4 A STUDY OF CHIRIQUIAN ANTIQUITIES. 



Veragua in search of gold, they retraced their course, reaching the mouth of the 

 Belen river in January, 1503. Ascending this river and the Veragua and Urira 

 rivers nearby, they exchanged Spanish trinkets for the gold ornaments of the 

 natives. Gold mines were found on the head-waters of the Urira. The brother 

 of the Admiral extended his explorations in the direction of Boca del Toro as 

 far as Cateba. He returned with so much gold obtained from the natives that 

 Columbus wrote to his rulers that he had seen more gold on the coast of Veragua 

 in two days than on the island of Cuba or Haiti in four years. Columbus and 

 his brother decided to found a colony on the Belen river near its mouth. The 

 place was soon abandoned, however, on account of the hostility of the natives 

 and, after following the coast as far eastward as the Gulf of Darien, Columbus 

 set sail for Haiti. More than four centuries have elapsed since then, and his 

 dream of a channel leading to the mainland of Asia is soon to be realized in the 

 completed Panama Canal. 



The glitter of gold on the Isthmian shores was not long in attracting other 

 colonists. The Atrato river, flowing northward into the Gulf of Darien, was made 

 the boundary line between two provinces — New Andalusia on the east and 

 Castilla del Oro on the west. The latter included not only the Isthmus but also 

 a considerable portion of the Central American region. Nicuesa, the first governor 

 of Castilla del Oro, attempted to found a settlement at various points earlier 

 visited by Columbus — Belen on the coast of Veragua, Puerto Bello, and Puerto 

 de los Bastimientos, renamed by Nicuesa, Nombre de Dlos; but his plans were 

 everywhere frustrated by the pestilential climate and by the Indians, whose ear- 

 lier experience with the white man had tended to increase their hostility. In the 

 meantime, colonists from New Andalusia had formed a settlement on the western 

 coast of the Gulf of Darien, in Nicuesa's territory. Nicuesa, having been rescued 

 from Nombre de Dios, was invited to govern at this new settlement, but proved 

 unwelcome, was deported and was never heard from again. Vasco Nunez de Balboa 

 was elevated to the command. His exploits during the next few years form one 

 of the most thrilling chapters in the early history of Spanish America. Chief 

 among them was the crossing of the Isthmus and the discovery of the Pacific 

 Ocean in 1513. His outward as well as return journey was a triumph not only 

 of discovery, but also of diplomacy and conquest. The native chieftains every- 

 where paid him tribute, either voluntary or forced, in the form of gold treasure, 

 provisions, guides and laborers. After subduing two caciques, Careta and Ponca, 

 he next made a friendly visit to the territory of Comagre, ruled over by a cacique 

 of the same name. The dwelling of Comagre, " surpassed anything they had yet 

 seen for magnitude, and for the skill and solidity of the architecture. It was one 

 hundred and fifty paces in length, and eighty in breadth, founded upon great 

 logs, surrounded with a stone wall ; while the upper part was of woodwork, cu- 

 riously interwoven and wrought with such beauty as to cause surprise and ad- 

 miration. It contained many commodious apartments. There were store-rooms 

 also : one filled with bread, with venison and other provisions ; another with va- 

 rious spirituous beverages, which the Indians made from maize, from a species of 

 palm, and from roots of different kinds. There was also a great hall, in a retired 

 and secret part of the building, wherein Comagre preserved the bodies of his 



