They were not an attractive people, these "gentiles" of a country which
to the newcomers must itself have seemed an outer garden of Paradise;
and Junipero's first attempts to gain their good will met with very
slight encouragement. During the ceremonies attendant upon the
foundation and dedication of the mission, they had stood round in silent
wonder, and now they showed themselves responsive to the strangers'
advances to the extent of receiving whatever presents were offered,
provided the gift was not in the form of anything to eat. The Spaniards'
food they would not even touch, apparently regarding it as the cause of
the dire sickness of the troops. And this, in the long run, remarks
Palou, was without doubt "singularly providential," owing to the rapid
depletion of the stores. Ignorance of the Indians' language, of course,
added seriously to the father's difficulties in approaching them, and
presently their thefts of cloth, for the possession of which they
developed a perfect passion, and other depredations, rendered them
exceedingly troublesome. Acts of violence became more and more common,
and by-and-bye, a determined and organized attack upon the mission, in
which the assailants many times outnumbered their opponents, led to a
pitched battle, and the death of one of the Spanish servants. This was
the crisis; for, happily, like a thunderstorm, the disturbance, which
seemed so threatening of future ill, cleared the air, at any rate for a
time; and the kindness with which the Spaniards treated their wounded
foes evidently touched the savage heart. Little by little a few Indians
here and there began to frequent the mission; and with the hearty
welcome accorded them their numbers soon increased. Among them there
happened to be a boy, of some fifteen years of age, who showed himself
more tractable than his fellows, and whom Father Junipero determined to
use as an instrument for his purpose. When the lad had picked up a
smattering of Spanish, the padre sent him to his people with the promise
that if he were allowed to bring back one of the children, the youngster