George Kiefer and the Necropolis of Ancon

Along the Missouri River

2009-01-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

In 1880 this home was built in Boonville, Missouri. It sits on the bluff on High Street just a block or two from the downtown shops and the bridge over the Missouri River to New Franklin. This house would have stood there when, after the disastrous trip to Peru, Paul Boyton floated the Missouri River from Montana all the way to St. Louis in a rubber suit, arriving at the Mississippi in November. George was still in Peru.

Building Knols

2008-09-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

I've taken most of my blog posts and have converted them into knols, the new Google competitor to wikipedia. Knol is still very beta, but I wanted to see if it would be easier to develop the sections of my work in that format. One drawback, it doesn't allow RSS feeds to help anyone keep abreast of the changes I have made via Google reader or similar device. And it as yet does not have a way to organize the "articles" or knols in any set fashion, so that the chapter or story sequence would be easy to follow. (Also a problem within blogger).

It does allow commenting like blogger, and also links to other articles by other authors that may be on the same subject matter. So far, this capability is not too accurate, possibly only 50% (or less) of the time does it point to anything else of similar interest.

There is quite an extensive search capability in the "search toolkit" and one can limit to just one author's knols if one is so inclined.

I will still use this blog to post items in current events that relate to this story, but will probably post future parts of the story on the knol site. The following link should get you to the table of contents of:

Peruvian Contract: Mercenaries, Merchants and Curiosities in the War of the Pacific.

by Linda Jacobs

A New Sloop for Paul Boyton?

2008-08-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

On November 24th, 1880, while Paul tended his affairs in Peru, his brother Michael agitated for land reform in Ireland.

Paul prepared for the imminent battle as the Chileans placed themselves in a strategic position to attack Lima and its surrounding towns. At this point, the Cochrane, the Huascar and the Princess Louise still blockaded the harbor at Callao.

On the 25th, the foreign senior naval officers based off Callao met and decided to move the ships with refugees to Ancon. They asked the governments of Peru and Chile, if they could send representatives to the headquarters of both belligerents. Lt. Commander D. W. Mullan of the Adam sailed to Pisco in the British ship the Osprey and N.T.Houston of the Lackawanna joined General Piérola.

On the 26th, the General Commandant requested that Commandant Sanchez give Luis Reybaud five pounds for the renting of a sloop and the use of the train to take the sloop from Callao to Chorrillos. (Yábar Acuña, 2001, pg. 561)

Yábar Acuña also cites another source that lists items that may have been destined for this sloop: a lantern, 30 gallons of water, a grill, a coffee maker, 50 pounds of cookies, 50 pounds of meat, 25 pounds of potatoes, a jar of conserved vegetables, 25 pounds of wood, 4 tin plates, 4 tin cups. 4 knives, 4 forks, 4 spoons, 1 map of Peru by Barrera, a flag and a compass, a 25 pound anchor, etcetera.

Who were the four on the boat? Could this have been Luis Reybaud, George Kiefer, Paul Boyton and?

Resources:

Yábar Acuña, Francisco. 2001. Las Fuerzas Sutiles y la defensa de costa durante la Guerra del Pacifico. Lima: Dirección de Intereses Marítimos. 650 pp.

The Chileans Land at Pisco

2008-06-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

Even with the approach of the Chilean troops, Nicolás de Piérola showed no disquiet. "I have my plan" he would say, "and in whatever happens, we have before up the example of Bolognesi." (Colonel Bolognesi perished in the defense of the port at Arica in June of 1880.)

Piérola relied heavily on military officers and technical assistance from foreign countries, such as France and Germany. Possibly because of the way in which he took control, he held a certain distrust of Peruvian officers under his command. While rejecting the strategic ideas of some of these trained officers, except for one reconnaissance through the Atocongo Pass, he remained behind the lines of his forward guard.

The foreign fleets moved their ships further north. On November 20, 1880, General Baquedano with 23,000 Chileans landed at Pisco, known for its grape vineyards and Pisco brandy. With the cry of "On to Lima!", his army marched north, burning towns and destroying property.

Augusto Berns found Machu Picchu before Hiram Bingham

2008-06-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

AFP: German adventurer found Machu Picchu decades before American: June 5 2008. August Berns, a German businessman, arranged with President Balta of Peru in 1867 to set up a lumber mill at the foot of the mountain on which Machu Picchu is located. Berns also traded in gold.

'We found that Berns and his colleagues extracted gold from archaeological remains at Machu Picchu using a company that had won a mining concession for extracting wood and gold, in the area where the citadel is located,' Peruvian historian Carlos Carcelen told reporters. Carcelen did his research with American cartographer Paolo Greer, French archaeologist Alain Gioda and British historian Alex Chepstow-Lusty. They researched archives in Peru and Spain questioning the idea Bingham 'discovered' Machu Picchu in 1911. 'Sadly, we demonstrated that there was a major looting of gold objects which later were sold to European museums and universities,' Carcelen added."

