Balboa gathered together the despairing remnants, and contrived to put fresh heart into his men.  He then turned to the Indians, and won their esteem by his considerate treatment.  He proved himself, in fact, in every respect an able and successful leader.  It was in 1512 that he set out on his famous expedition across the Isthmus, and won his way to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.  It was certainly not the least dramatic moment in the history of early America when Balboa, in a frenzy of joy, seized the flag of Castile, and, holding it aloft, plunged his body into the waters of the ocean, claiming it for his King.  As was the fate of so many able men of that period, it was not long before Balboa was superseded.  The fine governmental structure he had built up was very soon wrecked by his successor and superior, Pedrarias.  Friendly communication with the Indians was ruthlessly broken off.  The natives were chased unmercifully by bloodhounds, and numbers slain.

Balboa, chafing beneath a situation which must have been keenly distressing to him, was suspected by Pedrarias, and arrested.  The Bishop, Quevado, however, intervened in favour of the single-minded ex-Governor; a reconciliation of a kind was patched up, and, in order to strengthen this, Balboa was officially betrothed to the daughter of Pedrarias—­a purely political move this, since Balboa was already united to the dusky daughter of Careta, an aboriginal chief.  There is matter for the novelist here and to spare; few situations can be found which hold more possibilities.  In this case they led to the death of Balboa, which would probably have happened irrespective of the strange situation in which he found himself.  The cause, however, was merely renewed jealousy on the part of the Governor.  Balboa had prepared a further expedition of discovery, so thoroughly, indeed, that the suspicions of Pedrarias were again needlessly aroused.  A mock trial brought about a real catastrophe, which ended in the beheading of Balboa in 1547, at the age of forty-two.

In the meanwhile much had been happening in the neighbourhood.  Charles V. found himself in some danger of running short of men in the face of these tremendous additions to his empire.  He farmed out a portion of these new Colonies, contracting with the Welzers, merchant princes of Augsberg, in Germany, to take charge of and to extend the settlements in that part of the continent which is now known as Venezuela.

An official of the name of Alfinger was appointed as the first Governor of this new settlement.  He is said to have practised the most barbarous cruelties on the unfortunate Indians, some of which have already been referred to.  Alfinger was succeeded by other officials of his nationality, who are said to have proved themselves somewhat less cruel rulers.  But, on the whole, this colonizing scheme of the Welzers proved a dreary failure; they had little interest in the permanent occupation of the country, and sought