, and are so
often overflowed that in many places the natives have to dwell in the
trees, while from the high grounds rush swollen rivers, fierce and
threatening. To march across an unknown and perilous country like this,
led by treacherous Indian guides, was a bold and desperate enterprise,
surpassing any which the Spaniards had yet attempted. But Balboa was one
of the most daring and intrepid of them all, and to win the favor of his
sovereign there was no danger he was not ready to face.

For the perilous expedition he could muster only one hundred and ninety
men. But these were veterans, hardened to the climate of the isthmus, and
ready to follow him whatever the peril. They had good reason to trust his
courage and readiness in emergencies, for they had found him always brave
and alert. A thousand Indians were taken with them, to carry their
provisions, and they added to their force a number of the fierce
bloodhounds which were dreaded by the natives as much as the fire-arms of
the Spaniards.

Thus equipped, the expedition set out on the 1st of September, 1513,
sailing along the coast to Coyba, where dwelt a friendly chief. Here half
the men were left to guard their vessels and canoes. With the remainder
the terrible journey across the rock-ribbed and forest-covered isthmus was
begun.

No sooner had the Spaniards left the coast than troubles and perils
thickened around them. The country was difficult to traverse, the people
were bold and hostile. With their poisoned arrows they proved no feeble
antagonists. As the adventurers left the plain and toiled up the
mountains, a warlike cacique, with a large body of followers, met them in
a narrow pass and boldly disputed the way. A fierce battle ensued, ending
in favor of the Spaniards, who cut their way through the savages, leaving
hundreds of them dead on the ground.

Thus, fighting nature and fighting men, they toiled onward and upward,
until the six days fixed for their journey had stretched out to
twenty-five. But now hope burned fresh in their hearts, for their guides
assured them that from the top of the next mountain they could see the
ocean they so ardently sought. Up the steep pass they toiled, until near
the lofty summit, when Balboa bade them halt and went on alone, that he
might be the first to gaze on the wonderful spectacle.

Soon he stood on the mountain-top, and there, to his infinite delight,
sparkled and spread before his eyes the mightiest ocean of