wild animals and dangerous snakes lived in this forest,and other dangerous animals lived in the river. the river was (and still is) very hot and unhealthy in all seasons. Oko Valley was a dangerous place to live in,not many people lived there,and they were backward and isolated from civilization. about fifty thousand people live there. they were happy but their lives were hard. they didn't even keep cows for milk or chickens for eggs. they had no education and therefore could neither read nor write. they had no general knowledge about events in other parts of the world. the didn't even know what was happening in their own country. no one from outside ever went there.