The earliest use of the prize package soap racket that I have come across (1856)

1856 SOAP SELL RACKET
"Vox Populi" Print,
Lowell, Massachusetts.
courtesy of Capitalism by Gaslight

hen researching the prize package soap sell racket for my book, Alias Soapy Smith, one of the mysteries I wanted to solve, was whether Soapy Smith had invented the scam, as some earlier biographies suggested. I sought out the earliest examples of the swindle I could find, and quickly learned that Soapy was not the first to use the con, although there is no doubt that he is the most famous of the soap spielers. In searching old newspapers I found a few, but none earlier than the 1870s. I am thrilled to have accidentally come across this newspaper ad for the confidence trick, dating way back to 1856!

     The following is from the Capitalism by Gaslight page.

“Grand gift distributions” and “prize packages” awarded cash and gifts to people who purchased tickets through the mail, attended special theatrical performances, or purchased products. Similar to lotteries (some charged they were too similar), gift distributions promised people would qualify to receive amounts of money and luxurious goods that were otherwise out of their reach.
      Using a variety of techniques, prize package operators were swindlers by degrees. Major Ross induced customers to buy more bars of soap than they needed by entering into drawings for everything from handkerchiefs and gold watches to tracts of land. The fine print, however, reveals that people had only a one-in-20,000 chance of winning the grand prize – a house – if it existed at all.

Following is the text from the ad.

"Let those now wash who never washed before,
And those that often wash, now wash the more!"

MAJOR ROSS
THE WORLD-RENOWNED SOAP MAN!
Is in town with pints, quarts, gallons, hogsheads, tierces of soap. Yes, any quantity of soap:
WHO WILL BUY?
A BOX OF SOAP AND
A PRESENT!
Ranging from 25 cts to $500, for only $1. WHO WILL BUY!
The Major may be found at town hall,
Thursday, March 27, at 7 o'clock, P.M.
Admittance Free. Ladies respectfully invited.
Come, See, and Hear
Ross, Soap Man.

      The list of prizes given is hard to decipher from this digital copy, but it includes a plot of land, gold watches, gold and silver charms and jewelry, all the way down to handkerchiefs. All told, over $1000 in merchandise is offered up as prizes. Below the list of prizes is the "remarks," which unfortunately are too small to read and be able to copy faithfully, but enough of it can be partially made out to form the opinion that it is a "warning" that not all who buy a chance will win a prize. It also explains that with each sale of soap, an envelope is given, in which contains a slip of paper. That slip of paper informs the purchaser if there is a prize to be awarded. Naturally, as in Soapy Smith's soap racket, Major Ross surely had shills and boosters working with him, hidden in place-sight within the crowd, who would expertly play the part of purchaser who "won" a prize. These bunko-sharps would make a spectacle of themselves, loudly proclaiming, and then claiming their prize in front of all to see. At this point the soap man would announce that certain larger prizes still remain unclaimed, which always excited the crowd to purchase up the remaining cakes of soap. 

Source:
Capitalism by Gaslight

 










Prize Package Soap Sell Racket
(There are numerous posts and they're not in order of importance so make sure to scroll) 

Prize Package Soap Sell Racket: pages 8, 15, 37-39, 41, 43, 45-56, 48, 52, 55-56, 58, 75, 95-97, 106, 119-20, 149, 159, 163, 410, 464, 485.

Not the least amusing trait of “Soapy” Smith’s character is the eager interest which he takes in the preservation of law and order. The interest is, of course, not purely unselfish, for he realizes that crimes of violence create a sort of public opinion likely to be unhealthy for his own peaceful, if peculiar, industry. He feels that there are times when fine distinctions get confused, and therefore he is always foremost for law and order coupled with life, liberty and the pursuit of a sure thing.

—San Francisco Examiner
Alias Soapy Smith, p. 493.

