. Our country in story . ery skillfully builtof wood and was eighty feet wide and one hundred fiftyfeet long. In it were a great many large chambers. Someof these served as store rooms and were filled with bread,venison, and various drinks made of maize and roots. Ina spacious hall were preserved the bodies of the chiefsdead relatives. These had been dried, richly dressed, andadorned with gold and precious stones. They hung allalong the walls and the Indians regarded them with re-ligious veneration. The chiefs eldest son, a bright, generous young man,gave Balboa a large quantity of gold. Here
. Our country in story . ery skillfully builtof wood and was eighty feet wide and one hundred fiftyfeet long. In it were a great many large chambers. Someof these served as store rooms and were filled with bread,venison, and various drinks made of maize and roots. Ina spacious hall were preserved the bodies of the chiefsdead relatives. These had been dried, richly dressed, andadorned with gold and precious stones. They hung allalong the walls and the Indians regarded them with re-ligious veneration. The chiefs eldest son, a bright, generous young man,gave Balboa a large quantity of gold. Here is our first 56 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY gold from Darien, said the delighted Balboa. I shall atonce weigh out one-fifth of it to our King, and then dividethe remainder among us. The Spaniards immediately fellto quarreling, each one fearing that he might get less thanthe others. The dusky young brave did not know thevalue of gold and could not understand why these whitepeople should quarrel about such a trifle. Disgusted, he. INDIAN VILLAGE IN DARIEN struck the scales a blow with his hand, scattering theglittering treasure all about the place. Spaniards, you are foolish, said he. You have leftyour peaceful homes to come and disturb ours; you are ex-posing yourselves to great dangers and sufferings—all foronly these yellow kernels and lumps of earth. But if thisyellow stuff is really so precious in your eyes, I can tellyou where to find an abundance of it. Where? Where? Tell us quickly! cried the eagergold-hunters. Do you see those lofty mountains? asked the youngchief, pointing to the south. From the highest of those DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC 57 peaks, you can see a mighty water. The streams that flowdown into it glitter with gold, and the chieftains who liveon its shores eat and drink from golden vessels. Balboa could scarcely believe his ears. A mightywater?—It must be the sea that bounds the shores ofChina, Japan, and the Indies! He was most impatient tostart out at once in s
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