Who Is The Balld Knobber Gang In The Shepherd Of The Hills

A problem that has always terrorized America is the issue of gangs. In the novel The Shepherd of the Hills, written by Harold Bell Wright, the people of the mountains have had a long history of vigilant acts by the gang known as the Bald Knobbers. The gang does not have a huge influence on the book, but their presence is felt. The story is mostly about an old, wise man named Mr. Howitt that comes to the hills. He not only becomes shepherd of the sheep on the Matthew’s ranch, but he becomes a shepherd to the people. The shepherd is also affected by the gang. The Bald Knobber’s have a very old and interesting history that many have not shed light on. The book does a very good job on connecting many of the tendencies the gang actually had. The book also gives a good idea on how evil and corrupt they were. The Bald Knobbers were a vigilant gang of bullies with a devious history and this is visible within the novel. It seems that the history of the Bald Knobber gang has not been

The Bald Knobber’s in the novel are Wash Gibbs and Jim Lane. Jim Lane is old and not as active, but he still affiliates himself Wash and the gang. Wash Gibbs is seen as the head Bald Knobber in the story and his tangibles resemble Nat Kinney. Wash is supposedly the biggest and strongest man in the mountains. Nat Kinney was 6 foot 5 and weighed 300 pounds. Another characteristic of Nat Kinney that is shown in the story is how Jim Lane is the only man that can control Wash Gibbs and the rest of the gang. According to Tuck, Nat Kinney was seen as the regulator and organizer of the gang (8). There is a point in the novel that Wash in his crew are about to hang young matt and the shepherd, just as the real Bald Knobbers would have done (142). The Bald Knobber gang within the story has somewhat died off since the past and they are not as relevant, but Wash and his crew are still running