DECEMBER 7

1787: Delaware is the first state to ratify the U.S. constitution.
1796: John Adams is elected the second president of the U.S.
1836: Martin Van Buren is elected the eighth president of the U.S.
1863: George Ives, a member of the “innocents” outlaw gang, robs and kills Nick Thiebalt in Ruby Valley, Montana Territory.
1868: The outlaw James-Younger gang robs the Gallatin, Missouri bank. John W. Sheets, a former captain in the Union Army, is shot and killed by Jesse James.
1871: The town of Kit Carson, Colorado Territory is surrounded by thousands of buffalo, who are ranging 200 miles farther west than usual. The Indians of the region say that it is a prediction of a bad winter.
1874: Twenty-six Indians surrender to Captain Keyes and the 10th Cavalry at Kingfisher Creek, Indian Territory.
1874: Four men rob the Tishomingo Bank in Cornith, Mississippi. Newspapers and some historians say it is the work of the James-Younger gang.
1875: John Clark brings the first flock of sheep into Arizona Territory.
1878: The first train to enter New Mexico Territory comes from Colorado via the Raton Pass.
1888: Buffalo Bill Cody visits Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Did Soapy Smith go to Virginia City in 1885?

The Soap Selling Fakir
Lyon County Times
Nevada
July 4, 1885

(Click image to enlarge)

 

 id "Soapy" Smith go to Virginia City in 1885?

 

 

 

 

 

In the Lyon County Times, July 4, 1885, there is a mention of a "soap selling fakir."

      The soap selling fakir who offered such splendid inducements to Carsonites and a few Daytonites on circus day, is said to have cleared up about $800 in Virginia City. Where is the fool killer?

      The following day, July 5, 1885, the Weekly Elko Independent (Nevada), quotes the Virginia Chronicle (Virginia City, Nevada)

The Soap Selling Fakir
Weekly Elko Independent
Nevada
July 5, 1885

(Click image to enlarge)

The Soap Selling Fakir.

     The fakir who offered such splendid inducements to our citizens to acquire sudden wealth by purchasing a cake of his soap and receiving an envelope alleged to contain a $100 bank note in return, is said to have cleaned up $800 last Monday. Several prominent citizens contributed materially toward swelling the hawker’s receipts to such a handsome sum. Among those who invest most liberally, was a learned professor, a prominent hardware merchant, a druggist and a well-known carpenter. The men are not particularly anxious to achieve notoriety as speculators in a scheme where they have since learned that “the more you put down the less you take up,” and in contrast with which three-card monte and ten dice games are sure things to bet on.—Virginia Chronicle.

     Is this Soapy Smith in Nevada in 1885? There are several mentions of the prize package soap sell racket being operated in Nevada, specifically in Virginia City, and the timing was indeed right for the prize package operator to be none other than Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith.

     In 1884-85 Soapy was working to create an empire in Denver, Colorado, and is known to have traveled about the Western states and territories during this period.
     In May 1885 Soapy had inadvertently sold his prize soap to a local resident in Denver. Soapy had a rule of not involving the local Denver citizens in his scams, and this was the first time, in print, that he swindled a Denverite. This was also the first time the alias of “Soapy Smith" was used in print. It placed a "target" on Soapy's back. The city of Denver had sold Soapy the business license, and to protect its reputations, the city quickly passed an ordinance forbidding 'cash prize schemes,' pointed directly at Soapy's prize soap sales.
     Nine days later, Soapy was again in the news. A fight broke out between a victim of the soap sell and one of Soapy's men at the corner of Arapaho and Sixteenth Streets. On June 23, 1885, the city decided to rescind his peddler’s license. Soapy left Denver for an extended cooling off period, fully intending to return. 

     During the periods when Soapy was not in Denver, he toured around the country operating the soap sell racket. Finding articles of prize package soap operations, let alone any provenance that the soap "fakirs" listed in the newspapers were "Soapy" Smith, is difficult as very rarely did the con men stay around long enough to be arrested and/or interviewed.  
     For forty-two days, from June 23 to August 1, 1885, there are no sign of Soapy in Denver or the newspapers. Ten days after leaving Denver, on July 4, 1885, the first newspaper report of the “soap fakir” in Virginia City appears.

     Newspaper accounts regarding soap racket operators and Soapy Smith stopped being published. Soapy's name does appears again on August 2, 1885. He is in Rawlins, Wyoming, where he is the timekeeper during boxing match being fought there. Manager of one of the boxers is Soapy's personal friend, famed lawman and gambler Bat Masterson.
     Soapy returns to Denver and in August 1889 is held by the grand jury to answer for assault with intent to kill.

He was present yesterday in the criminal division of the district court and gave a bond of $1,000, John Kinneavy becoming his bondsman.

     In that four years between 1885-1889, there are no other reports of "soap fakirs" in Virginia City or Nevada. Soapy leaves Denver on August 26, and in his September 2, 1889, letter to Mary, he wrote that he was going to Spokane Falls. No records of his activities there nor anywhere during his absence have yet been found, perhaps until now.
     After four years of  no reported "prize soap swindles," the Carson Daily Appeal for October 9, 1889, publishes the following simple message.

