Teeth of the Wolf

© Jenna Garrett - 'Fires.' The Bald Knobbers were accused of setting fire to homes and businesses they disliked. © Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project © Jenna Garrett - 'Forsyth.' Downtown Forsyth, Missouri, where the Bald Knobbers began in 1885. View all images ↓
View all images ↓

'Teeth of the Wolf' examines vigilante violence in the United States. By investigating an obscure vigilante group near my hometown, I reimagine the brutality of the past and recontextualize its incarnation in the present.

At 11:16 pm on January 6, 2021, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio posted a video of himself standing in front of the United States Capitol. It was taken days before his group—along with hundreds of other dissidents—violently stormed the building to halt the ratification of the presidential election. Tarrio’s face is shrouded by a gruesome mask, a cape flowing behind him. And I couldn’t stop thinking I’d seen such a mask before—in a relatively unknown 19th-century photo taken near my hometown.

The mask—black and horned—belonged to the Bald Knobbers, a vigilante group that sprung up in the Ozark Mountains in the aftermath of the Civil War. They were everyday citizens—shop owners, ministers, sheriffs—who swore to protect their community from lawlessness. In just five years, their numbers swelled from 13 to an estimated 500. By the time they disbanded, 17 people were killed, plus countless reports of floggings, arson, jail escapes, and lynchings. The Bald Knobbers became the terror they swore to defeat.

My project Teeth of the Wolf interrogates the story of these men. It’s a history obfuscated by secrecy and whitewashed through decades of mythology and commercialization. Drawing from the few remaining documents and photo archives, I reimagine the violence of the past and recontextualize its incarnation in the present. The work is deeply personal—I was born 47 miles (75 kilometers) from the town where these events took place. Throughout my research, I can't help but see the similarities between these men and those I grew up with. I live in the world they shaped.

A vigilante is broadly defined as “a self-appointed doer of justice.” The Bald Knobbers are an obscure part of a sweeping American legacy, one that uses intimidation and violence to maintain power perceived to be under threat. Today, this spirit manifests as rogue border militias, local paramilitary groups, and organizations like the Proud Boys. They are mostly white men, driven by secrecy, grievance, and a belief they have the right to step in as the true authority when the government fails them.

Teeth of the Wolf drags these machinations into the light, examining it not as an anomaly, but a cyclical part of my nation’s history. The work includes archival imagery, locations and people connected with significant events, and contemporary depictions in local culture. The goal is to extend the Bald Knobbers’ legacy beyond its origins, revealing how their tactics haven’t disappeared, but merely mutated.

© Jenna Garrett - 'Fires.' The Bald Knobbers were accused of setting fire to homes and businesses they disliked.
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'Fires.' The Bald Knobbers were accused of setting fire to homes and businesses they disliked.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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‘Hood.’ A Bald Knobber descendant in a hood he wore for a local film. The horned hoods became an infamous symbol of the Bald Knobbers. A resident described the men as having “faces like devils.”

© Jenna Garrett - 'Forsyth.' Downtown Forsyth, Missouri, where the Bald Knobbers began in 1885.
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'Forsyth.' Downtown Forsyth, Missouri, where the Bald Knobbers began in 1885.

© Jenna Garrett - ‘Award.’ Courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri. Alteration by artist.
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‘Award.’ Courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri. Alteration by artist.

© Jenna Garrett - 'Kin I.' A great-great-great-great grandson of several Bald Knobbers.
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'Kin I.' A great-great-great-great grandson of several Bald Knobbers.

© Jenna Garrett - 'Grave, VI.' Grave of Alonzo Prather, Bald Knobber member and Missouri state representative.
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'Grave, VI.' Grave of Alonzo Prather, Bald Knobber member and Missouri state representative.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Fire in the Hole.' An indoor roller coaster at the amusement park Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. Fire in the Hole depicts the Bald Knobbers setting fire to a fictional town.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Evidence: Tongue.' Local criminals the Taylor brothers cut the tongues out of a neighbor’s prize-winning cattle as vengeance for a petty grievance. The Taylors were later lynched by the Bald Knobbers.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Jail.' The jail that housed Bald Knobbers accused of murder. Despite extra security measures, two vigilantes escaped. Courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri. Alteration by artist.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Murder Rock.' A hideout for the infamous bushwacker Alfie Bolin, who pillaged and murdered during the Civil War. Years later, a Bald Knobber was supposedly captured there.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Cabin.' Twenty-five Bald Knobbers broke into a cabin where men, women, and children slept. Gunfire was exchanged and three people died. Several Bald Knobbers were hanged for the crime.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Actor II.' A Bald Knobber actor after curtain call at The Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Drama. The actors wear the vigilantes’ distinctive hoods, shoot guns, and set a cabin on fire.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Wolves.' “The announcement of Captain [Nathaniel] Kinney as chairman [of the Bald Knobbers] revealed the cloven foot, and the teeth of the wolf are visible through the sheep skin.” — signed “A Citizen of Taney County” published in the ‘Springfield Herald,’ 1886.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Evidence: Coffin. 'Bald Knobber leader Nathaniel Kinney left a threatening note in a miniature coffin outside an enemy’s door.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Convicted.' Photo of David Walker, William Walker, and John Matthews—the only Bald Knobbers convicted for a crime. The three were hanged for murder in 1889. Courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri. Alteration by artist.

© Jenna Garrett - 'Tattoo.' Tattoo belonging to a man in a local motorcycle gang called “The Hooded Ones.”
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'Tattoo.' Tattoo belonging to a man in a local motorcycle gang called “The Hooded Ones.”

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Branson's Famous Baldknobbers.' Started in 1959 by the Mabe family, the musical group adopted the Bald Knobber name for their variety show still performed today in Branson, Missouri, a nearby rural tourist town.

© Jenna Garrett - ‘Picnic.’ Courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri. Alteration by artist.
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‘Picnic.’ Courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri. Alteration by artist.

© Jenna Garrett - Image from the Teeth of the Wolf photography project
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'Actor I.' A Bald Knobber actor at The Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Drama. The actors wear the vigilantes’ distinctive hoods, shoot guns, and set a cabin on fire.