Chapter XXIII
We left the village the next morning. For three days the trail led through a rough mountainous country so sparsely populated that we were obliged to pitch our tents each night. No provisions had been taken along for this trip, yet when food was needed it was there. No sooner were the arrangements made for a meal than an abundance of food was right at hand to be partaken of; and at no time did we see it all consumed; there was always a little left.
The evening of the third day we reached the head of a wide valley, through which valley we were to travel to reach the village of our destination. From this time on our road led through a fertile, well populated valley. We had selected this village as our winter quarters for the reason that it was located in the very heart of the country we were visiting and we felt that it would give us the opportunity we desired to come in daily contact with the people for a longer period of time. A great many of the people we had met in the different places we had already visited lived in this village and they had all extended cordial invitations to visit them. We felt that, by staying in this village for the winder, we would have ample opportunity to observe their daily life more closely.
We reached this village November 20th and made a number of short trips from there until the snow came on and travel was made difficult. We were housed in very comfortable quarters, the people were very kind, and we prepared to enter into the life of the village. All the homes were thrown open to us and we were told that the latchstrings were always out and that they considered all men brothers.
At this time we were invited to share the home of one of the remarkable women that lived in this village, whom we had met before. We felt that we were comfortable and that it was not necessary to trouble her. She insisted that it would be no trouble; so we moved in, bag and baggage, and made her home our home during the remainder of our stay. I shall never forget the first time we met her. It was in a small town near the border.
When she was introduced we thought she was not a day over eighteen and we all thought her beautiful. What was our surprise when we were told she was over four hundred years old and one of the most loved of teachers. Her whole life was spent in the work. When we first met her we had been thrown in daily contact with her for nearly two weeks but her true self did not show forth until we saw her in her own home. After living in her home and being in daily contact with her, we could readily see why the people loved her as they did. It was impossible for anyone to do otherwise than love and respect her. We lived at this lady’s home and ate at her table from the last of December until the following April. We had ample opportunity to observe her home life and the home life of a number of others in this village and we found their lives ideal. The more we saw all these people the more we loved and respected them. We had ample opportunity to corroborate all that they told us regarding their ages, by records that could not be contradicted, any more than our records can be contradicted.
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