The Soap Selling Fakir
Carson Daily Appeal
Nevada
October 9, 1889

“Look out for the swindling soap games.”

     Eight days later, on October 17, 1889, after a fifty-day absence, Soapy returns to Denver. Note the timing coincidences in this story from 1885 to 1889. Though it can certainly be a coincidence, it can also be addressed as circumstantial evidence that Soapy Smith paid a visit to Virginia City in 1885.

Visit the Soapy Smith Soap Box blog

 

 
 

"If he knows the exact position of only one of the 52 cards, he will eventually win all the money in sight."

—John Scarne

The Soap Game: Fools of Fortune by John P. Quinn, 1890

Soapy Smith performing
the prize package soap sell racket
From Soapy by Mike Miller

For your enjoyment and education today is the general operation of the prize package soap sell racket from the book, Fools of Fortune, by John Philip Quinn 1890.

THE "SOAP GAME."

This is a trick of confidence operators which often proves exceedingly successful in extracting money from the pockets of men who consider themselves fairly well versed in the knowledge of the world. The outfit is very simple, and by no means expensive. A number of small cakes of soap of no particular value are procured, or sometimes soap is bought in bars, which are cut into pieces of the desired size. A quantity of cheap pasteboard boxes, each having a drawer somewhat larger than is the piece of soap which it is to contain, are procured and soap placed inside of them. In order to work the game, a room-usually one opening off the street-is rented. The "soap man" takes his position on a raised platform, and when a crowd has gathered to see what is going on he takes out a cake of cleansing soap, i.e., a preparation for removing grease and similar substances from cloth. He proceeds to expatiate upon its merits, illustrating his remarks by experimental demonstration. If he is a good talker, and intersperses his remarks with a few interesting anecdotes, he succeeds in attracting and keeping the interest of his audience. When he has proceeded far enough in his remarks he informs his listeners that the manufacturers of this wonderful preparation are seeking to intro- duce it in a somewhat novel way; that they propose to place a given amount of currency in a certain number of boxes together with a cake of soap in each. These boxes, he says, will be thoroughly mixed and every purchaser will be allowed to select any three boxes (the price of which will be $1.00) from the entire number offered. To prove his sincerity and truthfulness he draws from his pocket several bills, of denominations ranging from $1.00 to $20.00, and announces that he will place them inside the boxes in the presence of the crowd. He takes the bills in his hand, one at a time, folds them up carefully, and apparently inserts them in the boxes. Each box, after the bank note has been placed in it, is dropped into a large leather satchel. When he has disposed of all the bills, he takes the satchel in both hands and shakes it, with a view to thoroughly mixing the boxes. He then opens it and offers to allow any one present to select three boxes on the payment of one dollar. It is the easiest thing in the world to sell the soap, but no legitimate purchaser ever succeeds in obtaining more than a single dollar bill. The reason is that the vendor adroitly "palms" off the bills of larger denominations, substituting therefor dollar bills which he has previously rolled up and which he holds in his hand at the time that he apparently inserts the large bills into the boxes in the presence of the spectators. In other words, when the boxes have been dropped into the satchel and mixed none of them contain a note of a larger denomination than one dollar, the confidence man having still in his possession all of the large bills. When it is remembered that not more than one box in ten contains any money whatever, the chances of drawing a prize are readily seen to be exceedingly small. The buyers, however, believe that they have seen the large bills placed in the boxes before their eyes, and part with their money very readily. It may be easily seen that "cappers" are almost indispensable in this as in so many other confidence games. It is not necessary that any signal should pass between the confederates. The "capper" usually places his three boxes in his pocket as soon as he has purchased them. Someone in the crowd is always certain to ask him to open them. At first he objects, but finally yields to persuasion. He takes out three boxes from his pocket and one of them is always found to contain a large bill. The explanation of his apparent good luck is very simple. When he puts the three boxes in his pocket he had there another one, precisely similar in size and appearance, containing the bank note which he exhibits to the crowd. When he drew three boxes from his pocket, he took the one which he previously placed there together with two of those which he had taken from the bag.

