natives, his courage in the face of danger, his sublime zeal, and his
unwearied devotion, make him the impelling factor in the colonization of
California.

Nor is the popular conception that the church led the way into
California strange, when we understand that it is to the writings of
Fray Francisco Palou, friend, disciple, and successor of Junipero, that
all historians turn for the account of the occupation. Fray Palou
details the glorious life of the leader with whom he toiled; he
eulogizes the worthy priest, the ardent missionary, as he passed up and
down the length of the land, founding missions, planting the vine, the
olive, and the fruit tree in a land whose inhabitants had often suffered
from hunger; giving aid and comfort to the sick and weary and
consolation to the dying. Indeed, the pictures of the padres are
fascinating. The infant establishments planted by the church grew rich
and powerful, but so wise and gentle was the administration of the
priests and so generous their hospitality, that life in California in
the first quarter of the nineteenth century was an almost dolce far
niente existence.

Radiant as is the priestly figure of Junipero drawn by Palou, the
careful investigator will find that the impelling factor in the
occupation of California was stern military necessity, not missionary
zeal. From the time of Cabrillo, Spain had claimed the coasts of the
Pacific up to forty-two degrees north latitude by right of discovery,
but more than two hundred years had passed and she had done nothing
towards making good this right by settlement. The country was open to
colonization by any nation strong enough to maintain and protect its
colonies.