Book excerpt: A story of the progress of four generations of Cherokees who endured the hardships of the removal, the Civil War, reconstruction years, and finally, the depression of 1929 and problems of the early 1930s in Oklahoma to receive the rich rewards of a treasure that had been kept secret for over a hundred years. An historical fiction based on a true story which had its beginnings in Georgias Salacoa Valley with the construction of the John Martin, Jr., house in the 1820s subsequently purchased in 1838 by the Erwin family and preserved until the date of this book. A story which depicts the rich heritage of families of the Cherokee Nation as they moved to their new home at Tahlequah and grew from a primitive society to a civilized and cultured nation in the state of Oklahoma.