Peru Guards Its Guano as Demand Soars Again - NYTimes.com

2008-06-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

Peru Guards Its Guano as Demand Soars Again - NYTimes.com: In May of 2008, Peru's guano trade resurfaces as an important economic asset.

"The dung will probably never be the focus of a boom as intense as the one in the 19th century, when deposits were 150 feet high, with export proceeds accounting for most of the national budget. The guano on most islands, including Isla de Asia, south of the capital, Lima, now reaches less than a foot or so. But the guano that remains here is coveted when viewed in the context of the frenzy in Peru and abroad around synthetic fertilizers like urea, which has doubled in price to more than $600 a ton in the last year."

Nicolás de Piérola Takes Charge in the Field

2008-06-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Possibly around November 18th, 1880, Paul Boyton dispatched an officer to meet with the Peruvian dictator, Nicolás de Piérola. Paul wanted to take his torpedo crew down to Pisco where he expected the Chileans would attempt to land troops. Piérola reportedly responded "Impatience is a bad counselor. Wait for orders." Meanwhile, the Chilean General, Jose A. Villagran, landed at Curayaco and then seized Chilca.

Piérola left the government in Lima to Senor La Puerta and took command of the army in the field, his headquarters located in Chorrillos. Piérola would soon realize the results of his year's preparation for war. Theodorus Mason, an American observer, said that Piérola was not wanting in zeal or in personal courage.

Piérola's troops numbered 20,000 combatants, with half of them native Indians without any military education, and the other half volunteers answering a patriotic call. The Chileans on the other hand were describe as an organized body of men led mostly by foreign officers, well drilled and disciplined.

The Peruvian army lacked suitable equipment, partly because of the blockade of Callao. Clothed poorly, many wore homemade sandals of raw leather. With the Peruvian Navy decimated or captured, the army could not move swiftly by sea.

The Peruvians resorted to making their own cannons, designed by Grieve, an engineer. They carried rifles from Europe and the United States...Remington’s, Peabody-Martinis, Evans, and Winchester rifles, often rusted and badly oiled. The better-equipped cavalry rode poor quality mounts. The artillery units struggled with obsolete or recently manufactured and untested guns. The military defeats in the south created poor morale and rumors circulated that the army would not fight or would flee.

Refugees flooded out of Lima, a city with poor defenses. Only a few redoubts armed with heavy guns, and a few batteries located on the hills to the south of the city afforded any protection.

Resources
Mason, Theodorus B. M. 1885. The War of the Pacific Coast of South America Between Chile and the Allied Republics of Peru and Bolivia. 1879-'81. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

Paul Boyton Hides From the Chilean Soldiers

2008-06-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

During the day, Paul Boyton continued hiding in the cave, waiting for twilight, when he planned to attempt to cross the harbor and reach Callao. One enormous seal lay heavily on a ledge directly below him, surrounded by several small ones. Restless, the seal raised his head, looking about with bloodshot eyes. Finally he lay down again. He edged over to the edge of the ledge and plunged into the water. He appeared again on the far side of Boyton’s ledge, gave a loud snort, and sank into the water.

The baby seals cavorted around Paul. Some of them crawled up on his ledge. A mother seal swam in and bellowed, then settled down to rest. At nightfall, the rest of the seals returned, snarling and bellowing as they settled down in the cave.

Hungry, Paul looked eagerly toward nightfall. With the sun setting, he slipped off the rock, and slid out of the cave. He swam steadily, reaching the coast a little before five in the morning. Near the fortification of Callao, he saw a sentinel with a gun trained on him. Boyton shouted “Peru, Peru” and the guard lowered his gun.

Boyton immediately went to Lima to report to the Dictator and hurried back to take charge of the sloop once more.

Resources:
Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.

Paul Boyton Ascends San Lorenzo

2008-06-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

Paul Boyton took two torpedoes and paddled across the narrow channel to the main island, struggling against heavy waves. Finally reaching the shore, he pulled the torpedoes up on a beach and hid them under a shelf of rock. He took off his rubber dress and his boots. Climbing over the guano beds and broken rocks in his bare feet, he began to sweat heavily. He reached the top of the island, where a cool breeze was blowing. He gasped with pleasure as he sat down to cool off.

Suddenly, a dark figure popped up only 30 yards from him. Boyton saw a flash, heard a report and a bullet whistled by his head. He drew his pistol, but decided not to shoot. The figure disappeared from sight. Gunshots came from several quarters. With a general alarm sounding, Boyton descended rapidly in an avalanche of guano and frantically looked for his rubber suit.

He raced up and down the beach until he saw one of the pantaloons sticking out from under a rock. Quickly, he pulled the suit on and swam across the narrow strait, looking for the sloop. Finally, he saw the sloop in the distance, its canvas spread as it headed for the mainland.

Boyton would not be able to swim all the way back to the coast before daybreak. Finding no shelter on El Fronton, he crossed back to San Lorenzo, apprehensively expecting a torpedo boat to appear at any moment.