Tom Biss as Soapy Smith
Skagway, Alaska
circa 1970s

Prize package soap sell swindle: pages 8, 15, 37-39, 41, 43, 45-56, 48, 51, 55-56, 58, 75, 95-97, 106, 119-120, 149, 159, 163, 410, 464, 485.

Jeff Smith

.

Is this the first record of "Soapy" Smith running the soap sell racket in Denver?

IS THIS SOAPY SMITH?
Denver Rocky Mountain News
May 4, 1881

(Click image to enlarge)

 

 

IRST EVIDENCE OF SOAPY SMITH IN DENVER?

 

 

 

 

     In my book, Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, I use George T. Buffum's eye-witness account as the earliest account of Soapy Smith performing the infamous prize package soap sell in Denver. The year is 1879. Mr. Buffum recorded what he witnessed in a 1906 collection of sketches of his frontier experiences.

I first saw him in the spring of 1879. Standing in front of the old Grand Central Hotel one day, I saw approaching me a man driving a bay horse hitched to a light buggy. He stopped by my side and lifted a box from the bottom of the buggy seat, and I noticed that it contained several cakes of soap. Looking at me squarely in the face, he said, “Will you allow me to present you with fifty dollars?” I declined with thanks, though such benevolence might have received more consideration had I been more familiar with his game.[1]

     In an 1889 Rocky Mountain News interview, when asked how long he had lived in Denver, Soapy replied, “Since 1879, but not steady...,”[2]. This does match the year George Buffum claims to have seen Soapy, but it is not solid evidence. 

     Recently, I took the time to research the Rocky Mountain News, using the search engines on GenealogyBank newspaper archives and came across the news clipping at top.

The soap and lottery man is the centre[sic] of attraction on the streets now evenings, and the hard working laborer pays fifty cents for one cent's worth of soap and the privilege of drawing a blank.

Could this be the first newspaper evidence of Soapy operating the prize package soap racket in Denver? There is always the chance that it is another bunko man operating the soap racket. 

     Business licenses obtained by 21-year-old Jefferson Randolph Smith II during this period confirm that he was a nomad confidence man traveling around the West. Most of the licensing was not recorded or has been lost in time, but a few examples survive to give a glimpse of his travels. The earliest known, was sent to “J. R. Smith Esqr.,” in Fort Worth, Texas, in response to his request from the Georgia comptroller general in Atlanta, dated March 3, 1881.

Dear Sir- Your favor of the 24th to grant lender the lease of this state you will have to pay a sum of twenty-five dollars for each day’s exhibition in every city or town of five thousand inhabitants; twenty dollars in city or town of four thousand & under five thousand inhabitants; fifteen dollars in city or town with less than four thousand inhabitants; said tax to be paid to the tax collector in each county where the exhibition takes place. Yours Respectfully W. A. Wright, Comp Genl.

Compared with licensing costs secured elsewhere, the Georgia fees were very high, making it doubtful Jeff ever worked his criminal trade within the borders of his home state.

     At the end of the month, March 30, 1881, Soapy is in a New Orleans courtroom for "assault and battery." Thirty-six days later the Denver soap racket story is published, having given Soapy plenty of time to be in Denver to operate the swindle. The next location known for Soapy is dated eight months later, when Soapy, listed as being from "Fort Worth," and Soapy's con-man partner, John T. Waller, listed as being from "Denver," register at a hotel in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

     There were other prize package soap swindlers operating around the nation. and this is the first newspaper mention I could find regarding them in Colorado. Considering the timeline of Soapy's whereabouts during this period, it is very possible, perhaps even probable, that Jeff R. Smith was running the con game in Denver, where he would earn the alias of "Soapy," known across the West for the soap swindle.

     Fourteen months later, July 16, 1882, the Denver Rocky Mountain News published another incident involving the soap racket swindle.

 

Is this also Soapy?
Denver Rocky Mountain News
July 16, 1882

  (Click image to enlarge)

The cheap soap man with his prize money scheme made his appearance here Thursday. After he had opened up his wares on the street and inaugurated his deceptive prize scheme, he was promptly taken in tow by an officer of the law. He was given a chance to get out of town in a hurry. 

Is this Soapy? Or another confidence man?

 

     Seven days prior to the above publication, Soapy is running the soap sell in Astoria, Oregon. This is confirmed in one of his notebooks. It is standard during this nomad period that Soapy rarely stayed long in anyone town. Sometimes he left the state, working a period of time in another state, only to return to the previous state, sometimes even the previous town! This was plenty of time for Soapy to arrive in Denver, work the swindle, and travel back to Portland, Oregon where about fifteen days later, on August 2nd, he is once again operating the soap con.

