The Spanish colonists on the island of Hispaniola made frequent visits
to the mainland, searching for the rich cities of which Marco Polo
had written.
Word reached the colonists that some of these gold hunters were
starving at a place called Darien, and a ship was immediately sent
to their relief. The cargo of the ship consisted of barrels of
provisions and ammunition.
Imagine, if you can, the amazement of the commander of the expedition
when, after his ships were under sail, a young and handsome man stepped
out of one of the barrels. The young man was Vasco Nunez Balboa. He
had chosen this way to escape from Cuba, where he owed large sums of
money which he could not pay. The commander was angry, and threatened
to leave Balboa on a desert island; but at length he took pity on the
young man, and allowed him to remain on board the ship.
When the mainland was reached, the Spaniards who were already there,
having heard of the cruelty of the commander, refused to let him land.
He therefore put off to sea, and was never heard of again. Balboa then
took command of the men and began immediately to explore the country.
He made a friendly alliance with an Indian chief, who presented him
with gold and slaves. The Spaniards were delighted at the sight of
so much riches. They began to melt and weigh the gold, and at last
fell to quarreling desperately about the division of it.
This the Indians could not understand. They knew nothing of money,
and valued the metal only because it could be made into beautiful
ornaments.
An Indian boy who had heard the dispute told the Spaniards that if
they cared so much about that yellow stuff, it would be wise for them
to go to a country where there was enough of it for all.
The Spaniards eagerly questioned him regarding this place. The boy
then described a country across the mountains and to the south, on
the shores of a great sea, where the metal was so plentiful that the
natives used it for their ordinary drinking cups and bowls.
Balboa immediately started southward across the mountains in search
of this rich country. On his way he came upon a tribe of hostile Indians,
who attacked him, but who fled in alarm from the guns of the Spaniards.
[Illustration: Balboa Crossing the Isthmus.]
Taking some Indians as guides, Balboa pushed on through the mountains,
and on September 25, 1513, from one of the highest peaks, looked down
upon the Pacific Ocean.
[Illustration: Balboa Discovering the Pacific.]
With his Spaniards he descended the mountain, and in four days reached
the shore of that magnificent body of water. Balboa waded out into
it with his sword in his hand, and formally took possession of it for
the King of Spain. He called it the South Sea, because he was looking
toward the south when he first saw it; and the Pacific Ocean was known
by this name for many years afterward.
On this shore he met an Indian who repeated to him the same story that
the Indian boy had told about the rich country on the border of this
sea and farther to the south.
Balboa then made up his mind to find this country. Accordingly he
returned to Darien, and sent word to the Spanish king of his great
discovery of the South Sea.
He then began to take his ships apart, and to send them, piece by piece,
across the mountains to the Pacific coast.
This was an enormous undertaking. The journey was a very difficult
one, and hundreds of the poor Indians who carried the burdens dropped
dead from exhaustion.
At length, after long months of labor, four ships were thus carried
across the mountains and rebuilt on the Pacific coast. These were the
first European vessels ever launched on the great South Sea. Three
hundred men were in readiness to go with Balboa on his voyage in search
of the rich country of the South.
A little iron and a little pitch were still needed for the ships, and
Balboa delayed his departure in order to get these articles.
The delay gave his enemies, who were jealous because of his success,
time to carry out a plot against him. They accused him of plotting
to set up an independent government of his own, and caused him to be
arrested for treason. In less than twenty-four hours this brave and
high-spirited leader was tried, found guilty, and beheaded. So ended
all his ambitious plans.