On San Lorenzo, he found a cave at sea level. Hot salty air greeted him at the entrance to the cave. He heard the sound of breathing and the stirring of the seals as he disturbed their rest. He drew himself up on a slippery ledge, being careful not to cut the dress on the sharp edges of shells wedged into the rocks. From a back wall, a seal growled, followed by heavy breathing, snapping, snarling, and growling. Unable to sleep, Boyton lay awake throughout the night.

At sunrise, he saw the rock ledges covered with seals and sea lions. They stretched their flippers and yawned, and then, one by one, dropped into the water in search of breakfast. A young seal turned his great round eyes on Boyton, circled his ledge, but then with a flip, darted out to the fishing grounds. Some returned later, with fish in their mouth. Boyton spent the day in the cave surrounded by baby seals.

Resources:
Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.

Paul Boyton's Reconnaissance of San Lorenzo

2008-06-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Author's Note: The following is based on Paul Boyton's version of what happened.

As evening fell, the Alicrán (a Peruvian sloop loaned to Paul Boyton by the Peruvian navy) approached El Fronton, an island separated by a channel from the larger island of San Lorenzo, just beyond the harbor at Callao. Boyton planned to anchor the sloop off El Fronton, then paddle across to the larger island with two 100 pound torpedoes. As silent as possible, the anxious crew sailed the sloop toward the island through heavy fog. Ahead, they heard the sound of oars. Boyton told them to get ready, but at the same time he directed them to hold their carbines at ease.

Fear overcame the Peruvians. Someone whispered that the Chileans would hang those who served in the torpedo service. Boyton grabbed one of the carbines. He whispered forcefully "The first person who refuses to fire will get a bullet in his head."

The boat came into view. "A que venga?" Boyton demanded. From the other boat, a trembling voice responded in Spanish, "Fisherman, fishermen: , don't shoot"

After the anxiety of this encounter, the heartened crew bustled about to complete the mission. The fisherman took up their oars again, passed towards the harbor and back into the fog.

The Alicrán reached El Fronton and set down its anchor. Boyton eased out of the boat into the water. The sloop was to stay until 3 in the morning, giving them ample time to sail back to the safety of the guns at Chorrillos before morning. Boyton planned to hide some torpedoes on the island for later use. If he wasn't back by the designated time, they were to head for land.

Resources:
Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.

Paul Boyton Continues his Search for an Opportunity

2008-05-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

A cruiser was seen to the south following the coastline. Boyton slipped into the water and paddled out, taking a 100 pound torpedo in tow. The cruiser headed towards him and he laid the fly torpedo across her path, and then swam back to shore. However, the crew on board the cruiser saw the torpedo and turned a Gatling gun on it, exploding it before it touched the ship.

The cruiser turned and began heading closer to land. The sloop put out its sweeps and hugged the shoreline, arriving back at Chorrillos the next morning in safety. That day, a party of marines from the cruiser landed on the island near where the torpedo had been to hunt out those who had placed it. Boyton and his crew watched from the mainland as the Chilean boats and soldiers scouted the islands.

The Peruvians feared the enemy guns that could be turned quickly in any direction, but daily they sailed to an island. At the same time, the Huascar, one of Paul Boyton's assigned targets, steamed up and down the coast seemingly within range of the Peruvian batteries.

(Author's note: Boyton says that is "some two months" that they laid under the batteries at the top of El Morro making sorties every night. This would indicate that he was in Chorrillos from at least the middle of November through the beginning of January, or possibly the beginning of November through the end of December. George Kiefer, on the other hand, says that he was in Chorrillos for three weeks.)

Resources:
Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.

Paul Boyton Prepares for a Torpedo Attack

2008-05-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

On November 9, 1880 the Chileans left two vessels to blockade the harbor in Callao, while their other ships headed south to pick up new troops for the final launch against Lima.

At the hacienda in Chorrillos, Paul Boyton received a half ton of dynamite, sent by wagon from Lima. He instructed his crew on how to put the dynamite in rubber cases. He also drilled the officers on the uses of the rubber dress and the torpedoes. The lack of enthusiasm of his students disappointed him.

They spend most of their time among the islands, great rocks broken off from the mainland. Boyton watched the movements of the Chileans during daylight, but at night the ships steamed further out to sea. In their trials of the suit by night, as they paddled silently through the water, the ocean sparkled with phosphorescence. Boyton realized that the Chileans on watch might see this if he attempted to approach a ship by night.

Night after night no new opportunities arose. Boyton believed the Chileans knew that he was in Peru, so were taking special precautions. George Kiefer believed that Chilean spies had brought the news of their arrival in Peru on the same ship that they took from New York.

1880 November Timeline for Paul Boyton

2008-05-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

In putting together this history, I've tried to maintain a healthy skeptism for the various accounts of Paul Boyton's activities while in Peru. The dates that refer to Boyton's arrival in Peru and his actions up through the end of November are somewhat conjecture, as Paul's recount of the events fails to pinpoint dates.

