show that Vespucci was correct in
his claim. At any rate, his was the honor of having the country named
for him.

[Illustration: SEBASTIAN CABOT.]

John Cabot, also an Italian, but sailing under the flag of England,
discovered the continent of North America, in the spring of 1497. A year
later, Sebastian, son of John, explored the coast from Nova Scotia as
far south as Cape Hatteras. It was the work of the elder Cabot that gave
England a valid claim to the northern continent.

From what has been stated, it will be seen that Spain, now decrepit and
decayed, was one of the most powerful of all nations four hundred years
ago. Other leading powers were England, France, and Holland, and all of
them soon began a scramble for new lands on the other side of the
Atlantic. Spain, having been the first, had a great advantage, and she
was wise enough to use all the means at her command. We will first trace
the explorations made by that nation.

In 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, a lawless rogue, hid himself in a cask
on board of a vessel in order to escape his creditors, and was not
discovered by the angry captain until so far from land that he could not
be taken back again. As it turned out, this was a fortunate thing for
the captain and crew, for Balboa was a good sailor, and when the ship
was wrecked on the coast of Darien he led the men through many dangers
to an Indian village, where they were saved from starvation. Balboa had
been in the country before and acquired a knowledge of it, which now
proved helpful.

The story of Spain in America is one long, frightful record of massacre,
cruelty, greed, and rapine. Ferocious by nature, her explorers had not
sufficient sense to see that it was to their interest to treat the
Indians justly. These people, although armed only with bows and arrows,
at which the Spaniards laughed, still outnumbered them a thousandfold
and could crush them by the simple force of numbers. Besides, they were
always provided with food, which they were eager to give to their
pale-faced brothers, who were often unable to obtain it, but whose
vicious nature would not permit them to be manly and just.

Moreover, the Spaniards were crazy after gold, which they believed
existed in many places in prodigious quantities. The sight of the yellow
ornaments worn by the natives fired their cupidity, and they inquired
eagerly in the sign language where the precious metal could be found.
One of the Indians replied that