Valdivia, the regidor, sailed for the island and Spain, but was never heard of more, and it is probable that his ship went down with all on board. With him, also, went the fifteen thousand pieces of gold, besides other sums, sent by Balboa and his men to satisfy their creditors in Santo Domingo. Truly, an evil genius pursued him, he was prone to say, for, labor as he might, he could not make head against his adverse fortune. Greater opportunities were given him, perhaps, than to any man then living since the days of Columbus, and it cannot be truly said that he did not improve them to the utmost; but every great endeavor of his came to naught. He was ardent and generous, and he was sane, save where his passions were concerned. His command over men was a marvel to all who knew him, and there was not a soldier in his command who would hesitate to follow him anywhere. He never told his men to go, but always asked them to _come_, for he was ever in the forefront of battle, and the more desperate the enterprise, the more anxious was he to take part in it and assume the leadership. Life in the settlement irked him greatly, says his Spanish biographer, and although it was essential to its peace and prosperity that he should stay in it a certain length of time, in order to place the town in a posture of defence and encourage the waning spirits of the settlers, his active and enterprising disposition would allow him no rest. He had desired to go in person to present his cause to the court, but his fellow-settlers would not hear of it. They were already sadly distressed by their losses, through the inimical effects of the climate and the repeated attacks of the Indians, and there seemed to be no one but Balboa who could hold them where they were. What they had really gained was very little, since their harvests were washed away by the floods, and the gold they had acquired was useless, without marts in which to purchase the things they most required to sustain life.