As for the trip to Callao, we do know that Kiefer in his letter to his niece mentions meeting top officials in the government, visiting fortifications and receiving a salute from a thousand pound gun. In his book, Boyton says they went to Punta del Mar Bravo, where fortifications were located, and where American parrot guns were located. Francisco Yabar's book mentions a battery called "2 de Mayo" which was previously known as "la Punta" where both Dahlgren and Rodman "1000 pound" cannons were located, and German Astete was in charge of this section of the defenses.

Paul says that Nicolás de Piérola commissioned him as a captain in the Peruvian navy. At this point, Paul says they sailed the Alicrán around to Chorrillos, the best point from which to begin operations, basing their headquarters at the hacienda of a wealthy Peruvian. They anchored the sloop close to shore. Boyton planned to head down the coast to find more vulnerable targets, as the Chilean blockaders kept a strong watch for potential torpedo activity in the harbor at Callao.

Francisco Yabar's book mentions that the Peruvians shipped a "balandra" by railroad from Callao to Chorrillos towards the end of November, and put together provisions for an expedition possibly for Paul Boyton at that time. This leaves open the question as to whether Paul ended up using two different boats, sailing the first sloop to Chorrillos and possibly losing it, and then needing a replacement, or whether it took him most of November to prepare for his first expedition. In any event, we still need to unravel when he was doing what from November to late December of 1880.

Resources:
Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.

Yábar Acuña, Francisco. 2001. Las Fuerzas Sutiles y la defensa de costa durante la Guerra del Pacifico. Lima: Dirección de Intereses Marítimos. 650 pp.

A Real Archaeologist Comments on Indiana Jones

2008-05-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

Perhaps by now you've seen the beginnings of the parallel between this real-life "blog narrative" and the adventures of Indiana Jones, yet they took place almost sixty years before the time frame of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I hope you can endure the snail's pace in which the story is unfolding. As a movie, the adventures of Paul Boyton and George Kiefer would make the perfect prequel to the Indiana Jones sagas, if we could dispense with the fictional glamour of Hollywood and take a more serious look at America and the actions of American citizens in the world.

Although not an archaeologist, George Kiefer read extensively in the travel journals of the day that explored and documented the archaeological treasures of Peru. He also consulted with local experts, visited museums, and loved books. Paul Boyton could be more likely cast as Indiana Jones, the insatiable adventurer, but it is very possible that George accompanied him on his previous adventures before their joint trip to Peru. I am still looking for some tangible evidence of that.

George, a lover of artifacts, and Paul, the adventurer, both sought the spectacular and risked their lives for a dictator in a foreign country. In Peru, they found a country's cultural heritage under attack, from the aggressive naval bombardments and the Chilean army's imminent march on Lima, and from continuing depredations on Peru's archaeological resources by treasure hunters.

The Necropolis of Ancon, visited in November, 1880 by Paul Boyton and George Kiefer, held boundless treasures, including gold, although they possibly did not know it at the time. And in those days, few knew how, or perhaps had the motivation, to employ disciplined archaeological techniques, but collectors had already unearthed many of these treasures, some of them ending up in private collections in Lima.

In contrast, Brian Fagan, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at University of California, Santa Barbara, writes in the Wall Street Journal on May 24, 2008 about modern archaeologists:

"Today there are at least 10,000 of us poking around every corner of the world, as opposed to Indy's day, when much of the past was still underground and the chances of making a truly spectacular discovery were significantly higher. Most of us will never come upon a golden artifact. We deal in the arcane and obscure -- the butchery practices of Neanderthal hunters, the optimal weight of cod salted by medieval fishers, and the changing painted decoration of ancient Pueblo vessels. We survey miles of long abandoned irrigation canals to reconstruct ancient field systems. We spend months studying faded notebooks in museum archives. Nearly all of us are specialists, each with our tiny expertise, often in subjects so narrowly focused that they interest fewer than a half-dozen colleagues." An Archaeologist Whips Indy - WSJ.com

Be that as it may, collectors of the 1880s began building U.S. and European collections before the expertise of modern archaeology was available. Collections of Peruvian artifacts in U.S. museums may fail to have even the minimum of provenance information accompanying them. While we can't undo the past, we can still learn something useful for modern archaeological science by exploring this territory.

For this reason, the story of Paul Boyton and George Kiefer transcends the movies of the swashbuckling Indiana Jones. In this story, we can indulge in two Americans' real-life fascination with antiquities and adventure, while we struggle to understand the ensuing human tragedy, efforts to pass on a legacy, and questions about the involvement of the United States in foreign wars.

Paul Boyton Looks for a Steam Launch

2008-05-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Possibly November 1, 1880:

At Callao, that evening, after reviewing all the available crafts in the harbor, General Astete showed Paul Boyton and George Kiefer a small sloop, the Alicrán. He offered this boat to them for the planned torpedo work.

For the work, Boyton needed a powerful steam launch, capable of carrying him out quickly to the blockading battleships and bringing him back safely. We assume that he planned to don his life-saving suit, swim to the side of the battleship during the night, and attach the torpedo to the hull. He would then need to swim back to the launch and quickly leave the area before being discovered. The sloop failed to have the capabilities he needed.

