The Story of Paul Boyton

The Story of Paul Boyton, by
Paul Boyton

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Title: The Story of Paul Boyton Voyages on All the Great Rivers of the
World
Author: Paul Boyton
Release Date: September 9, 2006 [EBook #19230]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
STORY OF PAUL BOYTON ***

Produced by Jerry Kuntz as part of the Lawson's Progress Project.
Digitization effort dedicated to Enid Fiatte.

THE STORY OF PAUL BOYTON
VOYAGES ON ALL THE GREAT RIVERS OF THE WORLD,

PADDLING OVER TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND MILES IN A
RUBBER DRESS
A RARE TALE OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE
THRILLING EXPERIENCES IN DISTANT LANDS, AMONG
STRANGE PEOPLE. A BOOK FOR BOYS, OLD AND YOUNG.
To my beloved and gentle wife, whose patience and help have enabled
me to present the public the story of my life. --Paul Boyton
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
-On the Allegheny. First Attempt at navigation. The Grey Eagle.
Voyage on a coal fleet.
CHAPTER II.
-College days. Bruce's dam. The Fort of the Wild Geese.
CHAPTER III.
-In the U. S. Navy. A voyage to the West Indies. Diving for treasure.
CHAPTER IV.
-Wrecking with Captain Balbo. In the hull of a slaver. A swarm of
sharks. Joining the Mexican revolutionists.
CHAPTER V.
-Entering the life saving service. Grateful people. In the
Franco-Prussian war. Failure of the Cuban expedition.
CHAPTER VI.

-As a submarine diver. The Diamond fields of Africa. A floating Hell.
An escape at Malaga.
CHAPTER VII.
-The rubber dress. Overboard from the steamer Queen. Landing on the
coast of Ireland.
CHAPTER VIII.
-Arrival in Queenstown. The first lecture. In Dublin. Appearance
before Queen Victoria.
CHAPTER IX.
-Voyage across the English Channel. Pigeon dispatches. Landing in
England.
CHAPTER X.
-In Germany. A voyage down the Rhine. Through the whirlpool of
Lurlei. The press boat.
CHAPTER XI.
-A short run on the Mississippi. The funny Negro pilot. Down the
Danube and the Po. Attacked by fever. Lucretia Borgia's castle.
CHAPTER XII.
-Voyage on the Arno from Florence to Pisa. Narrow escape over a fall.
Down the Tiber to Rome. Across the bay of Naples. Knighted by King
Victor Emmanuel.
CHAPTER XIII.
-The Straits of Messina. Attacked by sharks. Whirlpools of Scylla and

Charybdis. Lake Trasimene.
CHAPTER XIV.
-Quick voyage down the Rhone. The smugglers' chain. The gambling
palaces of Monte Carlo. Down the Loire. In the Quicksands.
CHAPTER XV.
-On the mysterious Tagus from Toledo to Lisbon. Over great falls and
through dark canons. Ancient Moorish masonry. The villianous
brigands.
CHAPTER XVI.
-From Europe to Africa, across the Straits of Gibraltar. Preparing for
sharks. Contrary currents and heavy overfalls. Landing at Tangier.
CHAPTER XVII.
-Paddling in the ice floes on the Allegheny. Down the Ohio to Cairo.
Queer characters. On the Mississippi. Strange sights and sounds. The
comical darkies. Alligators. "Dead man in a boat."
CHAPTER XVIII.
-Voyage on the Merrimac. Some peculiar people. A rough trip down
the Connecticut. Lost in a Snow Storm. A winter in Florida.
CHPATER XIX.-Off for South America. An officer in the Peruvian
service. Placing torpedoes. Caverns of the sea. Inca Tombs. An escape
from prison and rescue from a lonely island.
CHAPTER XX.
-The Upper Mississippi. The German Doctor and the negro boatman.
Arrival at Cairo. Hunting and fishing.

CHAPTER XXI.
-The longest voyage. Down the Yellowstone and Missouri. Thrilling
adventures through the western wilds. In the tepees of the Indians.
Caving banks, snags and mud sucks. Camp of the Rustlers. Arrival in
St. Louis.
CHAPTER XXII.
-Hunting in Southern bayous. An interesting voyage down the
Arkansaw. Haytien insurgents. Down the Sacramento. A night on Great
Salt Lake. Down the Hudson. In the ice on Lake Michigan. Catching
seals.
CHAPTER XXIII.
-Boyton to-day.
CHAPTER I.
One bright day in July, 1858, two women carrying well filled market
baskets, were crossing the old Hand Street bridge that spans the
Alleghany River between Pittsburgh and Alleghany City, Penn.
"Oh, Mrs. Boyton, do look at that child in the middle of the river
paddling around on a board."
"Well," said the one addressed as Mrs. Boyton, "I'm glad it is none of
mine. My son Paul, loves the water dearly, but I took the precaution to
lock him up before I started for market."
After observing the child, who was evidently enjoying his aquatic sport,
for some time, the two women proceeded on their way. On reaching
home, Mrs. Boyton, with a feeling of remorse for keeping her young
son so long in captivity, went up