Possibly around November 18th, 1880, Paul Boyton dispatched an officer to meet with the Peruvian dictator, Nicolás de Piérola. Paul wanted to take his torpedo crew down to Pisco where he expected the Chileans would attempt to land troops. Piérola reportedly responded "Impatience is a bad counselor. Wait for orders." Meanwhile, the Chilean General, Jose A. Villagran, landed at Curayaco and then seized Chilca.
Piérola left the government in Lima to Senor La Puerta and took command of the army in the field, his headquarters located in Chorrillos. Piérola would soon realize the results of his year's preparation for war. Theodorus Mason, an American observer, said that Piérola was not wanting in zeal or in personal courage.
Piérola's troops numbered 20,000 combatants, with half of them native Indians without any military education, and the other half volunteers answering a patriotic call. The Chileans on the other hand were describe as an organized body of men led mostly by foreign officers, well drilled and disciplined.
The Peruvian army lacked suitable equipment, partly because of the blockade of Callao. Clothed poorly, many wore homemade sandals of raw leather. With the Peruvian Navy decimated or captured, the army could not move swiftly by sea.
The Peruvians resorted to making their own cannons, designed by Grieve, an engineer. They carried rifles from Europe and the United States...Remington’s, Peabody-Martinis, Evans, and Winchester rifles, often rusted and badly oiled. The better-equipped cavalry rode poor quality mounts. The artillery units struggled with obsolete or recently manufactured and untested guns. The military defeats in the south created poor morale and rumors circulated that the army would not fight or would flee.
Refugees flooded out of Lima, a city with poor defenses. Only a few redoubts armed with heavy guns, and a few batteries located on the hills to the south of the city afforded any protection.
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.
Nicolás de Piérola Takes Charge in the Field
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.
Torpedo Experiments In the Bay of Ancon
Paul Boyton and George Kiefer looked forward to their rail trip across the coastal plain to Ancon.
Residents of Lima regarded Ancon as a pleasant seaside village, perfect for a weekend escape from Lima, just an hour and half ride away on the new steam railway. In a Peru summer, the sea breezes gave a little relief to visitors from Lima. Persons with pulmonary and bronchial afflictions found Ancon's dry atmosphere healthful.
On this visit, the small party saw few local villagers. Many of the villagers had left town to escape the Chilean's indiscriminate coastal bombardments. The group took care to prevent the Chileans or other inquisitive people from discovering the true nature of their activities. To avoid attracting any attention, the group tried their torpedo experiments hidden between several rocky islands, detached from the mainland by volcanic action. They tested the torpedoes on various dummy vessels, while a troop of soldiers stood guard at all approaches.
After some successful experiments, the group returned in good spirits to their railroad car for the journey back to Lima. Don Nicolás de Piérola anticipated future success in getting rid of the Chilean blockade of the port at Callao by sinking the Chilean warships. Just a mile outside of Ancon, La Favorita hit a pile of drifting sand, throwing the engine off the tracks. The passengers climbed out of the car to see what could be done.
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 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 Approached by Peruvian Agent in New York
In Massachusetts, Paul Boyton paddled the entire length of Lake Quinsigamund near Worcester and and in September of 1880, he paddled the Narragansett from Rocky Point to Providence.
Boyton claims it was October, but it was possibly September, when a stranger approached him on Broadway in New York. According to Paul, the man tapped him on the shoulder saying "This is Captain Boyton I believe."
One wonders how much this recounting of the story was influenced by the phrase "Dr. Livingstone, I presume" engendered by the famous meeting of Dr. David Livingstone by Henry Morton Stanley on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Africa. A New York Herald editorial dated the 10th of August 1872 used the phrase when describing that event. (Wikipedia article on David Livingstone)
The stranger went on to say "I have just returned from Europe where I was looking for you. I have a message for you from Don Nicolás de Piérola." He went on to explain that he was an agent of the Peruvian government, and wanted to speak with him in private. He cautioned Paul about Chilean spies that were in New York as well as elsewhere. He asked him to meet that evening at a nearby address.
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.
1880 July
The third of July, a small coaster left the port of Callao and stole along the coast to the north. The armed transport, Loa, that had joined the blockading squadron after the fall of Arica, was sent in chase. Shortly afterwards three men were seen leaving the coaster in a small boat and landing through the surf.
