Bald Knobbers: Vigilantes on the Ozarks Frontier

Rating:
Summary: Great research, easy read
Review: Rumors abound that Bald Knobbers were Ku Klux Klansman. Not true! They weren't racists. They were, however, shameless thugs. Cap'n Kinney started the Bald Knobbers to fight the extremely corrupted local government. Unfortunately, it was far too easy for Kinney and his Knobbers to become just like the thing they wanted to fix! In the beginning they doled out 'justice' to the deserving, but they eventually began handing out whippings, and sometimes even bullets, to anyone brave enough to speak out against them. The authors also give a rather heart-wrenching account of a massacre that resulted in the first and only state executions carried out at the Christian County Jail. The Bald Knobbers had killed two men while the men's wives and children had watched in horror. The men had spoken out against the Bald Knobbers. Several Bald Knobbers were arrested for the crime, and a 16 year old boy and his father were among the four to be hanged. When the Knobbers were hung, the ropes were too long and the Sheriff had to hang the boy twice, much to the horror of the onlooking crowd (not to mention the boy). There are other shocking events that occurred around the execution, but I won't spoil the surprise! This is a very well written book, easy to read, wonderfully researched, and even indexed! A must read for anyone living in or curious about Southwest Missouri.

Rating:
Summary: interesting unknown history
Review: This book ofers you a look of a little know part of american history . It show what happen in the Ozarks when a few men took law into thier own hands and tried to make the town right by , by-passing the courts and prision system . This book was very violent but also well researched . It also shows a very unbiased account of the players and events that took place. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new part of history to look into . This will show you alot of what people in the Ozarks went through in that time period and it may shock you.

Rating:
Summary: interesting unknown history
Review: This book ofers you a look of a little know part of american history . It show what happen in the Ozarks when a few men took law into thier own hands and tried to make the town right by , by-passing the courts and prision system . This book was very violent but also well researched . It also shows a very unbiased account of the players and events that took place. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new part of history to look into . This will show you alot of what people in the Ozarks went through in that time period and it may shock you.