     Once again, Soapy's timeline does not contradict with the possibility that he operated the soap swindle in both published incidences, or one of them, or neither of them.

     The next example is still possibly Soapy's handiwork.

 

Is this Soapy?
Denver Rocky Mountain News
July 29, 1882

(Click image to enlarge)

The patent soap peddlers, who make pretensions of giving prize money packages with their soap, were taken in by the limb of the law Thursday evening immediately after they had commenced their operations on the street corner.

Is this Soapy? Possibly, but less likely than the other two published examples. The clipping mentions that the soap men were "taken in" on Thursday, which would be July 27, 1882. If Soapy was given bond that evening, he had six days to get to Portland, Oregon by August 2, 1882, the date the Daily Standard published the article, "The Latest Racket," detailing a soap racket operating there.

 

CONCLUSION: The next best piece of evidence would be to find "Jeff R. Smith" listed as signing a Denver hotel register near the dates of the three newspaper stories. Even better would be to find one of Soapy's personal notebooks detailing his travels during this period. Though these are not provenance, I will take the presumption that one, two or possibly all three, are about Soapy Smith. 

 

NOTES:

[1] Buffum, pp. 26-27.
[2] Rocky Mountain News, August 6, 1889.

Visit the Soapy Smith Soap Box blog

 

 

"All the ancient histories, as one of our wits say, are just fables that have been agreed upon."

—Voltaire, Jeannot et Colin

The "Soap Sell" in New York, 1889...

It is known that Soapy Smith was not the only con man performing the prize package soap sell racket. Circumstantial evidence shows that he may not have been the first either. Below is an 1889 newspaper clipping describing the "soap sell" and other fascinating swindles in operation on the streets of New York City.

The New York Sun
April 29, 1889,

———
ASSORTED SWINDLERS.
———
Some of the Clever Gentlemen who are
Waiting for the Visitors From the Country.
———

The big scoop net that the police are throwing out to gather in the thieves and disreputable characters who are ready to make prey of our country cousins when they come to town to see the centennial show has not yet been drawn tight upon the bunko sharpers and the petty fakirs.

The bunko workers, jovial chaps who meet you in the street, shake you by the hand, call you by a wrong name, apologize, and when you have told your right name hurry away with it to a confederate who will rob you gracefully, are first to be avoided.

Another fakir is the worker of the soap game, who lets you, as if by accident, see him tuck a $2 bill into a tiny box and drop it into a bag, but who, when you pick the box out of the bag show you that the $2 bill was in the one just alongside it. Still another swindler that the police are after is the man "in hard luck," who will offer to sell a genuine $4 meerschaum pipe to take home to the farm for 50 cents, although you could get it in a store for 5 cents if you only knew it was composition.

The man who has the celebrated Mexican lily seed is expected here with a choice assortment of “only a few more” samples of the packet that you put in water, and which in less than three days will begin to sprout into superb lilies. The seeds will be offered at the great sacrifice of a dollar a packet. But any policeman will know that the dollar packet contains some oats of no appreciable value.

Beware, too, of the sad-eyed and forlorn man who will hang around ferries and elevated railroad stations, and will offer you an eighteen karat gold ring for the ridiculous small sum of a quarter because he is one the verge of starvation. The law doesn’t take kindly to this method of disposing of brass rings worth five cents a dozen.

The man who has the celebrated Mexican lily seed is expected here with a choice assortment of “only a few more” samples of the packet that you put in water, and which in less than three days will begin to sprout into superb lilies. The seeds will be offered at the great sacrifice of a dollar a packet. But any policeman will know that the dollar packet contains some oats of no appreciable value.

Beware, too, of the sad-eyed and forlorn man who will hang around ferries and elevated railroad stations, and will offer you an eighteen karat gold ring for the ridiculous small sum of a quarter because he is one the verge of starvation. The law doesn’t take kindly to this method of disposing of brass rings worth five cents a dozen.

Soapy Smith in San Francisco 1883-84.

On this day: January 3, 1884, Soapy Smith was arrested a second time in 3 days for operating his prize package soap sell racket on the streets of San Francisco. The following comes from my book, Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel.