The men of the Loa captured the vessel and found it loaded with fruit, vegetables, and poultry...a valuable prize to a blockading force. Bringing it alongside the Loa, they began to unload the captured items. In a few moments the boat exploded; the Loa sunk, her mastheads still above water when she reached the bottom.
It is supposed that the packet contained a large case of dynamite fitted with friction fuses, from which wires led to some of the packages of the cargo. In unloading, as intended, one of these packages was probably lifted and the torpedo exploded, blowing a large hole in the Loa's side and causing the loss of 145 officers and men out of a crew of 200.
In the middle of July, Nicolás de Piérola suspended the build up of defenses around Lima, because he believed that the Chileans would not march against the capital.
Peru Under Siege
The Dictator Nicolás de Piérola's actions and decisions under the pressure of the extended crisis drew strong reactions from his contemporaries. A member of the foreign diplomatic corps, the British minister Spenser St. John, claimed that Piérola passed the "principal portion of his day in preparing decrees at which the public smile". Pierola's manifestos were "bombastic and absurd". (Kiernan, 1955, pg. 26) He "devoted his attentions to the organization of a torpedo brigade, and to the contrivance of engines for the destruction of the blockaded ships". (Markham, 1892)
Many reports in regard to torpedoes had been circulated, and Chileans were continually on the watch for them. Permanent moorings with buoys were laid down off the end of the island San Lorenzo to which the blockaders rode during the daylight hours. They set out each night, leaving two small vessels to guard the moorings. Two torpedo-boats were kept on patrol in the bay at night and during foggy weather these often ran close to the mole and among the foreign men-of-war. The Peruvians placed torpedos in the harbor, but not far out in the bay. For this work, they used several regular torpedo-boats, as well as launches and small tugs fitted up for torpedo work or patrol duty. They were also provided with torpedoes of the Lay system. One of the Herreshoff boats was run into the mole and sunk. (Mason, 1885)
Resources:
Kiernan, V.G. “Foreign Interests in the War of the Pacific” IN the Hispanic American Historical Review, 1955.
Markham, Clements R. 1892. A history of Peru. Reprinted 1968. New York: Greenwood, 556 p.
Mason, Theodorus B. M. 1883. 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.
Peru Responds to the Blockade
The batteries defending the port were in fair condition and were made ready. The Union and the ironclad monitor, Atahualpa, were brought in under the protection of the guns, and the transports were placed behind the Muelle Darsena. Nicolás de Piérola came down from Lima to survey the defenses, and found that the Prefect of Callao, Colonel Saavedra, had everything in order. (Brooklyn Eagle, May 4, 1880)
Piérola opened all the smaller ports between Casma and Pisco to foreign commerce. The blockade created problems for the neutrals engaged in commerce along the west coast. At a later date the neutral governments would demand accountability for damages sustained as a result of the hostilities.
On April 22nd, Rear Admiral Riveros ordered the bombardment of the wharf and the Union. It lasted two and a half hours. Callao and the vessels in the harbor would be subjected to intermittent bombardments over the next few months. The Peruvian fleet had been relocated under the protection of the Muelle Darsen. The shots fired often fell short but sometimes they struck a vessel or went over them, occasionally striking a building in town.
By the end of April, Piérola began concentrating troops and munitions around Lima. He used British ships to bring the troops from the north. Since they were transported without uniforms or arms, the English company felt that they hadn't violated neutrality. Piérola ordered all men from 16 to 60 to prepare for battle, forming the local army of Lima. (Bernasconi, 1946)
Resources:
Bernasconi, Edmundo H. Civati. 1946. Guerra del Pacfico (1879-1883). Toma II. Volumen 330. Biblioteca del Oficial. Buenos Aires Circulo Militar.
W.R. Grace Continues Shipping Munitions
With the assumption of the Peruvian presidency by Nicolás de Piérola, W. R. Grace & Co. continued to act as a purchasing agent of munitions but W. R. Grace withdrew from active involvement. Charles Flint corresponded with John Ericsson regarding his torpedo designs.
