Luckily for Wright, at the time he wrote laws did not require the disclaimer that all characters were fictitious and any resemblance to people, living or dead, was purely coincidental. Many of his characters were based on living people; many of those people were friends. And many times, he was one of his own characters. In The Shepherd of the Hills, he is the shepherd, the preacher who has gone to find peace in the healing powers of the woods and hills and streams, just as Wright returned, time and time again, to nature for spiritual and physical renewal.

Wright's characters may have been based on actual people, but they were bigger than life and he was criticized for his artificiality in characterization.

Young Matt is a giant of a man, a perfect physical specimen, intelligent, fearless, frank, kind, gentle and honest.

Sammy Lane is even more splendid...