CROSSING THE SILVER STREAK.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 307, 7 June 1875, Page 3

CROSSING THE SILVER STREAK.

The Home News gives the following account of Captain Boyton’s attempt to cross the channel in his life-preserving dress:— The start, which was not effected until a quarter past three on the 10th of April, was proclaimed to those inhabitants of the old Kentish town who happened to be about by the firing of rockets, while some signal lights were burnt by Mr P, M. Boyton, to enable his brother to clear the mail boat, which was then arriving, and see how to best proceed on his journey. The French pilot was in charge of the steamer, his mission being to indicate to Captain Boyton the course he ought to follow, whilst his cutter accompanied, being sometimes ahead and at others in the rear. Two medical men were also on board —Dr Diver, of Southsea, and Dr Willis, of London. The captain kept for the south, endeavouring as much as possible to cross the tide, which would drift him eastward until it turned for the ebb, as the more be succeeded in this object the less would be the distance he would have to travel. At four daylight began to dawn, and the disap= pearance of darkness put those in the steamer into a better temper with things in general, and the cold, searching north-east wind in particular. At half-past four, when the captain seemed to be about four miles out and nearly abreast of the South Foreland Light, he hailed, asking for his sail, and that the steamer might go ahead, instead of keeping on his trail as hitherto. Mr Boyton got into a boat, and fixed the sail at his brother’s feet, its assigned place, and with this aid the captain made much more rapid progress. Some half-hour afterwards he approached the steamer and jocosely inquired ff the doctor was sea sick yet, and, being replied to in the negative, he said that he was very comfortable himself. The pilot then expressed his confident belief that the journey would be completed in ten hours, but told him not to tax his strength too much just now, it being better to reserve it until he got off Cape Grisnez, where the currents were always strong and the weather heavy. To create a diversion, and as being appropriate to the occasion, the “ Stars and Stripes ” were hoisted at the peak, and the captain saluted the flag of his nation with a shout and a demonstrative gesture with his hand. At six he asked for a cigar, and, the soothing weed being handed to him he smoked it with intense relishand satisfaction, At the same time the temperature of his body was tested, and found to be 97 9 degrees, .2 higher than it was on his entering the water. At this juncture, when it was estimated that he had travelled from eleven to thirteen miles, the tide began to ebb, and he then began to be drifted S S.E., and ultimately south-west. Matters progressed in precisely the same manner until nine o’clock, when the eddying currents on the Colbart Ridge became so troublesome that he found no little difficulty in overcoming them. It had been calculated that he would not have been driven so far to the west as the Ridge, where the water is extremely shallow; but, being there, he remained battling with the waves so long that it was feared he would be carried away, by the peculiar and powerful currents which prevailed, back towards the English shore. He fortunately cleared the Ridge, however, after a lapse of something like two hours, and the alarm of the pilot then was that his exertions on the bank had been so exhausting that he would be powerless to reach Boulogne, which was then at least twelve miles out straight, without allowing for currents and tide. But the captain shouted that he was all right, and that he did not mind where he landed so long as it was on the French coast. The tide runs in the Channel nearly due east and west, and as it turned for the flood at noon it became apparent that his only chance—that day, at all events—was to catch land off Cape Grisnez j for if he could not do that he would inevitably be drifted up to the Flemish banks. At this moment his sail got a little out, and he told his brother, who descended in a boat to adjust it, that ho was not at all fatigued, and would, if necessary, keep up for two days. He bravely struggled with the waves for another three hours, but the French coast was still not to be seen. During the interval both tne Boulogne and the Calais mail boats passed in the distance, and the passengers on board encouraged him with the most cordial cheering. The waves had now become something formidable, the wind had heightened to nearly a gale, and the discomfort of everybody was increased by the rain. The captain took all this apparently with the utmost calmness, and it was a grand sight to see him riding the waves with the lightness of a duck, at one moment on the crest of a huge billow, and at another his sail nearly hidden from view by the sircceeding wave. Marvellous, also, was it to find how well he managed to keep the foam from his face ; a drop now and then fell on it, but he avoided its penetrating his eyes by closing them, and, quietly wiping his face with his encased hands, continued with the greatest sangfroid. The progress he made after this was not great; he struggled and struggled, but at six o’clock, when, although Cape Grisnez light could be seen, the French coast was not distinctly visible, the pilot declined to undertake the responsibility of guiding him in the dark, and the members of the press unanimously requested him to come on board, assuring him that they would testify to his ability to proceed, but that it would be absolutely dangerous if the steamer did not