In 1861 John Ericsson built the Monitor that fought the Confederate Merrimac during the Civil War. Ericcson worked previously with the Peruvians in May of 1862, when he was asked to build two boats similar to the Monitor. (Yábar, 2001, pg. 410) Ericsson also invented two other innovative weapons, one a torpedo cannon that could fire projectiles and also the Destroyer, a boat with a cannon mounted in its prow.
Flint and Ericsson tested dummy projectiles on the North River. Gullermo Bogardus, the agent for Peru, and Flint inspected the original Destroyer then in the port of New York and negotiated the purchase and a delivery date. It is possible that Peru succeeded in acquiring the torpedo cannon, but there is no indication that they were able to acquire the Destroyer. (Yábar, 2001, 411-413)
Realizing that the ports of Peru would be blockaded by Chile, the Grace firm shipped a cartridge factory to Peru which began turning out cartridges soon after its arrival.
Resources:
Yábar Acuña, Francisco. 2001. Las Fuerzas Sutiles y la defensa de costa durante la Guerra del Pacifico. Lima: Dirección de Intereses Marítimos. 650 pp.
President Prado Leaves for Europe
By the close of 1879, Chileans controlled the Atacama region and the Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica. They embarked on a strategy of bombing Peruvian coastal towns. (Williams, 1938, p. 575)
By December 15, Peru had purchased 12 Krupp cannons and six Nordenfeldt machine guns (Revoredo, 2001, pg. 87) General Prado returned to Lima where he met with all political parties, including Don Nicolás de Piérola. Prado walked to his home accompanied by a large entourage. On the 18th he set sail for Europe, with the aim of raising funds and obtaining ships and supplies for the war effort. Some viewed his action as having abandoned the country in a time of war. On the 21st his vice president General Luis La Puerta, who had assumed command, was deposed and on the 23rd, Nicolás de Piérola assumed the presidency by coup.
General Prado arrived in New York on January 6, 1880 on his way to Europe. On his arrival, he received a cable regarding the overthrow of his government.
Resources:
Revoredo, Daniel Parodi. 2001. La Laguna de los Villanos: Bolivia, Arequipa y Lizardo Montero en la Guerra del Pacifico (1881-1883) San Miguel, Peru: Pontificia Universidad/IFEA.
Williams, Mary Wilhelmine. 1938. The people and politics of Latin America. Boston: Ginn. 889 pp.
Nicolás de Piérola Gains Support
The loss of the Huascar moved popular opinion against then President Mariano Ignacio Prado and built support for Nicolás de Piérola. The government offered Piérola a place in a reorganized administration. Many wealthy and influential citizens in Lima supported him. Prado was unpopular and was thought to be soon deposed.
The experienced officers were in the south, which left Lima vulnerable. Piérola resigned the position offered him because he could not name his colleagues. He later claimed that he felt that the war should have been avoided at all costs, that it would be an "injury of both Peru and Chili." (New York Times, September 25, 1885).
A New Yorker's View of the War
In the July 21, 1879 New York Times, Jacob Wrey Mould, a prominent New York architect, expressed his opinion of the war. Jacob Wrey Mould was born in England but now lived in New York. He worked with Frederick Law Olmstead in designing many of the edifices in New York's Central Park. In Lima Peru, Mould was building a mansion of freestone and Philadelphia brick for Mr. E.C. Dubois, subcontractor of Henry Meiggs and brother-in-law of Auguste Dreyfus, the Paris banker. Mr. Mould recently returned from South America and provided New Yorkers with his own assessment of the situation there.
In Mould's opinion, the Peruvian soldiers were brave, amenable to discipline and good workers, but the Peruvian officers were notoriously incapable and corrupt, fit only to wage a war of words and profit without exposing themselves to danger. Mr. Mould reportedly called the murdered Pardo "an egotist as well as a knave", that corruption pervaded all sectors of the government. He explained that the Roman Catholic party controlled two-thirds of the wealth and supported Nicolás de Piérola. Viewed by some as reactionary and nonprogressive, Piérola was, in his opinion, the most liberal and progressive statesman in Peru, a believer in popular education, native industries and internal improvements and a strong supporter of foreign investment and the development of natural resources.
