It was not politic, the governor thought, to leave behind him one so powerful as Ponca inclined to be hostile, and, moreover, he alone could furnish guides to the sea that lay beyond the mountains. These he freely placed at Balboa's disposal, at the same time not only confirming the truth of the story told by Comogre's people, as to the existence of a great sea, or ocean, but adding that the country adjacent was rich in gold. In the excess of his friendship, he presented Balboa with some golden ornaments--receiving in exchange glass beads and other trifles, precious in the sight of the Indian--and furnished the army with provisions for the journey. The golden ornaments, Ponca assured Balboa, came from the country bordering upon the great sea, to gain a glimpse of which it would only be necessary to ascend a high peak rising above the cordilleras, and visible from the village they then occupied. This peak seemed to pierce the skies, to such an altitude it rose above the surrounding hills, and its broad shoulders were covered with dense forests, so that it appeared like an island in an emerald sea. With the departure from Chief Ponca's country the real labors of the journey began, for there was no open trail through the mountain wilderness, white men never having been there before. The Spaniards were compelled to hew their way with sword and axe, scale rugged precipices, and ford the torrents of numerous rivers. Friendly Indians carried the provisions, and the heaviest pieces of armor, but even though lightly clad and burdened only with their weapons, many of the soldiers were overcome by the combined effects of fatigue and climate, so that in the end less than seventy remained with their commander, the others having fallen by the way. Such as had strength enough returned to Coyba; but there were some who, unable to endure the journey, sank to the ground and never rose again. Steadily climbing, at the rate of two or three leagues a day, about September 20th the little band of soldiers reached a broad plateau covered with a tangled forest through which ran deep and rapid streams. This was the country of a warlike cacique named Quaraqua, who, discovering this small body of strangers invading his province, and never having had experience with Europeans, prepared to give them a warm reception. He was at war with Ponca, and that was enough to provoke his ire, so he took the field with a swarm of ferocious savages, and thought to frighten the Spaniards by a display of force. He and his warriors were armed with spears, bows and arrows, and two-handed battle-axes made of wood, but almost as hard and as heavy as iron. They thought themselves invincible, in their ignorance of warfare as conducted by the Christian, and, yelling furiously, poured upon the Spaniards like a mountain torrent.