The Republican journal., 1874-11-19
Struggling with the Ocean,

COTk Ireland, Cor. (Dct. 2!N y. \. Herald
When it was announced in the city thi.
morning that an American seamen had il
the gale OF Tuesday night jumped over
board from a transatlantic liner and, after
swimming for seven hours, had landed OF
the Skibbereen coast, people, while quite
prepared to give Americans credit for doing
big things were yet unprepared for such q
demand on their creduiity as this The
thing, however, was done, and the here
OF il was Captain Paul Boyton. of the
New Jersey Liteguards, Atlantic City
This gentleman, a professional diver OF
well known daring, lett New York about
q fortnight ago in the National Company
steamer Queen, taking with him a patent
swimming costume. 1t was Captain Bow
tons intention when from two to three
hundred miles distant from New York to
Jump overheard and swim back, but the
commander OF the steamer was a man of
little faith and vetoed the experiment
captain Boyton had therefore to remain
an involuntary passenger until the vessel
approached the Irish coast on Tuesday
evening, When the commander, having
been repeatedly importuned, gave his per-
mission.
Captain Boyton drew on his India rub
Der alright suit and inflated the air
chambers in his air-tight sack he placed
food for three days, compass, bulls
eye lantern, some books Gust to beguile
the time on the water,) some signal rock
cts and United States flag In his inside
pocket he placed mail which the passen-
gers had given to him to post, he strapped
his bowie knife and axe to his side and
ore ttiS 1NaIf1o ;,,+, ~
water, amid the cheers Of tie passengers.
At half-past nine p. NJ,
1t was q wild, dark night, he was close
10 the Fastnet rock, while Cape Clear
three miles from him and Baltimore. to-
ward which he intended to make, was in
direct line seven miles away He lay on
his back padding vigorously, and now the
lights of the vessel were lost in the night.
In a quarter Of an hour more his spirit al
most quailed when tossed high on the
crest of wave he could no longer see
the coast line or any lights The wind
blew, the rain poured down and the tide
set dead against him.
He was drifting out to sea, and, to add
10 the awful loneliness Of his situation
and to increase the dreadful peril, yio-
lent gale commenced That night for
many hours no mail-boat crossed the Irish
channel, and great destru elton was done
on the coast. And through these awful
hours Of darkness this man was tossing
about at the mercy Of the waves some
fifteen miles from land. The wind was so
violent that he had to give over padding,
and with one hand to shade his face (the
only part of his body exposed) from the
cutting blast. Once his paddle was wrench
ed away by heavy sea, but it fortunately
came into his hand again. For several
seconds a wave would completely sub
merge him, then he would shoot on the
crest and take breath before he again was
hurled down a sloping mass of water which
seemed 100 feet to the bottom. AS a re-
suit of this tossing, he became seasick
a thing he says. which never happened to
him before. His indomitable spirit, how
ever, conquered everything, and about one
o'clock the wind began to blow directly
on shore His paddle was piled vigorous
ly, and at three o'clock on Wednesday
morning he perceived he was near break
ers, and the rock-bound coast west of
Skibbereen doomed up before him His
danger now was not less than it was dur
ing the height of the gale, for as wave
would raise him almost on level with the
cliff tops he could discern nothing but
threatening wall of rock He made his
way along parallel to the coast, and fortu-
nately lighted upon almost the only safe
landing place for miles round He saw an
opening in the cliffs and propelled himself
cautiously towards it. While hesitatingly
examining the entrance sea struck him,
carrying him on; another and another fol-
lowed in quick succession, and in an al
most senseless state he was hurled high
and dry upon the beach. 1t was then four
O'Clock in the morning, and he had been
nearly seven hours on the water, travers
ing distance Of thirty miles. The APP
paratus had behaved admirably and hay
ing Invested himself of it he stood quite
dry in his navy uniform, which he wore
beneath That having been done he let
off one of his signal rockets without effect.
1t showed him, however, narrow path in
the rocks.
Up this he clambered and got on to
mountain road, which brought him to the
guard station. He was Hospitality
received there and discovered that the
place he had landed at was Trefaska
Bright, some miles east and south of Bal
timore. During the morning he reached
Skibbereen and posted the letters entrusted
to him, and arrived in Cork on Wednesday
night, where he is now the hero of the
hour. On Monday he intends to swim out
of Queenstown harbor some distance; that
will be followed the week after by little
swim across the Straits Of Dover to Calais,
towed by kite; and to cap all, on his re-
turn to the Straits he intends to carry out
his original idea of jumping overheard at
$50 miles from land and swimming to New
York, OF Long Island. After his achieve
ments in the gale on Tuesday night these
last-named experiments, startling as they
seem at first, cannot be regarded as i'm
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