Bald Knobbers; Vigilantes on the Ozarks Frontier

Gretna, LA : Pelican Publishing Company, 1988 Pelican Publishing Company, Gretna, LA. 1988. Softcover/Trade Wraps. First Edition. Book is tight, square, and unmarked. Book Condition: Near Fine; slight edge bumping. No DJ. Pictorial card stock wraps. Wraps are not bent or folded; spine is not creased or split; text is secure in binding. 306 pp 8vo. In the 1880s, the Ozark hills around Taney County, Missouri, echoed with the sound of Winchester rifles. Men were lynched from tree limbs by masked night riders. Bundles of switches were tossed on the porches of "loose" men and women as a grim warning to reform or leave the area. With this book, the authors have produced the most comprehensive account of the notorious Bald Knobbers and their eight-year reign of terror. They trace the roots of the group in the region's border struggles during the Civil War, and examine the organization of anti-Bald Knobbers which sprang up to oppose them. Giant Nat Kinney founded the Bald Knobbers, and led them in their violent campaign for law and order. Andrew Coggburn wrote satirical songs to infuriate Kinney and the other vigilantes. Seventeen-year-old Billy Walker murdered an innocent family and was hanged by the beleaguered authorities. Five opponents of the Bald Knobbers vowed to kill Nat Kinney, and played cards to decide who would do the deed. A clean very presentable copy.