On December 26, 1883, he paid $4 for a vendor’s license in Phoenix, Arizona. Six days later, on New Year’s Day, he was arrested in San Francisco for operating the “soap racket.” The Daily Evening Bulletin gave a detailed description of his methods.

Jeff Smith’s “Soap Racket.”

A sharp young man, Jeff Smith by name, who has been working the “soap racket,” as it is called, to large crowds on the street corners in the business part of the city for several weeks, was obligated to suspend operations at the corner of California and Front streets this morning at the request of Detectives Ross, Whittaker and Colby. They compelled him to fold up his camp-stool, strap his valise and go with them to the city prison, where he was charged on the register with conducting a lottery game. He appeared a trifle disturbed at the interruption, for it is not probable that he will gull simple countrymen for some time to come. For some time past complaints have come to the police regarding certain swindling soap vendors, whose plan of operations have been … about the same as Moses’ plaint to the Vicar of Wakefield after his return from the fair. Smith it seems has been in the habit of setting up his stock by opening his valise containing small packages of soap wherever he thought he could attract a crowd. His soap sold for fifty cents a package or three for one dollar, but the attraction was that he rolled greenbacks, one dollar and five dollars, in the packages before the eyes of the crowd, but by skillful manipulation the purchasers never obtained a lucky package. About a month ago another vendor was arrested, but allowed to go on his promising to leave the city. Smith was arrested at the ocean beach on New Year’s day, but as he also promised to leave, was allowed to go.

That was just the day before, so this time Jeff was detained for seven days before release “by Police Judge Lawler, who held that the offense charged did not come under the provisions of the ordinance.” According to the newspaper, Jeff had been in San Francisco for several weeks, but seven days prior he was in Arizona. It is possible, then, that the soap peddler from a month previous had also been Jeff, that he had come from Iowa to San Francisco and on to Phoenix and returned.

The police court ordered Jeff to vacate San Francisco. He disobeyed and was again arrested on St. Valentine’s Day for once more engaging in the soap sell racket. He was not in jail very long, though, as evidence of violating any city ordinance was lacking. The San Francisco Call reported that once again “Judge Lawler sustained the motion to dismiss, on grounds that the facts did not bring the case within the law.” Possibly Jeff escaped prosecution through bribery, but more probable is that San Francisco in 1884 had few regulations that pertained to bunco men and their games.

San Francisco: pages 40-41, 60, 82, 85, 109-10, 118-19, 152, 242, 361, 409, 411-12, 418, 425, 428-29, 432-33, 450, 463-65, 472, 492, 504, 527, 545, 574, 587.

Jeff Smith

.

Soap with a valuable ring inside: A modern swindle of Soapy Smith proportions.

Soap with a prize inside!

ings worth $10 to $7500 with each bar of soap!


My good friend, Leah, up in Seattle, Washington clued me in on a soap ring. No not the bath tub variety, but actual soap, with a diamond ring prize inside. It has to be real because they are giving each buyer 10% off their first order (sarcasm).

The firm is called Jewelscent. For $15.00 a bar you can get a $10 ring (their appraisal). Once you have your soap "enjoy the luxurious lather of your Moroccan oil soap. As the soap wears down, your surprise jewel will be contained in a plastic pouch. Simply pull it out, dry, and remove the jewel from the pouch. Enjoy the rest of your soap and your dazzling new jewel!"

On their FAQ (frequently asked questions) page they state.

All of the rings we include in our products are worth anywhere from $10 to $100. If it’s valued more than that and up to $7,500, you will find a golden token with a claim number. Contact us, and we’ll ship out your prize in a separate package with a certificate of value.

      Could it be this easy? What a perfect time to swindle the victim a second time. I'm pretty certain there is no $7,000 ring to be had, but I bet anyone that gets that "golden token" (if there is one) will get a very confusing document that requires more money and a legal loophole (an 'out') so that no big prize is ever won, or received.

What, me worry?

      Although the site is "safe" and "inspected and monitored" (by whom) I recommend using Soapy's old message in Latin that hung on the entrance to the Tivoli Club in Denver, "Caveat Emptor," in purchasing this product. They do make a great souvenir example of a swindle game that is very related to the prize package soap sell racket performed by Soapy Smith.

 








Prize package racket

Prize package soap sell racket: pages 8, 15, 37-39, 41, 43, 45-56, 58, 75, 95-97, 106, 119-20, 149, 159, 163, 410, 464, 485.

