Tom Sawyer 's Gang:
A Look Into Historical Mobs by Cassady McCardle
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Samuel Clemens (pen name Mark Twain), tells of a young boy 's adventures with his best friend, a runaway slave, and a fraudulent king and dauphin. The story begins with the formation of Tom Sawyer 's Gang, started by Tom Sawyer himself. Huckleberry Finn was first published in 1884, at a time when many now-famous gangs had existed for under a century. This analysis examines real-life mobs from the 1800s and their practices in comparison with Tom Sawyer 's Gang. Though Sawyer names his group of friends "Tom Sawyer 's Gang," they are not truly a gang the way we think of them today. To join Tom Sawyer 's Gang, a person was required to sign
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From about 1871-1914, the French mob of Les Apaches ruled the streets of Paris. The origin of their name is widely contested, but it is said that upon seeing the depths of violence they were capable of, a bystander compared them to the visciousness of the Native American Apaches. The leader of Les Apaches at this time, known as Terreur, liked the name so much he chose to use it permanently. In fact, Les Apaches became so famous that mobs from other countries were referred to as the Apaches of their nation. What is unusual about this particular gang is the influence they had on the dress of their era. Members of Les Apaches were generally well-dressed young men, clad in striped shirts and berets. Because they were so prevalent during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, their choice of clothing heavily influenced Bohemian fashion trends. However, in keeping with mob tradition, the main focus of Les Apaches lay on theft and assault. This gang was innovative, even developing their own weapons as needed. The most famous weapon used by Les Apaches was known as the Apache revolver, and consisted of a knife fixed to the end of a cartridge revolver which itself was secured to a pair of brass knuckles. In combination with this deadly weapon, Les Apaches also utilized a French martial art known as savate, or French