General Astete offered him no other option, as the steam launches available were not powerful enough for the task and the Chileans watched for any torpedo launches that might emerge from the safety of the sandbagged docks. Without other options, Boyton claimed that he quickly put together a crew and had the ship provisioned and ready to go. He claims that the sloop then sailed to Chorrillos, somehow evading the watchful eyes of the blockading ships, perhaps masquerading as a local fishing sloop.

About November 1 Colonel Lynch landed at Chilca, but General Beingolea with a strong force forced him back into the sea. In the United States, the Electoral College in the United States selected James Garfield as President.

Resources:
Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.

Paul Boyton and George Kiefer meet with General Astete

2008-05-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

Don Nicolás de Piérola, Paul Boyton, George Kiefer and the rest of their party still remained at the Necropolis of Ancon at dusk. A relief engine arrived at dark and pulled the train back on the track. The group finally returned to Lima.

The following day, possibly November 1, 1880, Piérola gave Boyton a letter for General German Astete, commander of the fort at Callao. The letter directed Astete to furnish Boyton with the best small vessel that he had that could be used for torpedo work.

George Kiefer and Paul Boyton went to Callao to meet with General Astete. Their train trip to Callao followed first vehicular road from the coast in the 1540s. The train route crossed parched fields, irrigated alfalfa fields, and canals of willows, vines, and nasturtiums, interspersed with the huacas (sacred tombs) built with sun-dried bricks by the ancient inhabitants of the region.

General German Astete, 48, took them to the Punta del Mar Bravo, where he patted an American parrot gun, saying "these are some compatriots of yours" He then gave a demonstration of the guns. The Chilean fleet lay several miles out near the high cliffs of the island of San Lorenzo. They fired four or five shots that fall short of the ships, the iron balls landing ineffectually in the sea. General Astete said: " This is a salute in your honor."

Resources
Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.

The Necropolis of Ancon

2008-05-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

Fisherman occupied the Peruvian coastline back at least 3,500 years, and in the region around the Necropolis of Ancon, occupation dates to at least 2,000 BC. Projectile points on the lomas possibly date back to 6,000 BC. The more elaborate burials in the Necropolis of Ancon appear to have been made from 500 AD to the Spanish conquest. The word necropolis does not truly reflect the characteristics of the site, as burials intermixed with domestic architecture and production areas for pottery, metallic objects, and salt.

The food of the early Ancon inhabitants included potatoes, peppers, guava, beans, squash, sweet potatoes, and peanuts. Villagers subsisted on fishing and farming, on imported tubers from the highlands, oca (Oxalis tuberosa), ulluco (ullucus tuberossus), lucuma (a fruit), and Pacae fruit. (Moseley, 1992, p. 106) The inhabitants of the area interacted with other areas to a large extent, indicated by the large amount of imported items. (Kaulicke, 1997)

Even during this time of turmoil in Peru, the Necropolis of Ancon attracted the interest of both amateur and trained archaeologists. The extensive burial sites engendered innate curiosity, the thrill of treasure-seeking and opportunity to add to scientific knowledge, while the recently built railroad and the resort atmosphere provided accessibility and some degree of comfort after a long day of dust and dirt digging.

In the burial grounds, flying sand stung the faces of the grave-diggers and the hot sands burned their feet. Gravediggers often sought only the finest items. They often threw away damaged pieces, tossed the human remains in the sands, after stripping them of any valuable items. They littered the ground with pot sherds, used the fragments of woven cloth as packing for ceramics, and left the skulls scattered on the surface.

Similar to the fate of other valuable resources of Peru, collectors exported the artifacts to Europe or North America. The abundance of artifacts spawned substantial collections both in Peru and abroad. With Peru's absorption in the deteriorating economic situation and the approaching conflict, the collection and export of antiquities by both notable residents and foreign visitors met little resistance.

In 1874 and 1875, two German geologists, Wilhelm Reiss and Alphons Stübel, excavated at the Necropolis of Ancon. The grave goods extracted by Reiss and Stübel were placed in the Anthropology Museum in Berlin. (Kaulicke, 1997). Apparently, about 2,000 objects were archived there, including pottery, textiles, wood objects, gourds, plant materials, and three mummies. (Moseley, 1992, p. 106)

In 1878 J. Wasner purchased from Umlauff, a Hamburg dealer, 154 items (probably from Stübel's excavations) for the Museum fur Volkerkunde in Vienna. These included three mummies and grave goods. (Feest, 1987, pg. 72) The Austrian consul-general Christian Kruger donated items to the same museum in 1879. The collection included 276 items from Peru, including 191 ceramic items from Ancon, as well as other items from Trujillo and Casma (Feest, 1987, pg. 72).

