholarship is deficient in that regard, so please bear with me as I "give you not my best".
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