Vasco Nuñez de Balboa

by Frederick A. Ober

His father had three thousand warriors, ferocious and reliable; but, from what he had been told by Cacique Careta, who had tasted their quality and tested their valor, they could not stand for an hour before the two hundred Spaniards then in his province. The mailed men, Careta said, would scatter them like chaff, and, with the fire from their muskets and cannon, devour them as the flames consumed the grass of the plains. Then he conceived the idea of purchasing exemption from ravage by bribing the commanders, in the hope that by so doing they would refrain from desecrating the tombs he held in such regard. But he did not know, what he was later to learn, that the more the Spaniard obtained the greater grew his appetite, and that by displaying the wealth of the land he was but hastening its ruin. Simple son of Comogre! He had, then, much to learn.

After consulting with his father, who was elated that a son of his should possess such sagacity and penetration, the young cacique sent for Balboa and Colmenares, who met him in the great square of the town. "Great and worthy ones," he said, "here are sixty slaves, male and female are they—all are yours, to be divided between you as may seem desirable to both. And here, great and worthy ones, are golden ornaments, taken from the hoard saved by our fathers. To us they are of use only as mementos of the dead, for to the accumulation of riches we are not given, being content with what we can eat and what we need to protect us from the elements. We give you these things freely, because we see that you value gold above all else, and because we would find favor in your eyes and desire your friendship."

Balboa and Colmenares were at first overcome with astonishment, but when they recovered speech they thanked the cacique and his son in extravagant language—and then began to quarrel over the division of the treasure. The slaves were of some account, but the chief treasure consisted in the gold, which, when they had weighed and carefully estimated its value, was found to amount to four thousand crowns. Most of it was in the shape of animals of various sorts, and must have caused the native artisans great labor; but of this the avaricious Spaniards took no account, and all went into the melting-pot, greatly to the grief of the young cacique.

Having always the fear of his sovereign in mind, and the potentiality of gold to buy the king's favor, Balboa first set aside a fifth part for royalty, which was to be despatched to Spain at the first opportunity. Then he attempted to divide the remainder between himself and companions; "but this division begat a dispute that gave rise to threats and violence, which, being observed by the high-minded Indian, he suddenly overthrew the scales in which they were weighing the precious metal, exclaiming: 'Why quarrel for such a trifle? If such is your thirst for gold that for sake of it you forsake your own country and come to trouble us in ours, I will show you a province where you may gather it up by the handful—yea, and carry it off by the backload!'"

When, by a blow of his fist, the spirited savage had overturned the scales and scattered the gold on the ground, the Spaniards standing by were greatly enraged; but when his speech was finally translated to them they were exceedingly astonished, and desirous of learning more respecting that golden province of which he told them.

QUARREL FOR THE GOLD

"Where is it?" demanded Balboa and Colmenares, in a breath. "Show us the way, and we will follow you at once."

"Nay, nay," answered the young man, with a shake of his head. "It lies beyond those lofty mountains, far to the south. Beyond them, again, extends a mighty ocean, a glimpse of which may be gained from the mountain-peaks, but it is many days distant to the west and the south. To succeed in getting there, you should be more numerous than you now are, and will need at least a thousand men, even though with coats like those you have on, which neither spears nor arrows can pierce. For you will have to contend with powerful kings, who will defend their dominions with vigor. You will first find a cacique who is very rich in gold, who resides at the distance of six suns from here. Climbing the mountains, ever climbing, climbing, you will reach their summits, and then behold the sea, which lies in that part." And he pointed to the south. "There you will meet with people who navigate in barks with sails and oars, not much less than your own in size, and who are so rich that they eat and drink from vessels made from the metal which you so much covet."

This was the first information conveyed to the Spaniards of the Pacific Ocean and Peru, and they were vastly excited over it, endeavoring to get the young man to furnish them further details of the country intervening, as well as of the great sea, its extent and situation.