In 1880, Charles Wiener of the French Ministry of Instruction arrived in Peru. He visited the antiquities collection of Mr. Jose Mariano Macedo and Espantoso and the Museum of Sr. Raimondi. Wiener excavated at Ancon with the help of his countryman of the French man-of-war. J. M. [Joseph Meadows] In 1884 he donated 53 items from Peru, including Ancon, to the Vienna Museum fur Volkerkunde.

A Peruvian collector, Dr. Jose Mariano Macedo, was a physician, "a mestizo with a high percentage of Indian blood...a notable surgeon, professor at the School of Medicine and founder of the Sociedad de Medicina in Lima." (Von Schuler-Schömig, 1987, pg. 171). The eminent naturalist, Antonio Raimondi, was a political refugee from Milan and had lived in Peru from 1850. He continued his contacts with countrymen in Milan and in 1858 he started a pre-Columbian collection for the Milan Civic Museum of Natural Resources, sending textiles and a mummy from Arica. In 1863 he sent needles, bones, and octopus eyes, that were used by the ancient Peruvians in the mummies as substitutes for human eyes.

Cowper who reviewed Wiener's book about the area was also familiar with the Necropolis of Ancon (Panama Star, April 23rd 1881). Cowper learned the business of gunpowder manufacturing in England. As appointed by the Peruvian government, he went to Peru around 1871 to run a gunpowder factory, and may have been associated with the railroads. He and his family left Peru after the outbreak of war with Chile and returned to Great Britain. While in Peru, Cowper visited Ancon. He described small square mats with an intricate pattern of men and animals, which he claimed were commonly encountered in walks over the Ancon plain. Small bags found in the graves contained haricots, coca and maize. Cowper found bags with coca leaves in the armpits of a mummy pressed between the arm and the body. In the bag, a small rag was tied around a small piece of earth the size of a pea.

The New York Times (August 26, 1901) reported that Spenser St. John, British minister to Peru, collected 400 pieces of Peruvian pottery, possibly found as grave goods. He planned to sell them at auction in the fall of 1901 or 1902 in London. The pieces included a panther suckling her cubs and sculptures of various fruits, animals, and human heads.

Resources:
Feest, Christian F. 1987. “Survey of the Pre-Columbian collections from the Andean highlands in the Museum fur Volkerkunde, Vienna.” IN Pre-Columbian Collections in European museums. Edited by Anne-Marie Hocquenghem, et al. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest. Pg. 71-76.

Kaulicke, Peter. 1997. Contextos funerarios de Ancon. Esbozo de una sintesis analitica. Lima, Pontificia Universidad Catolica.

Moseley, Michael E. 1996. The Incas and their ancestors: the archaeology of Peru. London, Thames and Hudson. 272 pp.

Von Schuler-Schömig, Immina. 1987 “The Central Andean collections at the Museum für völkerkunde Berlin, Staatliche Museen preubischer Kulturebesitz - their origin and present organization” IN Pre-Columbian Collections in European museums. Edited by Anne-Marie Hocquenghem, et al. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest. Pp. 169-177

Young-Sanchez, Margaret Anna. 2000. Textiles from Peru’s central coast, 750-1100: The Reiss and Stubel Collection. Columbia University. PhD Dissertation.

George Kiefer and the Necropolis of Ancon

2008-05-06T19:30:00.000-07:00

About November, 1880, Nicolás de Piérola , Paul Boyton, George Kiefer, and a few aides-decamp stood next to the derailed engine, La Favor that had brought them from Lima to the seaside at Ancon. They tried to get the train back on the tracks, but were not successful. Someone was sent back to Ancon to telegraph Lima, and request an extra engine. (Boyton, 1892)

The party waited all day for help to arrive. They could see the ocean from where they stood, and a Chilean cruiser passed by about a mile offshore, little knowing that the Dictator and some of his officers were within shelling distance. At this point on the rail line, the train tracks ran past the Necropolis of Ancon, an ancient burial ground long associated with the fishing village in the same locality. Bones and burial remains lay scattered on the sands.

Piérola, Boyton, and the accompanying officers stood out among the sand hills in the midst of the graves, talking about the war with Chile. The soldiers entertained themselves, sticking bones up in the hard sand and rolling skulls into them in a gruesome version of ten pins. Don Nicolás ignored them, but continued his discussions. (Boyton, 1892)

George Kiefer strolled out on the side of the track and climbed the bank to the north. As far as he could see northward, the ground was white with skulls. He recalled seeing specimens of Peruvian antiquities in the Louvre and at the British Museum, and now what he saw fascinated him...bones mingled with pieces of cloth, pottery, wickerwork, netting, weed rope and wood. Everywhere he saw evidence of extensive excavations. He and other members of the party picked up a few relics, including mummified hands and arms and the mummy of a child. (Ledger, 1889)

Resources:
Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.

The Ledger (Warren, PA) 5/31/1889, p. 5, Vol. 40 #49. Bones of the Inca: Mr. George Kiefer’s find in the graves of an extinct race.

