The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1874-11-19
Paul BOytOn's Adventure at Sea.

When it was announced in the city this
morning that an American seaman had
in the gale of Tuesday night jumped
overheard from a transatlantic liner
and, after swimming for seven
hours, had landed on the Skibbereen
coast, people, while quite prepared to
give Americans credit for doing big
things, were yet unprepared for such
demand on their credulity as this. The
thing, however, was done, and the hero
OF it was Capt. Paul Boyton, of the New
Jersey Lifeguards, Atlantic City. This
gentleman, a professional diver of we'll
known daring, left New York about a
fortnight ago in the National Company's
steamer Queen, taking with him patent
swimming costume. 1t was Capt. Boy.
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 man of
little faith, and vetoed the experiment
Capt. 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
permission.
Capt. Boyton drew on his india rubber
airtight suit and inflated the air-cham-
bers; in his alright sack he placed food
for three days, compass, bulPs-eye
lantern, some books Gust to beguile the
time on the water), some signal rockets
and United States flag. In his inside
pocket he placed mail which the pas
sengers had given him to post; he
strapped his bowie knife and ak to his
side, and grasping his paddle was low
cred into the water amid the cheers of
the passengers, at $50 o'clock p. m.
1t was wild, dark night, he was close
to the Fastnet Rock, with Cape Clear
three miles from him, and Baltimore,
toward 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 almost quailed when, tossed
high on the crest OF a 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
to the awful loneliness of his situation,
and to increase the dreadful peril, vio-
lent gale commenced. That night for
many hours no mail-boat crossed the
Irish Channel, and great destruction 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 ex-
poseO from the cutting blast. Once his
paddle was wrenched away by heavy
sea, but it fortunately came into his
hand again. For several seconds wave
would completely submerge him, then he
would shoot on to the crest and take
breath before he again was hurled down
sloping mass of water which seemed
100 feet to the bottom. AS re-
suit of his tossing he became sea-sick,
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 d.
rectly on shore. His paddle was Piled
vigorously, and at three o'clock on
Wednesday morning he perceived he was
near breakers, and the rock bound coast
west of Skibbereen loomed up before
him. His danger now was not less than
it was during the height of the gale, for
as a wave would raise him almost on
level with the cliff.tops he could discern
nothing but a threatening wall of rock.
He made his way along parallel to the
coast, and fortunately lighted upon al
most the only safe landing place for
miles around. He saw an opening in the