Soapy Smith

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Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith (1860-1898)
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Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith (1860-1898)

Jefferson Randolph ("Soapy") Smith II (1860-July 8, 1898) was an American con artist and gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal affairs and operations of Denver, Colorado, Creede, Colorado, and Skagway, Alaska from 1879 to 1898. He is perhaps the most famous "sure-thing"[1] bunko man of the old west.

Contents

[edit] The development of a con man

Jefferson Smith was born 1860 in Newnan, Georgia to a family of education and wealth. His great grandfather was a plantation owner. His father a southern lawyer. The family met with financial ruin at the close of the American Civil War. In 1876 the family moved to Round Rock, Texas to start anew. Young Jefferson left his home shortly after the death of his mother, but not before witnessing the shooting of outlaw Sam Bass. It was in Fort Worth, Texas that young Jefferson Smith began his profession as a confidence man. He formed a small, close-knit gang of scoundrels, rogues, shills and thieves to work for him. He soon became a well known crime boss. This "king of the frontier con men,"[2] spent the next 22 years as a professional bunko man and leader of the most infamous gang of swindlers ever assembled. His gang included such famous names as Texas Jack Vermillion, Ed "Big Ed" Burns, and many others. The gang moved around from town to town, plying their nefarious trade on their unwary victims. Their principle method of separating the marks from their cash, was through the usage of short cons,[3]. Their games of choice included the shell game, Three-card Monte, and any card game in which they could cheat.

[edit] The prize package soap sell swindle

Sometime in the late 1870s, early 1880s, Smith began using an ingenious method of swindling large crowds at once. It was called,The Prize Package Soap Sell Swindle by the Denver newspapers in 1885.

Jefferson would open up his Tri-pod and keister (a suitcase on a tri-pod stand) on a busy street corner, on which he would set up his scam. Piling cakes of ordinary soap onto the keister top, he began espousing the wonders of the soap he was selling. As he spoke to the growing and curious on-lookers, He pulled out his wallet and began wrapping currency, ranging from one dollar, on up to one hundred dollars, around a select few of the bars, and then finished off each bar by wrapping plain paper around the soap to hide the money. he then mixed the money enriched packages in with other bars, containing no money, and sold the soap to the crowd for one dollar each.[4] A Shill[5] placed among the crowd, would buy a bar, tear it open it, and loudly proclaim that he had won some money, proudly waving his winnings around for all to see. This performance had the desired effect of enticing on-lookers to take a chance and buy a bar of soap, before someone else won the one hundred dollar bill. More times than not, victims often bought several bars, before the sale was completed. Towards the end of the sale, Smith would announce that the one hundred dollar bill yet remained in the pile, unpurchased. He then would auction off the remaining soap bars to the highest bidders. Through the masterful art of manipulation and sleight-of-hand, during the wrapping process, the cakes of soap containing money, were hidden from purchase and replaced with soap packages holding no cash. It was assured that the only money "won," went to members of, what became known as, "the soap gang."

Jefferson quickly became known as "Soapy Smith" all across the western United States. He used this gem of a swindle for twenty years with great success. The soap sell, along with other scams, helped finance Soapy's criminal operations, pay graft, buy off policemen, judges, and politicians. In his lifetime he was able to build three major criminal empires. The first one was in Denver, Colorado, (1886-1895). The second was in Creede, Colorado, (1892), and the third was in Skagway, Alaska, (1897-1898).

[edit] Criminal boss of Denver, Colorado

In 1879, Soapy Smith moved to Denver and began to build the first of his empires. He made Denver his home, and chose to stop moving around from town to town, as other bunko men did. Bunko men normally moved around, to keep out of jail; but as Soapy's power and gang grew, so did his influence at city hall, and that was crucial in keeping him and his gang free to operate their swindles. By 1887 Soapy reputedly had a hand in most of the criminal bunko activities in the city. Newspaper editors in Denver published that Soapy was in complete control of the criminal and gambling underworld in their city. They rightfully accused the corrupt city politicians and even the police chief, of being in league with Soapy Smith.