News: Peruvian Mummy in Royal Bolton Museum

2008-05-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Unwrapping Secret Of Bolton Museums Mummy (from The Bolton News):

A new exhibit at the Royal Bolton Museum in Lancashire, England displays two Peruvian mummies, at least one of them reportedly from the Rimac Valley in Peru. An x-ray of the mummy revealed it was missing hands and feet, although wrapped with great care in a cloth bundle. The second mummy, 800 years old, starred in a TV show, Mummy Forensics, recently shown on the History Channel. William Smithies, a worker in the cotton mills in Peru from 1896 to 1927, donated much of the Peruvian objects on display. The exhibit runs through August 2, 2008.

Torpedo Experiments In the Bay of Ancon

2008-05-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

Paul Boyton and George Kiefer looked forward to their rail trip across the coastal plain to Ancon.
Residents of Lima regarded Ancon as a pleasant seaside village, perfect for a weekend escape from Lima, just an hour and half ride away on the new steam railway. In a Peru summer, the sea breezes gave a little relief to visitors from Lima. Persons with pulmonary and bronchial afflictions found Ancon's dry atmosphere healthful.

On this visit, the small party saw few local villagers. Many of the villagers had left town to escape the Chilean's indiscriminate coastal bombardments. The group took care to prevent the Chileans or other inquisitive people from discovering the true nature of their activities. To avoid attracting any attention, the group tried their torpedo experiments hidden between several rocky islands, detached from the mainland by volcanic action. They tested the torpedoes on various dummy vessels, while a troop of soldiers stood guard at all approaches.

After some successful experiments, the group returned in good spirits to their railroad car for the journey back to Lima. Don Nicolás de Piérola anticipated future success in getting rid of the Chilean blockade of the port at Callao by sinking the Chilean warships. Just a mile outside of Ancon, La Favorita hit a pile of drifting sand, throwing the engine off the tracks. The passengers climbed out of the car to see what could be done.

Paul Boyton and George Kiefer Travel to Ancon with Nicolás de Piérola

2008-05-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

Nicolás de Piérola adeptly and routinely took advantage of what might be useful to his cause. His opinions tended towards the dogmatic, but he eagerly embraced new ideas. Technology fascinated him, and he saw technology as the way to gain superiority in the current war crisis.

As a veteran of countless conspiracies, he maintained a certain suspicion and a distance from those that he met. He planned to bring in expert help from Germany and France, while maintaining mistrust of his own compatriots.

Soon after Paul Boyton and George Kiefer arrived, Piérola invited them to an exhibition of torpedo work in the open sea. Boyton was invited to take the train to Ancon. Boyton and Kiefer met Piérola at the railroad station. Several high government officials accompanied them, including Sergeant Major Luis Reybaud, who would be Boyton's aide while they were in Peru.

They boarded a special car pulled by the engine, La Favorita, which later operated on the Oroya line. American engineers completed the line from Lima to Ancon in 1870.

Paul Boyton at the Presidential Palace

2008-05-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

As Paul Boyton told the story, on arrival in Lima, he and the Peruvian officers marched through the city to the presidential palace. On his way there, he may have noted the striped and checkerboard adobe houses with Moorish balconies, the narrow uneven sidewalks, and donkeys rushing pell-mell along them under the whip of a mounted driver.

The presidential palace, dilapidated with shops below, sat on the main plaza, a nine-acre square surrounded on three sides by a covered colonnade. On the fourth side stood the Lima Cathedral, and in the center there was a circular garden and fountain.

Upon arrival at the palace, Paul Boyton pulled out a packet addressed to Don Nicolás de Piérola. The surprised officer harshly escorted Boyton through the palace where he was then taken to meet with the dictator. When Boyton entered the room, Piérola heartily welcomed him.

Piérola exclaimed "But how did you get here so soon?" Boyton explained about the overeager officer and how the officers forced him to ride all night on mule back. Called in, the officer entered the room with a peacock strut, but Piérola reprimanded him and he slunk off like a beaten dog. Piérola then arranged for Boyton to be taken to the Hotel Americano, where he finally was able to take a much needed rest, not waking until the next morning.

Authors Note:

While Paul Boyton's version of his first encounter in Peru with Don Piérola tells a good story, George Kiefer simply said that "after our arrival in Lima we presented ourselves" to Don Nicolás de Piérola."

Resources:

Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.

The Women of Lima

2008-05-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

In amongst the tales of battles, political intrigues, and the exploits of young men, one finds little mention of women, their deeds, or their views. Flora Tristan, when revisiting her birthplace of Lima in the 1830s, provided a fascinating portrait of the women of Lima She proclaimed that nowhere else on earth were women more free or more influential. In Lima they were the "instigators of everything". Nearly all were married at 11 or 12 years of age. They repeatedly enchanted foreign visitors with their opaque white skin, bright red lips, curly black hair, and dark eyes. They exuded an indefinable expression of spirited pride and languor. (Tristan, 1993).