"Dear Mr. con man
you wicked old sinner now
ain't you ashamed your con-
duct is simply a fright
With your jackpot to sweeten
And straights to be beaten
And chips that pass in the night"

— L.R.P. 1909

OCTOBER 30

1735: John Adams, the future second president of the U.S., is born in Braintree, Massachusetts. His son, John Quincy Adams, will become the sixth president.

1831: Escaped black slave Nathaniel "Nat" Turner is apprehended in Southampton County, Virginia, several weeks after leading the bloodiest slave uprising (August 21, 1831) in American history, resulting in 60 white deaths and at least 200 black deaths. Turner is convicted, sentenced to death, and hanged on November 11, 1831.

1857: Soldiers from Fort McIntosh, Texas pursue and attack a band of Comanche Indians who had been raiding Laredo, Texas.

1864: Last Chance Gulch, in Montana Territory, is renamed Helena. Helena becomes a gold rush, the second biggest placer gold deposit in Montana, producing about $19 million in gold in just four years. In 1875, the city becomes the capital of Montana Territory, and in 1894, the capital of the new state of Montana.

1866: The outlaw James-Younger gang robs the Alexander and Company Bank in Lexington, Missouri of $2,011.50.

1868: Construction begins on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad in Topeka, Kansas.

1875: The Reverend O. P. Mains persuades bad man Clay Allison to beat a confession out of Cruz Vega, in a New Mexico Territory jail. Vega is suspected of assisting in the murder of Reverend F. J. Tolby. Vega implicated Manuel Cardenas as the murderer, and then vigilantes hung Vega from a pole. Vega was suffering so Allison shot the man dead. The body was taken down and dragged through the streets, and then left in the desert without a burial. On November 10th vigilantes stormed a jail and shot Cardenas to death.

1875: The constitution of Missouri is ratified by popular vote.

1882: George Ruby, a black Reconstruction politician, dies of malaria in New Orleans, Louisiana. Born and educated in the North, Ruby served with the Freedmen's Bureau, and was elected to the Texas State Senate in 1869. At the end of Reconstruction he retired and moved to Louisiana.

1893: The U.S. Senate gives final approval to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. This act destroyed the silver boom towns, such as Creede, Colorado, where Soapy Smith ruled as underworld boss. It is also partly at fault for the Panic of 1893.

1894: The time clock is patented by Daniel Cooper of Rochester, New York.

The prize package envelope sell racket on eBay

The prize package envelope sell racket

(Click image to enlarge)

he more things change, the more they stay the same. This old saying is especially true with human nature, which has not changed in a thousand years. The same old swindles Soapy Smith and his Soap Gang used to dupe the unwary with, are nearly as good today as they were 125-years ago. One might think that Soapy's prize package soap sell racket, in which he pretended to wrap money into a few packages of soap and auctioned them off one at a time, after mixing in wrapped cakes of soap containing no money. Rather than standing on a busy street corner as Soapy did in his day, the sharpers of today use technology to their advantage. I found four examples on eBay searching under the key words, "mystery envelope," and I'm certain I could find many more varieties of the same scam searching under different key words. The difference between Soapy and today's cons is that they are using envelops rather than soap bars.

      The photograph at the top of this post is located on eBay here. Following is the schtick used in that "sale."

That's right ladies and gentleman you are bidding on a mystery envelope This envelope is guaranteed to have an item inside it valued at least $5.00 USD. Could it be a rookie baseball card? a wrist watch? a joke book? a celebrity autograph? a gift card? a knife? Glassware? A Video Game? CASH????? Who ever wins the auction just message me what number of Envelope you wish to purchase. And if you happen to win a prize I will mail the prize first class Mail or if you happen to win Cash I will issue the cash by Paypal. Thanks and Best of luck. Buy it and find out! any questions please ask SHIPPING INFORMATION: Please contact me with any issues you have before leaving negative feedback. I am sure we can find a solution that would be acceptable for both parties. I offer shipping discounts on multiple item purchases. The buyer must notify the seller after the first item has ended that they have additional items they are bidding on for the discount to apply. I ship 1 day after payment has cleared. Shipping charges are based on U.S. delivery. No international shipping of fixed blade knives. Please remit payment within 3 days of auction close. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your purchase, please don't hesitate to email or contact me. Thank you for your interest.

 Trust me, you won't get anything of equal value of what you pay.

P.S. I sent the seller a link to this post to see if he/she cares to give their opinion. They are more than welcome to leave a comment below.

