refused to obey him, and sent him off in a ship to Spain. Upon
his departure, Balboa took the command.

In one of his expeditions into the interior parts of the country in
search of gold, he first heard of a sea to the west, as yet unknown to
Europeans.

He had received a large quantity of gold from an Indian cazique, or
chief, and was weighing it into shares for the purpose of dividing it
among his men when a quarrel arose as to the exactness of the weight.

One of the sons of the Indian cazique was present, and he felt so
disgusted at the sordid behaviour of the Spaniards that he struck the
scales with his fist and scattered the glittering gold about the place.

[Illustration]

Before the Spaniards could recover from their astonishment at this
sudden act, he said to them, "why should you quarrel for such a trifle?
If you really esteem gold to be so precious as to abandon your homes,
and come and seize the lands and dwellings of others for the sake of it,
I can tell you of a land not far distant where you may find it in
plenty."

"Beyond those lofty mountains," he continued, pointing to the south,
"lies a mighty sea, all the streams that flow into which down the
southern side of those mountains, abound in gold, and all the utensils
the people have, are made of gold."

Balboa was struck with this account of the young Indian, and eagerly
inquired the best way of penetrating to this sea, and this land of gold.

The young Indian warned him of the dangers he would meet with from the
fierce race of Indians inhabiting these mountains, who were cannibals,
or eaters of human flesh, but Balboa was not to be deterred by accounts
of difficulties and dangers.

He was, besides, desirous of getting possession of the gold, and of
obtaining, by the merits of the discovery, the pardon of the King of
Spain, for taking from Enciso the command of the settlement.

He resolved, therefore, to penetrate to this sea, and immediately began
to make preparations for the journey.

He first sent to Hispaniola for an additional number of soldiers, to
assist him in the perilous adventure, but instead of receiving these,
the only news that reached him by the return of his messengers was, that
he would most probably have the command of Darien taken from him, and be
punished for assisting to dispossess Enciso.

This news made him determine no longer to delay his departure. All the
men he could muster for the expedition amounted only to one