Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1875-04-12
EVENING STAR.
MONDAf.............A April H. lssn
PAUL BOXNTON-s CAREER.

| I'm Europe SINCE the early part OF last Mo-
| Nemoer. displaying the utility of the lifs
/ saving dress which he used yesteriav. Tn
This time he has given frequent exhibitions
! In Ireland and England. demonstrating In
| the satisfaction OF the thousands OF sp.rta-
| tors, that he is a man OF courage AMI OF great
| skill as a swimmer. Mr.. Boynton is not un-
| Known here. He is an American. and most
| OF MS lie since manhood has bee.I passed. in
| tie perilous business OF diving, In which
| work he has no superior On the Jersey
| coast he has performed many deets OF dan
| ger, saving scores OF bathers who would have
| been lost in the surf at Atla.ltic City had not
| Boynton rescued them as they were drifting
beyond the reach OF human aid. In one or
| TWO seaSons at the above summer resort he
| Is creilted with rescuing from drowning In
| tbe neighborhocd of seventy persons men
Women and children. He was employed
there as member of the coast guard
| Giving up this engagement in the IAN of
iast year, and having nothing OF any partic-
uIar Importance on hand, tins remarkable
man decided 10 test the patent swimming
costume he now has in his possession After
| lew preliminary trials, he became con-
vinced OF its practicability and usefulness.
but nnding that but few people believed II
little else than one Of the usual humbugs of
the day, decided 10 Introduce IL i'm a novel
Hhhanner at least. 10 say nothing OF the
danger attending the experiment IL was To
take passage ia oiae OF The Europenn steam
ers leaving this port, and when 800 miles
from land, either after leaving New York or
before reaching the other side, TO drop q YER
board in his dress and BE- left TO the mercy of
| The waves. The inventor of the saving suit
gTeediIy grasped the opportunity thus pre-
sontcd, and within two days all arrangements
were made, and Boynton sailed from pier No.
a North River, in the National steamship
The Queen, on saturday. October II. lS74. lie
bad but little or no baggage with him
| as at the last moment he decided 10 jump
overheard when 200 miles outside OF SANDY
Hook, and swim back 10 New York. This.
however, was abandoned, as the commander
OF tile snip was man of little faith and We
! ioed the experiment, Boynton remaining ON
hoaru an Involuntary passenger. The dress
taken with him, and which he intended 90
use, was simply n rubber suit, or armor of
popular pattern, containing compartmentS
winch were inflated at will. Its weight was
nut niteen pounds, yet the necessary articles
required on the perilous trip increased this
aNOirCupOis. These were two dozen signal
| nghts, two pounds of cheese, six pounds OF
crackers, one piece of Bologna sausage, one
| axe and one bowie knife for sharks. signal
nagS, rockets, an extra suit OF clothes and a
large double-bladed paddle with which To
proper himself The crackers and cheese
| were no doubt consumed before Boynton
| could venture upon his little trip. This ne
az last was enabled to do, by The permission
| of the captain OF The Queen, as the vessel
approached the Irish coast.
| IL was on the evening of the tenth day out
and it blew gale. Without any unueces-
silry fuss, BoyntOn drew on his India rubber
air light suit and inflated the air chambers,
! IN his alright sack he placed fool for three
Gays, a compass, bulls-eye lantern, some
books (tust 10 beguile the time on the water,
some signal rockets and a United States flag.
In his inside pocket he placed a mail which
the passengers had given him TO post, he
strapped his bowie knife and axe To his side
and, graSping his paddle, was lowered into
the water, amid the cheers of the passengers
at half-past nine O'Clock p. m. It was a wild
DARK night. lie was close 10 the Fastnet
rock. with Cape Clear three miles from him
and Baltimore, toward which he intended 70
make, was in az direct line, seven miles away.
lie lay on bis back padding vigorously and
soon the lights OF the vessel were lost i'm the
night. In a quarter of hour more his
spirit almost quailed, when tossed high on
N
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 sit
uatlon, and, TO increase the dreadful peril.
The gale Increased in violence. That night
Iof many hours no mailbOat 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
hfteen miles from land. The wind was so
violent that he had TO give over padding ami
with one hand shade his face 1.-THE only part
OF his body exposed) from the cutting blast.
once his paddle was wrenched away by a
heavy sea, but it fortunately came into his
hand again. Fer several seconds a wave
would completely suomerge him, then he
would shoot on the crest and take breath
before he again was hurled down a shopping
mass OF water, which seemed leo feet TO the
bottom. AS a result of this tossing he became
seasick, a thing which never before hap
pened to him. His indomitable spirit. how
ever, conquered everything. and about one
O'Clock the wind began 10 blow directly 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 il was
during the height of the gale, for as a wave
would raise him almost on a level with the
cliff tops he could discern nothing but
threatening wall of rock. He made his way
along parallel TO the coast, and fortunately
llghted upon almost the only safe landing
place for miles around. He saw an opening
In the cliffs and propelled him cautiously to-
ward Ii. While hesitatingly examining the
entrance sea struck him, carrying him on;
another and another followed in quick sue
cesslon, and In an almost Senseless state he
was hauled high and dry upon the beach. Ii
was then four O'Clock in the morning, and he
had been nearly seven hours on the water,
traverslng distance of thirty miles. The
apparatus had behaved admirably, and
having Invested himself of IL he stool quite
dry IN his navy uniform, which he Wore be-
meath. That having been done he let off one
ofhis signal rockets without effect. 1t showed
him, however, narrow path in the rocks.
Up this he clambered and got on to a noun
tam road which brought him to the coast
guard station. He was Hospitality received,
and discovered that the place he had
landed was at Trefaska Blight, some miles
east and south of Baltimore. During the
morning he reached Skibbereen and posted
letters entrusted To him and arrived at Cork
on w Wednesday night, October u, where he
was the hero OF the hour: The more the popu-
lace heard OF the feat the greater was their
wonderment, as il was deemed impossible
for man to pass unharmed through such
experience.
The captain remained among his newly
made friends at Cork for a while, displaying
the value of his life-saving dress, and then
lourneyed to Dublin, where, on the 18th of
November, he made another trial for the
qualification of the people of that city and
vicinity. a Dublin paper of the 18th says:
1.-The exhibition was no less successful as q
test of the perfect efficiency OF the life
saving apparatus than gratifying as an ova-
ton on the part Of the populace to the gal
liant captain"
Shortly after the above exhibition Captain
Boynton visited Liverpool and London,
where he made repeated trials OF the dress,
and on the 9Th of the present month he had
the supreme satisfaction of appearing with
his apparatus in the harbor of Cowes before
the Queen, who witnessed the exhibition
from the yacht Victoria and Albert. Al
though a heavy gale was blowing, the ex-
periments We're satisfactory, and Boynton
was personally thanked by Her Majesty,
who ordered the life-saving equipments for
the royal yacht.
Captain Boynton is about thirty-eight
years OF age, and when he left New York last
October weighed $50 pounds, and was as fine
specimen of American manhood as was
ever looked upon. or good height and DOW
erful frame, he seemed the embodiment of