The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-09
IN MEXICO'S HAPPY VALLEY


 When Johnson wrote his Happy Valley ne had no idea that such a place existed. His Jtopla was an ideal never to be realized even in his book But over here in Mexico in country of which the great Englishn.an knew .d eos Sansra,,a nA' d .i 1Hs,eu' nap snet small tribe of the Aztecs live on the land, and and some of them in the houses which their For some reason they were never disturbed by ccrtez. During all the centuries of Spanish from nolestation Today they are stll there. The Mexican Government allows them the ns so Sns they S. pay the so T iingiy for they recognize the the Mexican Gov @ for aws-they make and enforce their own. They elect their own petty civil officials. They grow their own produce They weave md make their own woolen cloths They sell little and buy less. For more than four hun dred years. as long back as there is any clear sold It has descended by birthright from father to son and from son to grandson. In account. No one is rich and no one is poor An equality of comfort and content exists it. And yet 1t does exist and has existed for centuries. Will the rush of civilization and progress which is changing all else in Mexico end il? It would be q pity if 1t should.
 This simple. peaceful life--lazy indoient. unprogresslve,. if you like to call 1t so-is go- the little village of San Geronimo. There. talking the Eerhuatl or Aztec language as their native one. these Indians live and enjoy life. only looking curieusly now and then at the big city near them and wondering at the changes they see.
 It is remarkable that fin a spot so close to the centre of scores of revolutions and to the capital which fighting armies have invaded free from the tempests of war which have passed or. all sides. Yet that has been their be good subject for investigation by some of the scientists who have . business of study ing the why's and wierefores Of civic life
 In litte tributary valley of the great one, in a fold in the mountains which rise almost preciptously. thousands of feet, lies small Village. for there are not more than 200 houses and. possibly, 800 persons of tepetate. the volcanic stone with which The entire valley abounds. The roofs of heayy semi-cylindrieal red tile The thick three feet--and the heavy roofs give an ap- pearance of solidity and substantially to the will last for as many years to come as they have already existed in the past.
 Around each house are plots of ground of varying size None Is of less than two acres none is more than ten. On these the owners raise the corn and beans and fresh vegetables for their own use as we'll as the small surplus which they send to market. Back of the houses are the corras, where are kept the do- rnestic animals; and to which the goats and grazing lands outside the village. Also out side the village. but not far away. are sugar cane were raised But in the last 300 years nature seems to have lowered the tenn perature uf the Valley Of Mexico. and now these crops are confined to the lower lands but the soil is made use of as of old and corn fields and orchards have replaced the former products.
 Around each of the lots for all the land is euhdivided into tiny parcels are great, thick walls of the same teDetate which is used in constructing the houses. These walls mark the boundaries which were laid out generations ago. and since their first stone put in place there has been change.
 Inside the houses everything is of most primitive sort. The national dishes of tortil- las and frijoies with plenty of chile and a little meat, is the diet. year in and year out, of the occupants. To be sure, they have plenty of fruit to afford them q change. for nature has been good to them in this way, and there Is hardly a day in the year when they cannot green peas. beans, aguacates, lettuce, green onions fresh tomatoes. radishes. cucumbers ravorite, and in fact, all the Summer produce of northern zones. With these there is no lack of variety. and. with sugar cane. pineapples nr cocoanuts for dulces after meals, they all live we'll
 As has been said so far as any practical in terference by the Government Is concerned shese people live absolutely Independent of all outside restraint, They recognize the Mexican others which preceded the present one. but as they do not interfere with it they do not see why it should interfere with them. And 1t does not save in the collection of the regular Federal tax which the villagers pay willingly enough Asile from this they do about as they piedSt nave tHeII own pllesLs AuA they choose their own village officials These are more for ornament and ..onor than any thing else. for there is little f.r them to do lt is stated by the priest. and the fact is borne ont by the village records that there aas not been a crime of violence in the village Tn unpre than ten years. As for thefts, such 2 fbipg is absolutely unknown. and all squab- bies. about land are rendered impossible by the Boundary fences with which no one thinks os rneddltns.
 How these Indians came to the little valley where they yhave remained all these hundreds of years ist largely a mater of legend with