This perfervid utterance, the incongruity of which strikes us to-day as almost blasphemous, aroused enthusiasm in his followers, who swore to stand by their intrepid leader and follow him to the death in pursuit of their new prospects. They all knelt down, and led by de Vara the priest, who accompanied them, lustily chanted the “_Te Deum_.” Speculation ran high as to the possibilities that lay before them, but they were all convinced that they were at length on the right road to become possessors of the riches of the Indies. Summoning the notary of the expedition, Balboa called all present to witness that he took possession of all the sea, its islands and surrounding hills, in the name of the Sovereigns of Castile, and had a deed prepared to that effect, which those of his followers who were present signed. The curious ceremonies of piety and plunder were not completed until a tree had been cut down, formed into a cross, and erected on the spot from which Balboa had first viewed the ocean, the names of Ferdinand and Isabella being roughly carved on the trees surrounding the spot. The band then made their way down the hillside, and after massacring another tribe of hostile Indians, and forcing into their service fresh guides, they came to the domain of the warlike cacique, named Choapes, who, after a short resistance, was induced by the arguments of fire-arms and bloodhounds to submit. It is recorded that Balboa, doubtless softened by his religious exercises on the mountain, enjoined his followers to refrain from needless slaughter. Meanwhile, Balboa sent out scouting parties to discover the best route to the coast, and when the successful one returned, they related how they had reached the ocean and found canoes, into one of which Alonzo Martin had stepped, calling on his companions to bear witness that he was the first European to embark on the newly discovered sea. Balboa and his men went forward, and on coming to the border of a great bay gave it the name of San Miguel. As the tide was far out, they waited under the shade of the trees until it should flow in. When it did Balboa arose, and, taking a banner on which were painted the arms of Castile and Leon, he, with his sword drawn, waded into the water until it was above his knees, and in a loud voice took possession, in the names of Don Ferdinand and Donna Isabella, of all the seas and lands and coasts and ports and islands of the South, kingdoms and provinces, and, in fact, everything he could think of naming. [Illustration: THE PACIFIC, FROM A PEAK IN DARIEN.]