Mention any 1 evidence which shows the people of Vermissa Valley were reserved. Why do you think they were so unwelcoming?

The whole valley is gripped by fear of the criminal element. Vermissa Valley is in the heart of the Pennsylvania coal mines—and a symbolic place. In the latter sense it is a psychological valley in which Douglas finds himself stuck with no means of escape. He is menaced and burdened by his fear and knows that he can never escape it. It permeates all aspects of his life.