In the mid 1880's Soapy opened the Tivoli Club,[6] a saloon and gambling hall. Legend has it that above the entrance was a sign that read "caveat emptor," which is Latin for Let the buyer beware. A meaningful warning, as most certainly the games of chance in the Tivoli Club were rigged. Soapy's younger brother, Bascomb, joined in with the gang, and operated a cigar store, that was in reality, a front for non-stop crooked poker games and other swindles, operating in a back room. Other businesses included fraudulent lottery shops, a "sure-thing" stock exchange, fake watch and bogus diamond auctions, and the sale of stocks to non-existent businesses. Soapy's political clout was so powerful that some of the police officers patrolling the streets would not arrest him or members of the gang. When members of the gang were arrested, a quick release was easily arranged. The Denver city election results trial of 1889 invited media focus on corruption ties and payoffs between Soapy, the mayor and the chief of police.[7] He opened an office in the prominent Chever block, a block away from his Tivoli Club, from which he ran his many operations. The office also fronted as a big business tycoon's office for high end swindles.

Soapy was not without enemies and rivals who would try to take his position on the underworld throne. He faced several assassination attempts and shot several of his assailants. Soapy became increasingly known for his gambling addiction, his black temper and heavy drinking. These were a deadly combination when mixed together.

As bad as Soapy Smith was, he was also known as being very charitable, donating to numerous organizations and non-denominational churches that helped the poor. Soapy was also known to have cooperated with the law when it suited his needs.

[edit] Soapy takes over Creede, Colorado

In 1892, Denver was in the midst of anti-gambling and saloon reforms, in which the city was restricting many of Soapy's enterprises. Smith and many of the Denver gamblers and saloon owners moved to Creede, Colorado, a camp boomtown that had formed around a major silver strike. Soapy moved his empire over to Creede, leaving the Tivoli Club open, but under restricted operation. With the use of prostitutes, Soapy acquired numerous, hard to obtain, lots along the main street of the new camp, and then rented them out to his friends and associates. Once Soapy had gained enough allies in Creede, he announced that he was the camp boss.

Soapy opened the Orleans Club, a gambling hall and saloon, much like the Tivoli Club in Denver. With brother-in-law, and member of the soap gang, William Sidney "Cap" Light, as camp deputy sheriff, Soapy began his second empire. He purchased and briefly exhibited a petrified man nicknamed McGinty[8] for a price of ten cents per viewer. The gimmick was to get the victims to come to him. While customers were waiting in line to pay their dimes, Soapy's shell and three-card monte games were winning the dollars out of their victims pockets.

Soapy Smith provided an order of sorts, protecting his friends and associates from the town's council and expelling violent troublemakers. Many of the influential newcomers were sent to meet him. Soapy grew rich in the process but also was known to give money away freely, using it to build churches, help the poor and bury unfortunate prostitutes.

Creede's boom very quickly waned and the corrupt Denver officials gave word that the reforms there were coming to an end. Soapy took McGinty back to Denver and his Tivoli Club. He left at the right time as Creede lost most of its business district in a huge fire.[9] Buildings lost included Soapy's Orleans Club.

[edit] Back to corrupt Denver

Back in Denver, Smith opened new businesses which were nothing more than fronts for his many short cons. One of these sold railroad tickets to other destinations around the nation for a cheap price. Potential ticket purchasers were told that the ticket agent was out of the office, but would soon return. They were then invited to take part in winning even more savings on their ticket by playing a game. No ticket agent existed, nor did the cheap ticket. It was all a ruse to obtain the victim's money through the use of a rigged game. Soapy's power grew to the point that he admitted to the press that he was a con man and saw nothing wrong with it. In 1896 he told a newspaper reporter, "I consider bunco steering more honorable than the life led by the average politician."[10]

Colorado governor David H. Waite was elected on a populist party platform that included the demand that the elected officials of Denver clean up the corruption infesting the city. The governor's first act was to fire three city officials that he felt were the main instigators of corruption within city hall. The other officials at city hall backed their bosses, fearing they would be next, and refused to vacate the building as ordered. The Governor called out the Colorado state militia to force the men out. They brought with them two cannons and two gatling guns and were ready to use force if need be. Soapy was called to assist the corrupt policemen, firemen and office holders in their fight, and he felt obliged. He was commissioned as a deputy sheriff and with some of his men, he climbed to the top of the center tower with rifles and dynamite bombs to fend off any attackers, should they try. The Governor actually gave the order for troops to fire on city hall, but thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and the orders were stalled. It was decided that the corruption battle would be fought in the courtroom, not on the steets. Soapy Smith would be utilized as a key witness on the stand.

