land was
bounded; every towering mountain scaled. Even those vast regions of
New Granada which to-day are as unknown as the least explored parts of
darkest Africa became the scenes of stirring adventure and brilliant
exploit of these daring crusaders of more than three centuries ago.

The real wonders yielded by this newly discovered land of enchantment
far exceeded the fabled Manoa or El Dorado of mythical lore; and the
adventurous expeditions that were first incited by these chimeras soon
changed into practical colonizing and developing projects of real and
permanent value. Amazing discoveries were made of empires which had
already developed a state of civilization, mechanical, military, and
agricultural, which rivaled those of Europe. Natural resources were
revealed such as the Old World had not even guessed were possible.
Great rivers, vast fertile plains, huge veins of gold and copper ore,
inexhaustible timber, a wealth of every material thing desired by man,
could be had almost without effort. Fortunate, indeed, was the Spanish
_Conquistador_ in the possession of such immeasurable riches;
fortunate, indeed, had he possessed the wisdom to meet the supreme
test of character which this sudden accession of wealth and power was
to bring!

With the opening of the vast treasure house flanked by the Spanish
Main came the Spaniard's supreme opportunity to master the world.
Soon in undisputed possession of the greater part of the Western
Hemisphere; with immeasurable wealth flowing into his coffers;
sustained by dauntless courage and an intrepid spirit of adventure;
with papal support, and the learning and genius of the centuries at
his command, he faced the opportunity to extend his sway over the
entire world and unite all peoples into a universal empire, both
temporal and spiritual. That he failed to rise to this possibility
was not due to any lack of appreciation of his tremendous opportunity,
nor to a dearth of leaders of real military genius, but to a
misapprehension of the great truth that the conquest of the world is
not to be wrought by feats of arms, but by the exercise of those
moral attributes and spiritual qualities of heart and soul which he
did not possess--or possessing, had prostituted to the carnal
influences of lust of material riches and temporal power.

In the immediate wake of the Spanish _Conqueros_ surged the drift and
flotsam of the Old World. Cities soon sprang up along the Spanish Main
which re