Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-05-26
A Tagus Adventure.

I Tagus Adventure.
| Captain Paul Boyton, the renowned
swimmer during a recent interview said:
! The Tagus is perhaps the n ost remark
able river l ever navigated. left Toledo
in Spain, and padded down through that
country and Portugal to the Atlantic Ocean
a distance of $50 miles. For over seven
hundred miles it is not navIgable for YES
Sells, but winds in an cratic snd-to me
annoying manner through the most weird
scenery that Spain possesses. Between
Toledo and the ocean its descent is 8. 600
/ feet. AT its source and for a short distance
down the shores are lined with luxurianl
trees and grasses, but soon these utterly
disappear. giving way to arid and stoney
banks, which in turn grow into precipitous
mountains sides. For the first three days
| padded along satisfactorily, but as the
number CT days since | began MY journey
increased my troubles augmented. Then
my course wound through continued ser
les of canyons, whose gloomy walls were in
places so high and steep that they almost
met and nearly hid the sunlight from the
yawning chasm beneath. Towards night
it required no great stretch of fancy for me
to imagine that was being swiftly carried
along through a mysterious subterranean
passage. The river was studded with
boulders, hurled from the mountain tops by
fearful storms, and often as was bowled
along under the pressure of the roaring
wind and rushing current 1 was thrown
against one of these obstacles and my senses
nearly shaken from me.
ITO increase my peril the river was full
of falls and rapids of unusual violence. In
places shallow current would dart toward
the rocky mountain-side and then turn at a
sharp angle and merge into a deep and
peaceful sheet OF water. / blessed those
havens, for they afforded ME chance of
taking much-needed rest. Looking into
their clear depths | could see the hideous
fish darting about, but the bottom was a
fathomless pit. Words are wanting to pic
ture the loneliless of my situation. For
ten days | saw not a shrub, not blade Of
grass, not single sign of mans abode
My diet was nauseating and | felt with
alarm that l was gradually losing my
strength.
lone day, it was the twelfth of my
journey, as | was floating on the bosom of
a sort of lake, suddenly was plunged head
first over fall and struck with such force
against the precipious wall of the canyon
that / lost consciousness. Happily my
rubber suit saved me from what would
have been otherwise a certain death. |
recovered my senses after an interval,
know not how long, and, with a prayer on
my lips, was about to resume my voyage,
when to my horror found that my tender
was lost 1t had been sucked into a whirl-
pool, probably, and the current was rapidly
bearing me away from the scene. was
nearly frantic. NV tender was gone, my
hopes were blasted, my life was not worth
a straw! The contents of the little float
were at that moment as precious to me as
all the wealth that king could bestow.
Il padded on for several hours, trusting
to find way out of the river. If could
only find shepherd generous enough to
share with me his frugal meal was saved.
But my hopes were vain. Encountered by
my rubber armOr, with waning strength
and tremulous movements | made many
futile attempts to Chamber the slippery
mountain sides, but in every case tlmbled
back into the river exhausted. For three
days was urged on, know not how,
by the impetuous waters. was ravenous
with hunger, my limbs quivered like as
pens, a chill sweat oozed all over my body,
aud my brain was delirous. swOre like
a mailman. heaped maledictions upon the
Tagus, and-at times sang wild snatches of
song. To this day | cannot account for
the supernatural strength giving me during
those seventy-two hours of agony. The
bowling Of wolves and the hooting of owls
during the nights heightened the sombre
current of my reflections. On the morning
of the third day, just after daylight, en-
tered the canyon of Casaras. | swallowed
pint or two of water and stood upright in
my rubber suit. listened for the tinkling
of bell, or some sound that would give
token of habitation. Nothing broke the
silent but the distant fall of waters. As
sank back in the river, in despair, TO my
Joy thought l saw q thin veil of smoke
coming over the edge of the high plateau
and falling on the water. My heart beat
rapidly as padded on for five minutes in
the direction of the smoke. At LAST saw
the blush haze rising from behind gigan-
tic rock. With accelerated steps left the
river and clambered along the rocky bank.
Several times slipped and fell, receiving
numerous bruises.
81 was compelled to make many detours
to reach the plateau, but finally reached it,
almost dead from fatigue. Ipeered around
the edge of the large rock that | had OBJ
served and saw the fire which caused the
smoke. A large pot was suspended from
tripod over fire kindled with sticks and
matted grass. The pot contained what
now believe to have been a mess hardly fit
for dogs, but which then judged from the
greasy odor to be hardly second to the dish
of the gods. Two men, in active conver-
sation, stood near the fire, with their backs
towards me, and one of them stirred the
savory mess while he talked. They were
dressed in the garb of mountaineers, and
were most probably shepherds. Both were
clothed in faded garments, but all the colors
of the rainbow were there, more or less OBJ
scured by the dirt of years. My hunger
was keen, so introduced myself without
thetedious ceremonialss so highly appreciated
In Spanish society. inflated my dress
and, standing forth IN full view, LEI my
paddle fall to the ground. Startled BY the