Governor Waite agreed to withdraw his militia to allow the Colorado Supreme Court to decide the case. The Supreme court decided that the governor had authority to replace the commissioners, but he was reprimanded for bringing in the militia, in what became known as the "City Hall war."

Waite began cleaning up Denver and ordered the closure of all gambling dens, saloons and houses of ill repute. Soapy exploited the situation, using the recently acquired deputy sheriff's commissions to stage fake arrests in his own gambling houses, to coincide with the moment his victims had lost a large sum of money in a rigged poker game. The victims were just glad to leave when the "officers" allowed them to walk away from the crime scene rather than face arrest, naturally without recouping their losses.

Eventually, Soapy and his brother Bascomb became too well known for their crimes, and even the most corrupt city officials could no longer protect them. Their influence and Denver based empire began to crumble. When they were charged with attempted murder in the beating of a saloon manager, Bascomb was jailed, but Soapy managed to escape. He left Denver and became a wanted man in Colorado. Lou Blonger and his brother Sam, rivals of the soap gang, took over control as criminal king-pins of the Denver underworld.

Before leaving, Soapy finished up a swindle started in Mexico. There he tried to convince Mexican president Porfirio Diaz that his country needed the formation of a foreign legion, made up of American toughs. Soapy became known as Colonel Smith, and even managed to organize a recruiting office before the deal collapsed. It appears that it was revealed to the Mexican president just who "the Colonel" really was.

[edit] Skagway, Alaska & The Klondike Gold Rush

When the Klondike Gold Rush had begun in 1897, Soapy Smith moved his operations to Skagway, Alaska. He set up his third empire in much the way he had in Denver and Creede. He put the Deputy US Marshal on his payroll, and began collecting allies for a take-over. Soapy opened a fake telegraph office, in which the wires went as far as the wall, and no further. Not only did the telegraph office obtain fees for "sending" messages, but cash laden victims soon found themselves losing even more money in a poker game with new found "friends." Soapy opened a saloon, and named it Jeff Smith's Parlor. There was no gambling inside, as the saloon was used as his office, in which to run his operations from. Although Skagway already had a city hall building, Soapy's saloon became known as "the real city hall". Skagway was gaining a bad reputation as a "hell on earth," chock full of danger for the unwary.

When a group of vigilantes, the "Committee of 101", threatened to drive Soapy Smith and his gang out of the area, Soapy formed his own "law and order society," that advertised 317[11] members, to force the vigilantes into submission, and it worked.

With the sinking of the battleship USS Maine (ACR-1), and the start of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Smith formed his own volunteer army with the approval of the US War Department. It was called the Skaguay Military Company, and he was elected captain. Soapy had himself elected Captain and wrote to president William McKinley and gained official recognition for his army, which he used to strengthen his grip of control over the town.

On July 4, 1898, Soapy was the hero of the day. As grand marshal of the city parade he led his army on a grey horse. On the grandstand he sat beside the territorial governor, and other officials, and seemed to be unstoppable.

[edit] "My god, Don't shoot!" (Soapy's death)

On July 7, 1898, John Stewart, a returning Klondike miner, came to Skagway with a sack of gold estimated to be worth US $2,600. Three of Soapy's gang met up with Stewart, and convinced the miner to participate in a little game of Three-card Monte. Stewart balked at having to pay up his losses, when he lost, and the three men grabbed the sack of gold and ran. The vigilantes re-emerged and demanded that Soapy hand over the gold. Soapy refused to return any gold, claiming that Stewart had lost it "fairly" in a game.

