Buck, Charles Neville: The Code of the Mountains. v1. 11 Jul 2014
 

Buck, Charles Neville, 1879-1930. A native of Kentucky, Charles Neville Buck grew up near Lexington in the late 1800s. Well-educated, Buck held a Bachelor of Arts and a law degree from the University of Louisville. He also attended the Cincinnati Academy of Arts, and became a cartoonist and editorial writer for the Louisville Evening Post before turning to the romantic adventure novels he is known for. His most popular novel, The Call of the Cumberlands (1913) takes place in the mountain landscape Buck knew so well.

Excerpt
This morning the boy from the forks of Troublesome Creek had back his name once more. It was not a distinguished name, nor one to be flaunted in pride of race or achievement. On the contrary, it was a synonym for violent law-breaking and in the homely parlance of the Cumberland ridges, where certain infractions are condoned, it stood for “pizen meanness.” Generations of Spooners before him had taken up the surname and carried it like runners in a relay race—often into evil ways. Many had laid down their lives and name with abruptness and violence.