Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.) HEROES OF AMERICAN HISTORY DE BALBOA [Illustration: VASCO NUÑEZ DE BALBOA] VASCO NUÑEZ DE BALBOA BY FREDERICK A. OBER HEROES OF AMERICAN HISTORY ILLUSTRATED [Illustration] HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON 1906 Copyright, 1906, by HARPER & BROTHERS. _All rights reserved._ Published October, 1906. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. THE MAN-OF-THE-BARREL 1 II. LEADER OF A FORLORN HOPE 19 III. BALBOA ASSERTS HIS SUPREMACY 33 IV. BALBOA CAPTURES A PRINCESS 47 V. THE CACIQUES OF DARIEN 64 VI. FIRST TIDINGS OF THE PACIFIC 81 VII. A SEARCH FOR THE GOLDEN TEMPLE 95 VIII. CONSPIRACY OF THE CACIQUES 106 IX. HOW THE CONSPIRACY WAS DEFEATED 120 X. DISSENSIONS IN THE COLONY 134 XI. BALBOA STRENGTHENS HIS ARM 148 XII. THE QUEST FOR THE AUSTRAL OCEAN 162 XIII. ON THE SHORES OF THE PACIFIC 175 XIV. A RIVAL IN THE FIELD 193 XV. PEDRARIAS, THE SCOURGE OF DARIEN 206 XVI. IN THE DOMAIN OF THE DRAGONS 220 XVII. A COMPACT WITH THE ENEMY 234 XVIII. BUILDING THE BRIGANTINES 245 XIX. IMPRISONED AND IN CHAINS 258 XX. THE END OF VASCO NUÑEZ DE BALBOA 269 ILLUSTRATIONS VASCO NUÑEZ DE BALBOA _Frontispiece_ PANAMA, DARIEN, AND THE SOUTH SEA _Facing p._ 1 BALBOA CARRIED ON SHIPBOARD " 16 VILLAGE ON RIVER OF DARIEN " 52 BALBOA AND THE INDIAN PRINCESS " 68 QUARREL FOR THE GOLD " 84 DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC " 170 EXECUTION OF BALBOA " 274 SOURCES OF INFORMATION