as he beheld the sea stretching in
endless prospect below him he fell on his knees; ... his followers
observing his transports of joy rushed forward to join in his
wonder, exultation, and gratitude.

That was the moment, September 25, 1513, immortalized in Keats's sonnet:

When with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific, and all his men
Looked at each other with a wild surmise,
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

Balboa hurried down the western slope of the isthmus range to take
formal possession in the name of the Spanish monarch. He found a fishing
village there which had been named Panama (i. e., "plenty fish") by the
Indians, but had also a reputation for the pearls found in its bay.

In his letter to Spain, Balboa said, to illustrate the difficulties of
the expedition, that of all the 190 men in his party there were never
more than eighty fit for service at one time. Notwithstanding the
wonderful news of the discovery of the "great southern ocean," as the
Pacific was then called, Ferdinand overlooked the great services of
Balboa, and appointed a new Governor of Darien called Pedrarias, who
instituted a judicial inquiry into some previous transactions of Balboa,
imposing a heavy fine as punishment. The new governor committed other
acts of great imprudence, and at length Ferdinand felt that he had only
superseded the most active and experienced officer he had in the New
World. To make amends to Balboa, he was appointed "Lieutenant-Governor
of the Countries upon the South Sea," with great privileges and
authority. At the same time Pedrarias was commanded to "support Balboa
in all his operations, and to consult with him concerning every measure
which he himself pursued."

Balboa, in 1517, began his preparations for entering the South Sea and
conveying troops to the country which he proposed to invade. With four
small brigantines and 300 chosen soldiers (a force superior to that with
which Pizarro afterward undertook the same expedition), he was on the
point of sailing toward the coasts of which they had such expectations,
when a message arrived from Pedrarias. Balboa being unconscious of
crime, agreed to delay the expedition, and meet Pedrarias for
conference. On entering the palace Balboa was arrested and immediately
tried on the charge of disloyalty to the King and intention of revolt
against the governor. He was speedily sentenced to death, although the
accusation was so absurd that the judge