That description of the valley where I was born and grew up is still an accurate one. The physical appearance of the valley is now dotted with homes, roads and electric lines, but the breathtaking beauty of the mountains has changed very little. There were few white men in the valley in 1836. John Bryson and Alton Kirby had come in a few years earlier. Today there are only a few hundred more--still some Brysons and Kirbys--but the population is still relatively sparse. It was in this scantily populated village that my hopes were lifted and my ability to cope were nurtured.