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HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



eagerly enlisted in the late voyages of adventure. He was 

 known to be a mere soldier of fortune, and of loose, prodigal 

 habits, and is described as an "egregius digladiator," or adroit 

 swordsman. His farm had involved him in debt ; and, to escape 

 his embarrassments and elude his creditors, he caused himself, in 

 1511, to be nailed up in a cask, to be labelled " victuals for the 

 voyage," and to be conveyed on board a ship starting upon an 

 expedition to the mainland. When the vessel was out of sight 

 of the shore, he emerged from the cask, and appeared before 

 the surprised captain, Hernandez de Enciso. Being tall and 

 muscular, evidently inured to hardships and of intrepid disposi- 

 tion, he found favor with the captain, especially when he told 

 him that a venerable priest had asserted "that God reserved him 

 for great things." 



In the course of two years, Balboa had acquired authority 

 over a tract of the Isthmus of Darien, and had married the 

 young and beautiful daughter of the Cacique of Coyba. After 

 a victory obtained over one of the neighboring monarchs, 

 from whom four thousand ounces of gold and a quantity of 

 golden utensils had been extorted, Balboa ordered one-fifth 

 to be set apart for himself and the rest to be shared among 

 his followers. While the Spaniards were dividing it by weight, 

 a dispute arose respecting the fairness of the award, when the 

 Indian who had given the gold spoke to the disputants as 

 follows : 



" Why should you quarrel for such a trifle ? If gold is to you 

 so precious that you abandon your homes for it and invade the 

 peaceful lands of others, I will tell you of a region where you 

 may gratify your wishes to the utmost. Beyond those lofty moun- 

 tains lies a mighty sea, which from their summits may be easily 

 discerned. It is navigated by people who have vessels almost 

 as large as yours, and, like them, furnished with sails and oars. 

 All the streams which flow from these mountains into the sea 

 abound in gold : the kings who reign upon its borders eat and 