at once make for Boulogne. The sea was at that time very rough and the wind rising, and there was every likelihood of a boisterous night, which, off the French coast, was not an altogether pleasant prospect. At a quarter-past six, consequently, at four miles oft Cape Grisncz and thirteen north of Boulogne, the captain reluctantly quitted the water, having been in it exactly fifteen hours, doing so amidst the hearty cheers of those present, who were convinced of his enormous powers of endurance, he being then almost as fresh as when he began his perilous voyage. The distance he travelled over could have been nothing less than fifty miles. After being examined by Dr Diver, he had an hour’s sleep in a berth, and as in the meantime the steamer had been making away for Boulogne, he soon reappeared on deck with his dress again on, for the purpose of making his debut in it to the French public. The steamer dropped anchor about a mile and a half from the pier, and the captain and his brother were shortly after eight o’clock conveyed on shore in a boat, signal guns being fired and rockets thrown up to indicate his arrival. On the pier all Boulogne had assembled to meet him, and they gave him a most cordial greeting, cheering him all the way through the streets to the Grand Hotel Christol, where, after being seen by some French medical men, he retired to rest, feeling the effects of a sligblt reaction. Soon, however, he was as well as ever, and he expressed his conviction that he could have effectually succeeded in his object, and his final determination not to be beaten.

Immediately after Captain (Boyton’s arrival the following telegram was despatched to the Queen : —“ To General Ponsonby, Osborne, for Her Majesty the Queen. — According to her Majesty’s gracious desire I have the honor to announce to your Majesty the success of my attempt to cross the Channel, over fifty miles in fifteen hours. The kind interest of her Majesty nerved me in my long and arduous struggle in the cause* of science and humanity. God save the Queen.” To this communication the annexed telegram was received :—“ From the Queen, Osborne, April llth, 10.17 a.m., to Captain Boyton, Boulogne.—The Queen has received the news of your safe arrival at Boulogne with much pleasure, and commands me to congratulate you on the success of your expedition.—Signed, General Ponsonby, Osborne.” The representatives of the press have also drawn up the following statement :—“ We, the undersigned members of the press, who accompanied Captain Boyton in his passage of the Channel, in his lifesaving apparatus, April 10th, 1875, do hereby testify that at six o’clock in the evening, when Captain Boyton had been already fifteen hours in the water, he was still strong and vigorous, and desirous of continuing his course to France. Seeing, however, that night was at hand ; that the wind was rising, and the sea boisterous; that the French coast was still invisible, and our own position, owing to the thick weather, doubtful ; that the French pilot specially in charge declined all further responsibility, as in the night it would be impossible to keep Captain Boyton in sight, we decided to protest against the experiment being continued, as Captain Boyton had fully proved his power to perform his experiment under or binary circumstances, ano it would be foily to risk life by insisting upon trying to finish it under unfavorable ones.,’ Dr Diver has also prepared a certificate, of which the following is a copy : —“ Grand Hotel Christol. —By the desire of Captain Boyton I accompanied him on his passage across the Channel from Dover to Boulogne. At 2.50 a.m. on Saturday, 10th instant, whilst he was dressing for the voyage, I submitted him to examination, He is a man 6 feet 10 inches high, weighing about 12 stone, well developed, broad-chested, and of somewhat phlegmatic temperament. His respiration was normal, his heart feeble in action, his pulse weak (70 beats to the minute), and he was suffering from slight hepatic derangement. His temperature, taken from the mouth, was 97’7 Fahrenheit previous to departure. I gave him a mixture composed of half a pint of milk, the yolk of three eggs, and a teaspoonful of brandy. He entered the water a little after 3 a.m. At 7.30 a.m. I visited him in a boat, and took his temperature as before, which was 97‘9 Fahrenheit, having risen '2 since his departure. I gave him a mouthful of the egg mixture. This was distasteful to him, and he said it made him feel sick. He took nothing further to the end of his efforts save a small quantity of cherry brandy and a little brandy and water at long intervals. At 9 a.m. I visited him again in a boat, when he complained of feeling very drowsy. I attempted to take his temperature again, but he was somewhat irritable, and the record was not accurate. I further visited him during his voyage at intervals, when he invariably replied to my questions by saying he was all right. He received from me three cigars during the day, which he enjoyed very much. He left the water at 6.15 p.m., fifteen hours after entering it, After his dress was removed I again submitted him to the thermometer. He was perfectly calm and collected, and showed no visible signs of distress. He was perspiring freely, and his respiration was perfectly normal, and pulse 80 and feeble, and temperature 97 and a trace. I placed him in a blanket in his berth, where he remained for about an hour. He then resumed his swimming dress, and went ashore as if nothing had occurred.”

Captain Boynton expresses his determination to recross the Channel, but from Cape Grisnez to Dover, instead of Dover to Boulogne.