What happens when a groupof "law-abiding" abiding citizens take the administrationof justice into its own hands? All too often, just what happenedin Taney and Christian Counties in the 1880s: the Ozarks vigilantegroup of thirteen organized themselves to help enforce the lawand protect their families from marauders; within a few months,however, the group allegedly numbered more than 1,000, and thegroup itself had gained the reputation of marauders and terroristsamong many of their hill neighbors.
Understanding the evolutionof the Bald Knobbers, as Elmo Ingenthron and Mary Hartman illustratein their 1988 book, demands a look at Taney County following theCivil War. The rugged landscape of the county and its nearnessto the Arkansas border had long made the area a popular hidingplace for those fleeing from the law in Missouri. Notorious bushwhackerssuch as Alf Bolin holed up in the hills, raiding and attackingat will. Following Bolin's death in 1863, outlaws and renegadesinfiltrated the area, some fleeing from Union or Confederate troopsand others looking for a relatively safe haven from the law. TheHomestead Act of 1862 also brought settlers to the area so thatby 1885 6,700 people made their homes in Taney County.
This immigration broughtwith it struggles to establish law and order. From 1865 to 1883,between thirty and forty murders were committed in the county,with no record of anyone's conviction. Growing weary of the anarchy,many inhabitants were primed for the promise that a citizens'band held out.
The Law and Order League,as it was originally called, was organized by one of the recentimmigrants, Nathaniel Kinney. Kinney, a former Springfield, MO,saloon owner and erstwhile union soldier, claimed to have movedto Taney County to provide a more wholesome environment for hisfamily. Converting an old school house to a church house nearKirbyville, MO, he began preaching and won the trust of nativesin the area. He possessed the stature and charisma to mobilizecitizens to demand law enforcement: Over 6'6" and 300 pounds,his booming voice and physical presence provided the kind of leadershipfor which citizens longed. Several residents were disgusted withthe acquittal of Al Layton for the murder of Jim Everett in hisown store and fearing the release of Newton Herrell, held forthe murder of his mother's lover, Amus Ring. They were more thanready to enter into a Citizen's Committee to promote order.
The opportunity came duringthe winter or 1884-85: thirteen original members of the Law andOrder League, an oath-bound, secret society patterning its ritualsafter the Masonic Order, met in the back of Everett's store. Thesemen were Kinney, James DeLong, Alonzo Prather, Yell Everett, JamesB. Rice, T.W. Phillips, James R. VanZandt, Pat F. Fickle, GalbaE. Branson, J.J. Brown, Charles H. Groom, James K. Polk McHaffie,and possibly Ben Price (Hartman & Ingenthron 27). Their purposewas "to deal quickly and effectively with border ruffiansand roving gangs of thieves and outlaws, to elect good men tocounty office, to support and assist law officers in pursuingand capturing outlaws, and to help the courts obtain convictions"(30).
By April 5, 1885, the grouphad gained enough local support to move their meeting into theopen. Over 100 men were invited to a meeting atop Snapp's Bald,near Kirbyville. Most joined the league, though several were skepticalof Kinney's motives from the beginning. The label "Bald Knobbers"was coined in partial derision, making fun of the meeting atopthe bald; nevertheless, it was a name the citizens of the leagueaccepted and used to identify themselves henceforth.
Made bold by the spirit ofthe group, the Bald Knobbers initially confined themselves tomere intimidation. However, their first violent acts soon unfolded:on April 15, they broke into the county jail and hanged Frankand Tubal Taylor, who were awaiting trial for terrorist acts oftheir own. As the Taylors' bodies dangled from a nearby tree,someone attached a note to their backs which read: "Beware!These are the first victims to the wrath of outraged citizens.More will follow. the Bald Knobbers."
And more did follow. Intoxicatedby their power, these vigilantes appointed themselves judge, jury,and executioner for many cases, frequently bypassing the officiallegal processes altogether as they dolled out their "justice"in the form of threatening, beating, destroying property, andeven killing those who did not adhere to their behavioral codes.Notorious for their night-time visits to area farms, the groupallegedly made shallow attempts to hide their identity, turningtheir coats and jumpers inside out and wearing bandanas over theirfaces. Unquestionably, the Bald Knobbers ruled by force and intimidation.Many citizens received the admonition, "Join the band, orleave the land," as this citizens' league coerced reluctantresidents to support their cause.
Not everyone did join, though.By April 1886, the Anti-Bald Knobbers militia had formed, andthe controversy in Taney County had attracted the attention ofMissouri Governor Marmaduke, who sent James Jamison to investigate.Jamison ordered Kinney to disband the Bald Knobbers, and on April10, over 350 men met in Forsyth to hear Kinney's official declarationof dissolution. Many residents believed the dissolution was merelyfor show and that the league would continue to operate, with orwithout the governor's approval.
Among the Anti-Bald Knobbersincensed over the abuse of power were Matt Snapps, Tom Layton,Monroe Snodgrass, Seck Cogburn, and William Miles, Jr. These menallegedly played cards in Colonel Almus Harrington's barn to seewho would win the honor of killing Nate Kinney. Miles won thegame and held good to the agreement, shooting Kinney in August1888 in a grocer's store, which Kinney was in the process of forcingto close.
Though Kinney's death broughtthe end of the organized Bald Knobbers in Taney County, similargroups had sprung up in neighboring Christian and Ozark Counties.The legacy of the Taney County Law and Order League lived on,culminating in thrashings and sometimes even hangings for thosewho dared defy the vigilante justice system in southwest Missouri.
Works Consulted
Hartman, Mary and Elmo Ingenthron.Vigilantes on the Ozarks Frontier. Gretna, LA: Pelican,1988.
Image of baldknobbers, courtesy of Gaye Lisby, Branson LivingMagazine.
Image of cowboy from http://www.clipartconnection.com, 12 June1999.
Upton, Lucille Morris. Bald Knobbers. Caldwell, ID:Caxton Printers, 1939.
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