it of exploration
dominated every adventurous young Spaniard, and among those living
in the West Indies there were many ready to give up all for the golden
countries in the West, rumours of which were always reaching their
ears.

No sooner had these rich lands been realised than the news of Magellan's
great voyage revealed the breadth of the ocean between America and
Asia, and destroyed for ever the idea that the Spice Islands were near.
Spanish enterprise, therefore, lay in the same direction as heretofore,
and we must relate the story of how Pizarro discovered Peru for the
King of Spain. He had accompanied Balboa to Darien, and had with him
gazed out on to the unknown waters of the Pacific Ocean below. With
Balboa after crossing the isthmus of Darien he had reached Panama on
the South Sea, where he heard of a great nation far to the south. Like
Mexico, it was spoken of as highly civilised and rich in mines of gold
and silver. Many an explorer would have started off straightway for
this new country, but there was a vast tract of dark forest and tangled
underwood between Panama and Peru, which had damped the ardour of even
the most ardent of Spanish explorers.

But Pizarro was a man of courage and dauntless resolution, and he was
ready to do and dare the impossible. He made a bad start. A single
ship with some hundred men aboard left Panama under the command of
Pizarro in 1526. He was ignorant of southern navigation, the Indians
along the shore were hostile, his men died one by one, the rich land
of Peru was more distant than they had thought, and, having at length
reached the island of Gallo near the Equator, they awaited
reinforcements from Panama. Great, then, was the disappointment of
Pizarro when only one ship arrived and no soldiers. News of hardships
and privations had spread through Panama, and none would volunteer
to explore Peru. By this time the handful of wretched men who had
remained with Pizarro, living on crabs picked up on the shore, begged
to be taken home--they could endure no longer. Then came one of those
tremendous moments that lifts the born leader of men above his fellows.
Drawing his sword, Pizarro traced a line on the sand from east to west.
"Friends," he cried, turning to the south, "on that side are toil,
hunger, nakedness, the drenching storm, desertion, and death, and on
this side ease and pleasure. There lies Peru with its riches, here
Panama and its poverty. For my part, I go south."