Calling now upon his little troop to ascend the height, and view the
noble prospect along with him, "behold," said he, "the rich reward of
our toil. This is a sight upon which no Spaniard's eye ever before
rested." And in their great joy the leader and his men embraced each
other.

Balboa then took possession of the sea and coast, and the surrounding
country, in the name of the King of Spain; and having cut down a tree,
and made it into the form of a cross--for they were Catholics--he set it
up on the very spot where he first beheld the grand Pacific Ocean. He
also made a high mound, by heaping up large stones, upon which he carved
the king's name. This was on September 26th, 1513.

Not content with seeing the ocean, Balboa determined to visit it.
Arriving, after much toil, at one of the bays on the coast, he called it
St. Michael's Bay. Coming to a beach a mile or two long, "If this is a
sea," said he, "it will soon be covered with water; let us wait and see
if there be a tide." So he seated himself under a tree, and the water
soon began to flow. He tasted it and found it salt; and then waded up to
his knees in it, and took possession of it in the name of his king.

[Illustration: DEATH OF BALBOA.]

Balboa's heart was now so lifted up by success, and his whole nature so
changed, that he was ready to fight and destroy every Indian tribe that
opposed his progress. But he had not always the best of it. On one
occasion he was lost, with one or two followers, and having been seized
by some natives, carried immediately before their cazique, or chief. He
was seated on a raised seat, covered with a panther's skin, and bore a