tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127229959267257059.post5016116962006615986..comments2024-01-20T16:49:46.154-08:00Comments on Soapy Smith's Soap Box: More on Soap Gang prison time.Jeff Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14680146273701688630noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127229959267257059.post-49208065710206161722010-11-17T07:07:39.628-08:002010-11-17T07:07:39.628-08:00I agree, "amazing!"
I forget whether Be...I agree, "amazing!"<br /><br />I forget whether Berton stated it or another author, but there is a published theory (not mine, lol) that some of the White Pass Trail robberies by the Soapy Smith gang were made up by men who had given up and gone home with nothing to show for it. In order to save face of being a 'failure,' these men concocted stories of being robbed of everything by the Soap Gang, which naturally prevented them from going any further. The perfect alibi.<br /><br />Jeff SmithJeff Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680146273701688630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127229959267257059.post-84811725692774151682010-11-17T02:08:48.265-08:002010-11-17T02:08:48.265-08:00Pierre Berton,about the White Pass Trail:
"...Pierre Berton,about the White Pass Trail:<br /><br /> "For every man who reached the summit, another turned back. Some threw themselves, exhausted, on the side of the trail and gave up. Some grew deathly ill from the rotten horsemeat served in trailside cafes. Some sickened and died from grippe, pneumonia, or meningitis. Some ran out of food and could go no farther. Some were turned back by the Northwest Mounted Police, who guarded the border.<br />Others refused to admit defeat. One used a string of reindeer to haul his supplies through the pass. Another a woman, strapped dough on her back, which....after it rose with the heat of her body and was made into bread...she sold it at a handsome profit. One man and his wife actually moved two stern-wheel steamboats in pieces over the summit.....<br /><br />Source: 'Klondike Quest' by Pierre Berton.<br /><br />Amazing!Richnoreply@blogger.com