Struggle for Control of the Nitrate Fields
Political unrest continued in Peru. In October of 1878, rumors again surfaced of a Pierolist revolutionary plot in Arequipa, but the leaders were arrested. On November 16 Manuel Pardo, now the ex-president, was assassinated by a disgruntled office seeker. The wife of Nicolás de Piérola was arrested on the same day that Don Manuel Pardo was assassinated, but was released for lack of evidence
In November of 1878 Chile’s President Anibal Pinto Garmendia protested a tax increase on the mining and export of nitrates by the Chilean mining companies in Bolivia. The Chilean manager at Antofagasta refused to pay the tax. He was arrested and the Chilean Nitrate Company fell into the hands of the Bolivians. W. R. Grace wrote to President Pardo, promising to work towards mediating the quarrel between Peru and Chile.
In an effort to monopolize the nitrate industry, a corporation was formed known as the Nitrate Company. In 1879, William Grace secured the rights to be the sole agency of this firm for shipping Peruvian nitrate of soda for four years, with distribution in Europe by the Baring Brothers and in the United States by W. R. Grace & Co. The Grace house stood to clear more than $1 million during the life of the four-year contract. This was detrimental to the nitrate producers and merchants of Chile, and Charles Flint claims that this was a factor that led up to the War of the Pacific. (Flint, 1923)
On February 14th, 1879, Chileans landed troops on Bolivian soil at Antofagasta to take possession of the nitrate grounds, in response to confiscation of the English-owned Chilean Nitrate Company there. When mediation failed, Grace helped in the search for some means to make a quick and crippling blow to the Chilean navy.
Charles Flint was serving as Consul for Chile in New York, entrusted with the conduct of the Chilean Legation, while at the same time his firm was the financial agent for Peru. After receiving cables from Peru to ship munitions to Callao, he resigned as Chilean Consul. The Baring Brothers helped Grace secure Krupp and Armstrong guns for use by Peru against Chile.
Resources:
Flint, Charles R. 1923. Memories of an active life: men and ships and sealing wax. Putnam. 349 pp
The 1878 Paris Exposition
In August of 1878 dignitaries from all over the world flocked to the Paris Exposition.Visitors numbered in the millions. On the River Seine, near the exhibition grounds, Paul Boyton entertained on his steam yacht, the Paul Boyton. Paul acquired, or possibly rented, the yacht in anticipation of a trip to India, China, and Japan. Paul was now 30, still an eligible bachelor. He took his distinguished visitors on pleasant excursions up and down the Seine.
Quiet and self-possessed, he impressed visitors with his stalwart demeanor. Paul invited the press to a champagne breakfast. Crowds converged on the shore to watch his demonstrations of the Merriman suit. In two minutes he was suited up and heading to the edge of the boat. He looked like an Arctic explorer with the two-sided paddle on his shoulder. He inflated only the head of the suit before slipping into the water. Once in the water, he completed inflating the suit using tubes to inflate the air pockets on his chest and legs.
Once in the water, he showed the crowd his little boat, from which he produced a bottle of wine and wine glass. He set off carrier pigeons and then built a raft from floating planks. He set up a table, lit a fire, caught a fish, cleaned and scaled it, cooked it and ate it. Floating half upright in the water, he served himself some wine. He then smoked a cigar, and with the tip of the cigar lit a few rockets and sent them skyward.
An important visitor to the yacht was the leader of the attempted revolution in Peru, Nicolás de Piérola, now 39 and in exile. He and Paul spent considerable time talking in private. They shared a common interest in torpedos and they sailed to isolated places on the river to engage in experimentation. Before they separated Piérola assured Paul that if he ever regained his position in Peru, he would remember their times aboard the Paul Boyton and their torpedo experiments.
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. 1892 358 pp.
New York Times, 9/23/1878.
Nicolás de Piérola's Attempts at Revolution
In 1874 Nicolás de Piérola, no longer a member of the government, raised 1,000 men and attempted a revolution. He took command of the Talisman, a small steam-powered transport, purchased, armed and equipped in Great Britain by Guillermo Bogardus. The Talisman was captured by the Peruvian ironclad Hussead. Piérola took possession of the railroad, occupying the town of Moquegua. This was retaken by government forces and Piérola retreated to Torata.
