LIGHTWOOD the novel appeared originally in 1939. Set in the piney woods of south Georgia just after the Civil War, it tells the story of a struggle between local land owners and Northern investors. The investors sought to harvest the "wooden treasures" of virgin pine forests. Over time, they used the power of money and the courts to wrest the title to the lands. A labyrinthine legal battle stretched out for more than half a century, culminating in the murder of the Company's land agent, along with as many as 35 more deaths. Based on historical fact, Cheney's novel brings to life a lost time...

After the Civil War, 1870. Deep in the south Georgia river swamp forests. Ratliff Sutton, a young white boy, runs away from a broken home and grows up the adopted son of former slaves. In the swamps of the Oconee and Altamaha Rivers, he transforms into Snake Sutton, mythic timber raftsman, struggling with mighty rivers, fighting both men and alligators, steering great log rafts to Darien by the sea. He confronts his greatest struggle-breaking into Darien's timber merchant society. Forsaking China Swann, a "fancy lady" and his champion, Snake marries society belle Robbie McGregor. Fighting his...

On Christmas Eve night 1902 in Telfair county, Georgia, near the town of Jacksonville, a Christmas tree-lighting celebration had just ended at a rural church, built on the site of an old Indian fort near the Ocmulgee River. One of the churchgoers stepped outside, carrying his infant daughter in his arms. Adjusting his coat against the winter wind, he felt in his pockets for his pipe and set the little girl down for a moment. As he lit his pipe, shots rang out and he fell dead, bleeding out into the cold Georgia dust. Children and adults alike screamed and scattered. This was the final shot...