Baffled by contrary winds and other adverse factors he had eventually to retire from what in his chagrin he termed “the Coast of Contradictions” and return to Spain, never to sail from its ports again. The reports of Columbus as to the plentifulness of gold in the region of the isthmus sent many other adventurous mariners and captains to the Spanish Main, and soon the history of the time resolved itself into intrigues, jealousies, and savage conflicts between the Indians and the intruders, the latter enduring all kinds of privations in the hope of reaching that rumoured land which overflowed with gold. Dramatic developments began to ensue under an expedition which set out from Hispaniola under the leadership of Enciso, a wealthy notary. On board the ship in which he embarked was a mysterious barrel sent from a farm situated on the seashore, and no sooner was the vessel well out to sea than there emerged from this cask a tall muscular man in the prime of life. Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, who had devised this means of escaping from his creditors, proved in the end to be a valuable addition to the expedition, though the commander’s first impulse and threat was to maroon the stowaway on the first uninhabited island they might come across. They landed at Cartagena and were menaced by the natives, who hovered around them, doubtless remembering previous invasions and the outrages they had suffered. By pacific measures, however, the newcomers conciliated the Indians, at whose hands they then received valuable assistance and supplies of such provisions as the country had to offer. Balboa soon assumed a prominence in the discussions and deliberations of the expedition. He recommended strongly the attractions of an Indian village which he had come across when sailing some years before with Bastides. It lay upon the banks of a river called Darien, and the country all around was not only fertile, but abounded in gold, whilst the natives, although warlike, never made use of the dreaded poisoned arrow. With such enthusiasm did Balboa urge the claims of this region that Enciso determined to follow his advice, and they set sail thither and arrived and founded the town or city of Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien. The natives of the existing village they put to the sword, having robbed them of all the golden ornaments they wore and the food supplies collected in their huts.