With the intention of capturing Piérola, President Pardo went south on November 20 to Arequipa. He took command of the Army with 3,000 men in the field. Montoneros attacked the Oroya railroad, damaging the track and the telegraph. They attacked the Lima and Callao railroad, tore up the track, but failed to capture the train itself. Lima and Callao were under the watchful eye of volunteers, chiefly foreigners. The Peruvian press blamed the Chilean government for the action of the Talisman, saying that Chile provided her with the coal and provisions.
By December 6, Piérola's men ran short of provisions and deserted in large numbers. In Callao a party of twenty men, allegedly ex-army and navy officers, attempted to storm the building where other ex-army officers (bitter enemies of Pardo) were held prisoner. However the attackers captured neither the town nor the forts and armaments.
By December 11, the town of Torata was captured. In January Piérola reconstituted his men and they made an attempt to capture Arequipa.
The New York Times, August 11, 1875 reported that on the fourth of July, Arevalo, one of Piérola's officers during the Talisman expedition, headed an attack against the town of Islay. They robbed the custom-house, informed the populace that Piérola was in Arequipa. They then marched to Mollendo and captured the town. He and his troops then boarded the train to Arequipa. Reportedly Piérola was not there, but in Chile. When Arevalo arrived, a small force was waiting for them. They routed the revolutionaries, wounded Arevalo and took him captive. He soon died of his wounds.
Mariano Ignacio Prado was elected President in 1876. Prado was reported to be a fine-looking courteous man in his early 40’s, tall, well-built, with black hair and whiskers, with a kindly expression. He continued to embrace the railroads as the “mission of civilization” (Clayton, 1999)
Piérola and his followers invaded Peru from Chile and attempted to take back the government by revolutionary methods. In late 1876 October or November, Piérola was still at battle in the mountains.
In May of 1877, Piérola’s men seized the ironclad turret ship, the Huascar, in the harbor of Callao. The Huascar, built in 1864 and 15 years old, was an armor-plated monitor 200 feet in length, weighing 1130 tons with 300 horsepower. It carried two Armstrong cannons in a rotating tower. The tower was of iron, 30 feet in diameter and 5 inches thick. Piérola joined her at her next port of call.
Apparently the British merchants in Lima asked that the British navy go after the Huascar, because it was allegedly stopping the royal mail steamers and taking possession of the coal. However this fact was in dispute, as it is claimed that the coal was fairly purchased in a port that was under control of the rebels.
Confronting the Huascar, the British demanded that Piérola and his men haul down the Peruvian flag and surrender. Piérola told the British officer that the Huascar was a national man-of-war and the emblem would not be taken down while there was gun on board to defend it. The English fired on the ship, destroying the rigging, the boats and the steering gear. A three-hour battle followed. The Huascar limped toward shore, asking the Captain of the Port for ammunition. This was refused, so the Huascar continued to Iquique where Piérola surrendered his vessel to the Independencia.
The government released the Huascar "rebels" in early July, 1877.
Resources:
Clayton, Lawrence A. 1999. Peru and the United States: the Condor and the Eagle. Athens: University of Georgia Press. 1999.
New York Times. Dec 15. 1874. p. 2
Nicholás de Piérola
In May of 1868 a yellow fever epidemic took control of Lima. Many of the largest and most prosperous shops were closed due to the death of their owners and their employees. One wholesale house lost all fourteen of its clerks. In one case all members of an extended family of 25 people died in one house. Anyone who could was fleeing Lima. The steamers from Callao were laden with passengers. The American Minister took his family to Chile.
Also in 1868, Nicolás de Piérola left his job as a newspaperman to take charge of the treasury under then president Colonel José Balta. Piérola was born in the Department of Arequipa, the son of an eminent naturalist and minister of finance under General José Rufino Echenique, president of Peru in 1851. Of medium stature, straight posture and well-dressed, Nicolas had a ruddy complexion. He was an aristocrat in both conduct and gestures.
Piérola continued Peru's disastrous policy of borrowing heavily from foreign sources for large public works. This increased incentives for foreign governments to interfere in Peru's domestic policies. As President Balta's finance minister, Piérola's reorganization of the guano contract system helped finance the railroads. One goal of the railroads was to diversify its economy by improving access to resources previously out of reach. The newly built railroads provided needed transportation routes along the coast and would soon link the coast to the vast interior of Peru.
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