Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1881-11-17
CAPTAIN PAUL BoYToN.


Travelling Down the yellowstone and tn,
Missouri Rivers IN His Rubber Suit
Scenes an Adventures.
i The following letter from Fort Yates
Dakota by New York Herald CORES
pondent, gives an interesting account
of a trip made by the adventurous Gap.
tain Boyton along Western rivers
| When I met Captain Paul Boyton al
Bismarck. D. T., on Thursday last. he
had just enjoyed 3 nights rest after
padding FROM Glendive, on the Yellow
stone, distance of about six hundred
miles. and was preparing to enter the
water on the following day.
81 never navigated such savage
river in all my experience" said the
captain, as he passed his hand over a
face burned to deep brown by the
sun. Nothing but mud and snags and
sand bars, and current that runs like
a millrace. l started from Glendive on
september II, as I could go no higher
on the river, the water there being only
| eighteen inches deep in the channel
Before I left, the daughter Of General
Merrill decorated my boat, Baby Nine
and the garrison fred parting salute.
All day experienced great difficulty in
running, by reason of the lack of water
/ in tho ohopno1 on5 A., -
ids I met with. Repeatedly / had to
spar myself over rocks on which I
grounded. II was folly to attempt to
locate myself on the map, and don't
see how the government surveyors can
pretend to map out the changing course
of either the Yellowstone or Missouri
rivers. That night I camped out and
built fire out of driftwood. While I
slept noise disturbed me and awoke
to find large elk paving the water
near by. fred a shotat him and gave
chase as he bounded away. When I
returned I was Mortified to find my pad
die burned in two by the fire. was
100 miles from the nearest house, but I
lashed one blade Of the paddle to a
branch Of tree and got into the water
again at daybreak 1t was hard work,
tell you, struggling along in such a
river with a paddle little better than
nothing, but kept right at it all day
long without seeing human face or
hearing human voice until the slight
est sound that broke the terrible still
ness seemed like sweet music. No one
can appreciate how utterly lonely man
can become when floating through
these immense solitudes. Sometimes
would sing my padding songs to keep
up my spirits, but the echoes which the
hills and ravines sent back were SO
weird and unearthly that ! preferred to
hear the cackling of the wild geese or
the whistling of the wind through the
trees. Well, / camped on mud bank
at nightfall and slept the sleep Of the
just until five o'clock on Monday morn
ing, when put on my suit and slipped
into the current again. One Of the Gu
rious sights I noticed was the abun-
dance of coal on the shores. For hours
/ would shoot past cliffs that lowered
above me in some places two hundred
feet high, and through the face of the
bluffs, over which vines trailed their
bright leaves, there were veins of pure
black coal, from four to twelve feet in
thickness. Now and then wonld
catch glimpse of a deer cutting up
graceful antics on sand bar, but SIM
gle blast of my bugle would send him
off like fash toward the nearest tim
Der. On the sides of the hills, or buttes,
as they are called, herds of buffaloes,
antelope and mountain goats browsed
but ] was too anxious to make good
time on my trip to think OF hunting.
During the day my suit had hole torn
in it by snag, and although was pret-
ty near to the shore the water was up
to my neck before I could land. After
making some needed repairs the journey
was resumed.
"An hour later I was coming around
point of timber at swinging pace,
/ when I heard sudden noise on shore,
and looking up ! saw on the bank above
me an Indian, who had me covered with
rifle and was just about to fire. Now,
never boasted Of my knowledge of the
Indian language as an accomplishment,
for all knew of it was the word How
but when I saw that buck looking over
his top sight so complacently I stood
| up in the water and poured forth the
whole vocabulary right there and then.
and supplemented it with tremendous
whoop. The gentle child OF the forest
looked as though he had forgotten
something in the woods, or had an i'm
portant engagement on hand, for he
lowered his rifle and beat retreat that
would have done credit to professional
athlete. I don't know which Of us was
most scared. At six o clock in the eve
ming I entered the Missouri River, and
few minutes later / was being enter
tanned by the hospitable officers of Fort
Buford. The next day 7 continued the
voyage, equipped with new paddle,