Oh! You can see me…. By the dawn’s early light; With red rings ‘round my eyes from gambling all night.

Victories – so proudly they hailed from the twilights first gleaming. Gave proof through the night, the “House” gave me a “creaming.”

— Postcard poem

MAR 30

1539: Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto lands in Florida with 600 soldiers to search for gold.
1783: The Pennsylvania Evening Post, the first daily newspaper in the U.S., is published by Benjamin Towner.

1848: W. G. Young patents the ice cream freezer.

1854: The U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas are established.

1865: The first recorded celebration of (later called Memorial Day) takes place.

1868: Decoration Day officially becomes Memorial Day (see “1865”).

1879: William Vanderbilt renames New York City's Gilmore’s Garden to Madison Square Garden.

1883: Twelve people in New York City are killed attempting to get off the Brooklyn Bridge when it was rumored that it was collapsing.

1883: Soapy Smith purchases a street vendors license to sell his prize package soap in Washington City, Iowa.

1889: The brassiere is invented.

1896: The first automobile accident occurres in New York City.

1903: the first motorcycle hill climb is held in Riverdale, New York.

1911: Ray Harroun wins the first Indianapolis Sweepstakes. The 500-mile auto race is later named the Indianapolis 500. Harroun's average speed was 74.6 miles per hour.

Soapy Smith runs the soap racket in Tombstone, Arizona, 1882

Soapy Smith - "street fakir"
The Daily Nugget
January 28, 1882
Tombstone, Arizona

 

 

 STREET FAKIR WAS WORKING THE 'SOAP RACKET'"

     It's been a number of years that we've known that Soapy Smith went to Tombstone, Arizona. I knew that he operated swindles there, likely the prize package soap sell racket, but never had any solid provenance, until now. Good friend, author, and Tombstone historian, Peter Brand came across a report in The Daily Nugget and sent it to me. Below is the entire page he sent. 

The Daily Nugget
January 28, 1882
Tombstone, Arizona
Article is in 1st col, 8 par

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     The notice states that a "fakir" operated the "soap racket" on the corner of "Allen and Fourth streets" on January 27, 1882. This is one day after Soapy signed the register at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, so there is hardly a doubt that the "fakir" was Soapy. He also signed the register of the same hotel on January 31st and February 16th. There may be more newspaper stories waiting to be discovered.
     I have xerox copies of one of Soapy's personal notebooks. Soapy returned to Tombstone and sold his prize package soap beginning on December 17, 1883. In his own handwriting, he wrote up a week's tally.

Sales in Tombstone.
A.T. Dec. 1883
Dec 17th Mon. .......$65.00
Dec 18th T [Tue] ....$58.00
Dec 19th W [Wed] ..$53.00
Dec 20th T [Thur] ...$57.00
Dec 21st F [Fri] .......$23.00
Dec 22nd Sat ...........$58.50
_______________________
................................$314.50

$314.50 is the equivalent of $8,808.09 in 2020 dollars, for five days of work! Not a bad haul for selling soap!
     In looking at the map below we see that the corner of Allen and Fourth is just steps away from the Cosmopolitan Hotel. It is also the same distance from the Grand Hotel, where the "cow-boys," the Earp enemies, were registered. It is easy to imagine Soapy swindling one of the cowboys made famous via movies, such as "Tombstone."

Tombstone, Arizona
Red circle show the corner Soapy worked

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Tombstone, Arizona - 1886
Sanborn map
Red circle show the corner Soapy worked

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     Numerous times I have walked this corner, not realizing how close to unholy ground I was.I always get a photo taken in front of the wooden fence where the Cosmopolitan Hotel stood, and now I will do the same at Allen and Fourth Streets. I need to run the prize package soap sell racket there!

Allen and 4th Streets
Tombstone, Arizona - Today
Corner where Soapy operated
Google maps

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Jeff Smith
Where the Cosmopolitan Hotel stood
Tombstone, Arizona

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⟶ SPECIAL THANKS TO FRIEND PETER BRAND ⟵
(Historian/author who discovered and shared the article with us.)
Check out his books at
Tombstone Vendetta.

Tombstone, Arizona
March 23, 2009
September 25, 2009
November 13, 2009
August 19, 2010
December 26, 2010
April 24, 2017
September 4, 2020

"Your best chance to get a Royal Flush in a casino is in the bathroom."

—V. P. Pappy