The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-04-28

not, and IA the calculations Of the French
uiiot seemed to be at fault, the blame IS all, or
nearly all. thrown on these unlucky thick
stockings.
There were. to he sure 0 lher good reasons
for failure. Captain Boyton was Ill when he
started: bilious. in TACT, if / may venture TO
translate into plain English his doctors GER
titicate that he was suffering erom slight be-
ra,ic derangemcn;- 1t is Clear that bilious
ness IS not good state Of body for man
"a he IN who is TO be shut up in an air-tiSht
ruhber dress for fifteen hours, and to be
cs,ki on for steady muscular exertion all
that time. Then the weather, good at first,
turned nasty. Success depended, among
other things, on good pilotaGc. The voy-
accr was 10y no means wholly at the
mercy Of the currents. The Captain
could not make head against them,
uut could move through or across them, or
a. au angle with the general line in which
they were flowing. The steamer was to
show him the way, but presently the steamer
lost her way--or is said to have lost lt-and
then what: Matters went well till 8 o'clock,
or an hour after the geoE-telegram had
been sent of. Then the surface Of the water
oughcncd and fatigue began to steal over
the Captain. At 9 he stopped padding and
hailed the steamer for brandy and water.
The doctor went off to him and found him
drowSy. His sail was taken in, and he
rested himself 10y holding on 10 the side of
the boat for some twenty minutes. There
was an impression on the steamer that it
was all over, but they knew little Of
the Captains resolution and power Of endu.
rance. Presently he hoiSted sail and set out
, once more, it being a quarter TO 10 O'Clock.
Tic fact that he was now on the Ridge, and
| on the wrong side Of flowing to the I'm.
lucky twenty minutes spent in the stock
ingS-waS judiciously concealed from him.
SO far as can make out be was now actually
being sucked back to the English shore-all
the while manfully padding and sailing on,
2> be supposed, in the contrary direction.
The pilot was for picking him up and trans
porting him in the steamer straight across
the reachcrouS network of currents in
which he was now caught. but this was an
evasion Of difficulties to which the Captains
brother and fliends would not consent.
Still less would he himself have consented
had he known what was proposed. Then
mist came on. and after that nobody on
board the steamer seems to have Known, or
to have been willing 10 tell, what their po-
sition was-how far they were from the
French coast, ard whether they were drift
| ing toward it or away from it. The sea was
rough and night coming on. The captain OF
| the steamer declared it would be dangerous
! for his men to remain In 4 boat aStern-thc
| only means of keeping Captain BOvtOn in
! sight. The pilot declared that after daylight
| he would not be responsible for Captain Boy
| tons safety. The two were seemingly at Va
rance about the position Of the ship, though
agreed that the time had come TO put stop to
! the experiment. There was consultation,
| shared in by the journalists on beard, which
| resulted ia a determination that the gallant
fellow outside must be taken on board. His
brother protested. When the Captain was
| told he demonstrated even more energeti.
clv, alleging that he was good for another
twelve hours. At last he was told plumply
that nobody knew where he was, or which
| way the currents were carrying him, and
that it was pure chance whether he would
reach the French Coast or the English, or be
! left butleiing about III mld.channel. 10
this statement he perlorce yielded, but
! before going on board padded round the
steamer at speed TO prove that he still had
| plenty of strength left. Al 6l5 he was taken
| in, having travelled, it is computed, not
| less than fifty miles Of actual distance, and
having been just fifteen hours in the water.
|
perfectly calm and collected, and showed no
ssns Of distress He was perspirng freely,
his respiration was natural. pulse so and
feeble. temperature 81. In the doctors opn.
ION he could have continued bis eXertiOnS
six hours longer. He was rolled up in a
blanket and put into berth, and upon the
steamer reaching Boulogne resumed his
! sWimmi.g-dress, and went ashore as If
nothing had occurred, and was enthusiastic
| ctily received.
1t may strike you as odd that directly they
had got Captain Boyton on board the tug
the pilot and captain seemed TO recover a
knowledge of their position. 1t was per-
ceiyed, says one writer, that the tug was
some few miles TO the eastward Of Cape Girls.
ncZ, and she ut once steamed for BouloSne.
/ am inclined to doubt whether there was
ever any real uncertainty rs to the position.
What worried the pilot and others was the
gathering dnI kuess, the rough sea, the great
probability that Captain Boyton and the
steamer would part company, and the terri.
hle doubt whether, in that case, his strength
would hold out or the currents would be
obliying enough TO carry him on shore.
have heard it whispered, l may add, thai
among the non-seafarlng part OF the com
pany there were those
Whose souls would sicken o'er the heavng wave
Ibid sicken, in fact, so that they were
scarcely in u mood for giving courageous
counsel Be that as it may, Captain Boytor
had beyond all dispute done enough to prove
his own courage and strength, and the tran
scepdent merits of his dress as means
sustaining life for a prolonged period IN tht
water. 1t is almost reXa'ious to be told tha
two Channel captains, commanding the South
eastern Company's steamers, which croSseC
within the same twenty-iour hours are o.
opinion that had Captain Boyton remained II
the water he would have reached Cape
Grisnez iu two hours more, aud that tne
turn of the tide would have brought him
thence to Bouogue by II that night. 1t j:
stated that he will renew the attempt IN &
contrary direction, and in the hope OF more
favorable tides, currents, and winds. Mean
time he has no reason to be dissatisfied with
the comments of the press or with narrative:
published by those who witnessed his gallant
| effort. u. w. SAALLEf.
| A OrEER DiScovERY-A MYSTERIOUS Bull
| Irr.-A correspondent of the Toledo BLAZE
writing from Hastings, Mich, says: ''Abou
ten miles south of this place farmer, while
driving some COWS through deep forest
adjoining his fields, UNEXPECTEDLY came upor
an unusually large buck stretched upon the
| ground, and moaning away the last nc
meuts of its existence. The animal was evi
IDENTITY very old, and in & sadly emaciateC
condition, so the fact that the farmer lmaae'
diatesy put bullet through its head sheulo