Flora Tristan described the women of Lima as uneducated and illiterate, but charming and with natural wit and intelligence. They wore a distinctive style of dress, called the saya y manto, a long pleated and closely-fitted dark-colored skirt of satin, lined with silk or cotton. They pulled a mantle of black satin over the shoulder to hide one eye. The saya y manto allowed the women to go everywhere, to bull fights, the theater, balls, churches, promenades, and public meeting without restriction and without being known.

Tristan contends that the women of Lima required proof of devotion in the form of gold or gifts. The affairs of the household held little interest for them, but they involved themselves in politics and intrigue, with positioning their husbands and their families in lines of authority within the cultural hierarchy.

By 1867, Madeleine Dahlgren, wife of a U.S. Navy Admiral stationed in Callao, reported that this style of dress had all but disappeared, to be replaced more often by a mantilla, or spanish veil. The women still might go to the opera unescorted, except for a servant, wrapped in a manta. Satin shoes with silk stockings completed their attire.

Mrs. Dahlgren, newly arrived in Lima in the years leading up to the war, also formed an opinion of the state of affairs. In her South Sea Sketches A Narrative By Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren, she observed:

"A republic must be based upon the intelligence of the people at large and cannot flourish or indeed have an existence laid upon a foundation of ignorance and we have, in effect in Peru, only a republic by name, but in reality an oligarchical organization with some republican forms. The army rules. Although it is not very large it is in good discipline and forms in the hands of a popular executive as an instrument of administrative power a force which God forbid the military element may ever attain in the United States."

She later says:

"The South Americans are generally able as diplomatists. We do not understand this particular bent of the genius of this people in the United States and we are apt to send them mere politicians of a very mediocre calibre, obtuse men who have little or no comprehension of those metaphysical niceties in which they delight. It is fortunate that our affairs are usually so little complicated with these nations that mere red tape suffices. Were it otherwise we would soon find out that the minds of these men have a legal acumen and astuteness, a love of finesse, a pliancy of mental fence which requires careful handling. In all negotiations wherein nice points of international law must decide they will be found skilled exponents. Let us then be represented near these countries by men of keen perceptions whose minds have a fineness of edge that may cope with and turn aside the swift flash of the Saracenic blade. Let us reserve the battle axe of Saxon force which our race knows so well how to wield with an aim which demolishes for the nations of the north. Here the heavy and measured blow falls harmless for it is eluded ere it falls."

Resources:

Tristan, Flora, Doris Beik, and Paul Harold Beik. 1993. Flora Tristan, utopian feminist: her travel diaries and personal crusade. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 195 pp.

Dahlgren, Madeleine Vinton. 1881. South Sea sketches: a narrative. Boston: James R. Osgood. 238 pp.

Paul Boyton Arrives in Lima, Peru

2008-05-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador, founded Lima as his capital on January 6th, 1535. Pizarro's forces included Italians, Greeks and Africans, setting the stage for Lima's later position as a multiethnic society. The many foreign visitors and residents helped produce Lima's strong cosmopolitan flavor. (Dobyns, 1976, pg. 69)

Pizarro built his new city on an earlier settlement that involved more than 100 temple mounds. Ceremonial centers, such as this one, dotted the coastline of Peru. In ancient times, pilgrims came to these centers to appease the spirits and gain prestige. These centers influenced group behavior and the distribution of goods and labor. Some major crisis may have caused their decline, and most were gone before the Europeans arrived. (Time-Life, 1994)

Lima developed into a focal point for the export of Peru's riches to foreign countries. A city of 100,000 when Paul Boyton arrived, Lima's poorly paved streets led between long and narrow one-story houses of sun-dried mud to 33 public squares. Hawkers proclaimed their goods in song or shout. Wealthier homes had balconies, known as miradores, overhanging the street. A cart with three mules harnessed abreast or a closed carriage drawn by two horses occasionally passed by. Boyton may have seen men in black suits, but probably few native Indians of the mountains.

Resources:

Dobyns, Henry F. And Paul L. Doughty. 1976. Peru: a cultural history. New York, Oxford University. 336 pp.

Time-Life. 1994. The search for El Dorado. Alexandria, Virginia, Time-Life. 168 pp.

Paul Boyton Arrested as a Chilean Spy

2008-04-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

Paul Boyton and George Kiefer arrived late in the evening at Lurin. Peruvian troops guarded the town. The officers suspected Boyton of being a Chilean spy and arrested him. Though late at night, they forced Boyton to continue on towards Lima, leaving the rest of the mule train of passengers to pass the night in Lurin. Kiefer stayed behind to protect the baggage, with great concern for the fate of his travelling companion.

Just before dawn, the officers with their suspected agent, Paul Boyton, arrived at a hacienda just outside of Chorrillos, a summer resort on the coast south of Lima. Boyton refused to go on, so they rested there until daylight. Boyton was exhausted, but the relentless fleas only allowed him a brief rest. In the morning, possibly October 30, 1880, he and the officers boarded the train to Lima.

Resources:
Boyton, Paul. 1892. The story of Paul Boyton: voyages on all the great rivers of the world, paddling over twenty-five thousand miles in a rubber dress. Milwaukee: Riverside. 358 pp.