Boyce financed an expedition of the explorer Frederick Schwatka to Alaska in 1896. Schwatka discovered gold near Nome and Boyce reported this success in his newspapers, which led him to finance other Schwatka expeditions as well as those of other adventurers, including a failed expedition to the Yukon River in 1898. Boyce soon began to carry out his own expeditions. When the United States entered the Spanish–American War in 1898, Boyce set sail for Cuban waters aboard the ship "Three Friends". The nature of the activities of Boyce and this ship are unknown.