ous golden land toward the
south. There was a public betrothal which effected the reconciliation.
And now Pedrarias could not do enough for Balboa, whom he called his
"dear son."

IV. The End of Balboa

Balboa, therefore, proposed to Pedrarias that he should immediately set
forth upon the South Sea voyage. Inasmuch as Pedrarias was to be
supreme in the New World and as Balboa was only a provincial governor
under him, the old reprobate at last consented.

Balboa decided that four ships, brigantines, would be needed for his
expedition. The only timber fit for shipping, of which the Spaniards
were aware, {45} grew on the eastern side of the Isthmus. It would be
necessary, therefore, to cut and work up the frames and timbers of the
ships on the eastern side, then carry the material across the Isthmus,
and there put it together. Vasco Nunez reconnoitered the ground and
decided to start his ship-building operations at a new settlement
called Ada. The timber when cut and worked had to be carried sixteen
miles away to the top of the mountain, then down the other slope, to a
convenient spot on the river Valsa, where the keels were to be laid,
the frames put together, the shipbuilding completed, and the boats
launched on the river, which was navigable to the sea.

This amazing undertaking was carried out as planned. There were two
setbacks before the work was completed. In one case, after the frames
had been made and carried with prodigious toil to the other side of the
mountain, they were discovered to be full of worms and had to be thrown
away. After they had been replaced, and while the men were building
the brigantines, a flood washed every vestige of their labor into the
river. But, as before, nothing could daunt Balboa. Finally, after
labors and disappointments enough to crush the heart of an ordinary
man, two of the brigantines were launched in the river. Most of the
carrying had been done by Indians, over two thousand of whom died under
the tremendous exactions of the work.

Embarking upon the two brigantines, Balboa soon reached the Pacific,
where he was presently joined by the two remaining boats as they were
completed. He had now four fairly serviceable ships and three hundred
of the best men of the New World under his command. He was well
equipped and well provisioned {46} for the voyage and lacked only a
little iron and a little pitch, which, of course, would have to be
brought to him from Ada o