Part II- Marshall South and the Ghost Mountain Chronicles – An experiment in primitive living.

This book fascinates me! I am determined to buy the copy I checked out of the museum's library. Having lived at Vallecito for three years, winter and summer, I find it incredible that the Marshal South family lived for almost 17 years on windswept Ghost Mountain where it often snows in winter and the temperature regularly rises above 110 in the summer. I am well acquainted with the weather, plants and animals South describes in poetic phrases. Since his experience there was from about 1930 until about 1947 I notice some differences in the things he tells us about. The plants he describes as being prolific are much scarcer or almost non-existent now. He describes mountains in Arizona that he could see from his mountaintop home. Those views are long lost in a haze of smog these days. Time has not been kind to the pristine desert he knew.

The family tried to live off the land as much as possible. With water sources only from occasional rainstorms and from what they could tote by hand up the steep trail to their compound, South determined they would be nudists. That would take care of the problem of laundry and live up to his ideas of primitive living. Tanya however, insisted on wearing a dress in the presence of visitors. South would don a breechcloth for special occasions. The children wore not a stitch and their hair was never shorn.

Most of South's articles are about day to day living in what he always depicted as idyllic surroundings that never failed to feed his soul. He never revealed to his readers their actual harsh living conditions. He described all the birds, animals, bugs and even reptiles, with the exception of rattlesnakes, as being friendly neighbors. He knew what his readers wanted to read, and wouldn't include any unpleasantness to dim their pleasure.

In the meantime, while Marshal was writing or going on unsuccessful rabbit hunts with his oldest son Rider (named for author H. Rider Haggard), Tanya was attending to the needs of the family. With the help of little Rudyard (named for Kipling) and Victoria (named for Queen you know who) she would painstakingly pick tiny but nourishing chia seeds, or pick fruit from cactus plants in season or weave blankets. The whole family became good at making pottery and sold some of it at stores up in Julian, the closest town where they could buy staples. Marshal's paintings did not sell well but eventually he got a contract to paint a frieze of murals inside the library of Julian. In fact that was one of the things that brought trouble to Paradise.

Because Tanya filled the family's evenings with stories she read to them, and home schooled all three children in the essentials of a primary education, they checked out large numbers of books from the Julian library. The librarian was a lady named Myrtle Botts, and she and her husband loved to camp and explore the desert. They became friends with the Souths. Even though the Botts always seemed to be a devoted couple, apparently Marshal admired Myrtle - maybe a little too much. During his contract to paint murals in the library, he wrote a love poem dedicated to her.

Tanya was very displeased and imagined that Marshal and Myrtle were having an affair. There was never a bit of evidence that it was true, but Tanya packed up all three children and moved to Carlsbad. They stayed there for two years while Tanya made their living as cleaner of a theater. Then they moved to the Point Loma area of San Diego. Tanya had an education as a secretary and was able to get a long lasting good job to support her children and herself. Marshal sent money when he could. Tanya continued to send her poetry to Desert Magazine up to a total number of 202 pieces by which she supplemented her income.

The children adapted well to their new lives in the city, although Rider, the oldest, had the most difficulty finding his niche. Rider, Rudyard and Victoria had never had other children to play with, and Rider, at more than 12, knew nothing of baseball or other sports most of the boys were most interested in. Rudyard, at eight and little Victoria at kindergarten age fitted in much more easily, and became leaders in their classes. All the South children were more advanced in reading than their peers. Eventually Rider joined the Army and served in the Signal Corps. All three children had successful lives.

Marshal South died of heart failure in Julian. A doctor had advised him not to live in a high elevation, and Julian is about 5,500 feet in elevation. After a brief stay in a hospital, South moved to Burro Springs not far from Vallecito, but his condition worsened anyway. A friend took him back to Julian where he died October 22, 1948. He was only 59 years old.

Eventually Tanya sold the property at Yaquitepec to the county. She became almost a recluse, brushing away any would be friends. She would never talk about her experiences while living in the desert, but did write "A Sequel to Ghost Mountain" for readers of Desert Magazine. In it she only described their lives after moving to San Diego, assuring her readers that the children were adapting well to city life after so many years of the South's 'Experiment in Primitive Living.'

This story is much too long for one book review, so I have divided it into two parts and stopped advertising it as a book review. I have actually left out most of the story, as well as the many fascinating articles written by Marshal South during his desert sojourn. If this type of adventure interests you, I know you would enjoy reading the whole book. It also contains many pictures of the South family living their primitive life in the desert.

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