On the evening of July 8, 1898, the vigilantes organized a meeting on the Juneau, Alaska Company wharf. Soapy went down to the wharf to attend the meeting, with a Winchester rifle, model 1892[12], draped over his shoulder. At the entrance to the wharf Soapy was stopped by four guards blocking his way. He began an argument with one of the guards, a man named Frank Reid, who had been a former bartender, and then the self-proclaimed, city surveyor. A gunfight erupted and both men were fatally wounded. Soapy's last words, reportedly aimed at one of his attackers, were "My god, don't shoot!" Letters from J. M. Tanner,[13] one of the guards with Reid that night, clearly show that another guard also fired shots, and was the man who fired the last shot that killed Soapy. Soapy died on the spot with a number of bullet holes in his body and Reid died twelve days later. On Reid's tombstone it was inscribed that "he died for the honor of Skagway." The three gang members who robbed Stewart received jail sentences and the rest of the gang was dispersed. Soapy Smith was buried several yards outside of the city cemetery. Every year on July 8th, there are several wakes held around the U.S. in Soapy Smith's honor. Soapy's grave, as well as his old saloon (moved several times from its original location), is now on the "must see" agenda of almost every tour in Skagway, Alaska.

[edit] In fiction

[edit] Movies

By year of release:

  • The girl Alaska, 1919. This film is believed to be the first that has a portrayal of Soapy Smith. The film was shown in a theater in St. Louis where Soapy's widow and son lived and caused them enough grief to sue the production company.
  • Honky Tonk, 1941. Actor Clark Gable portrayed Soapy Smith in this MGM film, Honky Tonk. Due to legal pressures from the descendants, the name "Soapy Smith" was changed to "Candy Johnson."
  • The Great Jesse James Raid, 1953. Actor Earl Hodgins portrays Soapy in Creede, Colorado (1892) and is involved with the murder of Bob Ford.
  • The Far Country, 1955. Actor John McIntire portrays a likable badman, clearly, but loosely based on Soapy Smith. The film, starring James Stewart, is set in Skagway, Alaska during the Klondike gold rush.
  • The Sting (prequel). This film was never produced, due to the failure of the sequel. Soapy Smith was to be portrayed as the mentor of Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman).
  • The Klondike Fever, 1980. Actor Rod Steiger portrays Soapy, in a Canadian fictional film about the Alaskan and Klondike adventures of Jack London.

[edit] Television

  • The Alaskans (1959-1960). Actor John Dehner portrayed Soapy. In one episode, Remember the Maine, the story of Soapy's army in Skagway is retold.
  • Alias Smith and Jones (1971-1972). Actor Sam Jaffe portrayed Soapy in three episodes: "The Great Shell Game" (aired February 18, 1971), "A Fistful of Diamonds" (aired March 4, 1971), and "Bad Night in Big Butte" (aired March 2, 1972).
  • Deadwood (2004-2006). Actor Gill Gayle plays "the Huckster," a prize soap package salesman based on Soapy, in all three seasons.

[edit] Other

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ sure-thing: slang used by confidence men; a gamble that cannot be lost. "It is a sure-thing that you will win"
  2. ^ from, Soapy Smith: King of the Frontier Con Men, by Frank Robertson and Beth Harris, 1963
  3. ^ slang from bunko men, meaning a swindle that is quick and needs little setup and few helpers
  4. ^ using an inflation calculator: $1 in 1885 is equivalent to approximately $20 today.
  5. ^ slang for men working for the bunko gang, pretending to be a paying on-looker.
  6. ^ located on the S. E. corner of Market and 17th streets
  7. ^ published in the newsapers as "the firm of Londoner, Farley and Smith"
  8. ^ McGinty is still on display. The location will be disclosed with the publishing of Jeff Smith's biography on Soapy.
  9. ^ June 5, 1892
  10. ^ The Road, February 29, 1896
  11. ^ also the address of his saloon
  12. ^ rifle was given to the widow
  13. ^ elected marshal of Skagway after the gunfight

[edit] Sources

  • Jeff Smith, great grandson of Soapy Smith. President, The Soapy Smith Preservation Trust.

[edit] External links

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