# Gollum Finding The Shire



## Wolfshead (Nov 29, 2002)

I've just skimmed over 'Riddles In The Dark' and I didn't find Bilbo mentioning anything about 'Shire'. He said he was Bilbo Baggins, but that was all. So, where did Smeagol find out about 'Shire' from, so he could tell those nice people in Mordor?


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## YayGollum (Nov 29, 2002)

Yeah, I looked for that after seeing the movie. Makes no sense to me. oh well. Poor Smeagol was a good way for that PJ person to get the Nazgul to the Shire. sorry about that. Smeagol probably would have gotten to the Shire himself if Bilbo had told him about it. Maybe not. *hides*


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## Anamatar IV (Nov 29, 2002)

it was in the book too. first I think this explains how Gollum found the shire:



> the news of the great
> events went far and wide in Wilderland, and many had heard Bilbo's name and
> knew where he came from. We had made no secret of our return journey to his
> home in the West. Gollum's sharp ears would soon learn what he wanted



Or you can use this that explains both:



> 'But how did he find that out?' asked Frodo.
> 'Well, as for the name, Bilbo very foolishly told Gollum himself; and
> after that it would not be difficult to discover his country, once Gollum
> came out


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## Wolfshead (Nov 30, 2002)

Yay, they had to find 'Shire' in the book as well, otherwise the Nine would have taken even longer to find him.

Anamatar, your first quote seems to clear up this problem well enough. I had suspected that might have been the case. Cheers.


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## YayGollum (Dec 2, 2002)

Hey, I'm just saying that poor Smeagol might have just not known anything about the Shire, but the crazy bad dudes had heard that stuff about Bilbo and the Shire, and they knew to go there as soon as Gollum mentioned Bilbo.


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## Dáin Ironfoot I (Dec 4, 2002)

Who do you think caught Gollum? The Nazgul I presume...


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## Anamatar IV (Dec 4, 2002)

> 'Ah,' said Gandalf, 'now we come to it. I think Gollum tried to. He set
> out and came back westward, as far as the Great River. But then he turned
> aside. He was not daunted by the distance, I am sure. No, something else
> drew him away. So my friends think, those that hunted him for me.





> But I am afraid there is
> no possible doubt: he had made his slow, sneaking way, step by step, mile by
> mile, south, down at last to the Land of Mordor.



Gollum went to Mordor on his own apparently.


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## Mablung (Dec 4, 2002)

I think he was probably turned away by some Rangers, so seeing he would have much trouble on his own he decided to go to Mordor. Thats my theory at least.


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## Proudfoots (Dec 6, 2002)

All roads lead to Mordor...

no, that should be read, all roads lead to Rome (which, if i remember correctly, is a suburb of Baradur)

Gollum was drawn to Mordor, he certainly didn't go there of free will, or for the view (though i hear you can get some tasty manflesh there from streetvendors)

'foots


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## YayGollum (Dec 7, 2002)

What's all of this craziness? You people are making poor Smeagol sound evil! He just went to Morrrdorrr because he knew that some evil thief named Bilbo Baggins stole his security blanket. He knew that thieves are evil. He knew that Morrrdorrr is a place where lots of evil dudes hang out. oh well.


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## TheDarkTyrant (Dec 11, 2002)

My thoughts on this:
Gollum had the One Ring for like 500 years. Wouldn't it make sense that when Sauron sent out the call to the Ring that maybe on a sub-conscience level Gollum heard the call and followed it blindly to Mordor? That would account for his sudden redirection. 
Come to think of it, wasn't there mention of that in the book? A speculation by Gandalf.


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## Froggum (Dec 12, 2002)

Methinks that since Gollum was once a hobbit-like critter, wouldn't he know about the Shire? I mean, that's the most logical place to look for a Hobbit. Weren't there Hobbits in the Shire at that time? My knowledge of the history is really thin.


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## Sador (Dec 13, 2002)

I seem to recall an exchange between Shagrat and Gorbag in the two towers about how some orcs caught Gollum and took him to Sauron. Later they were ordered not to hinder him as he left Mordor. 
It was Sauron's malice that drew Gollum to mordor.
Gollum's people lived near to the Gladden fields, they seem to have been ignorant of the Shire.


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## Froggum (Dec 13, 2002)

"Seem to" being the key phrase. There's so much left unsaid in the books that all most of us can offer is speculation.


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## Calimehtar (Dec 29, 2002)

I dont think Hobbits had reached the Shire yet. I think they were still a wandering people then. In case you didn't know, Hobbits used to just wander from place to place. This was in the... Prologue, I think, to The Lord of the Rings. I dont know if it is in every version of LOTR, I have some hardback-all-in-one version. And there were three different kinds of hobbits, and Gollum, or Smeagol, was of different breed than the people in Hobbiton. And most likely all the other hobbits that lived near Smeagol were of the same breed as Smeagol. So, Smeagols breed, which was the breed that liked water, would not be... uummm.... real good friends with the other breeds of Hobbits. I am not saying that they didnt like each other, I am saying they didnt get to talk and see each other much. So Smeagol wouldnt know of the Shire until after his meeting with Bilbo the Thief.

I dont know if I worded any of that right. Where it makes sense. haha, I'm not very good at explaining things.


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## Great Khan (Jan 1, 2003)

he might of known the shire from the orcs in the misty mountains. The orcs there had a battle in the shire once were they were defeated by some took


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## GuardianRanger (Jan 2, 2003)

*Unfinished Tales?*

I haven't read it yet (it's still under the tree waiting for me to finish Silmarillion) but I recall seeing a chapter in Unfinished Tales that *may* set the record straight. Isn't there a chapter in Unfinished Tales on the hunt for the ring as told from the Nazgul's point of view.

Like I said, I haven't read it yet, but that chapter may shed some light on it.


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