June 1, 2025

Soapy Smith's "STAR" notebook, 1884, Denver: Page #20

Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 20 - Original copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)





oapy Smith's early empire growth in Denver.
Operating the prize package soap sell racket in 1884.

This is page 20, the continuation of page 19, and dated May 6 - May 29, 1884, as well as the continuation of pages 18-19, the beginning of Soapy Smith's criminal empire building in Denver, Colorado. 
     It is the continuation of deciphering Soapy Smith's "star" notebook from the Geri Murphy's collection. A complete introduction to this notebook can be seen on page 1.
These notebook pages have never been published before! They continue to be of revealing interest. The picture that the pages draw is of young 22 year-old Jefferson pursuing "soap sales" over a very wide spread of territory and in a very tenacious, even driven, way.
     The notebook(s) are in Soapy's handwriting, and sometimes pretty hard to decipher. A large part of this series of posts is to transcribe the pages, one-at-a-time, and receive help from readers on identifying words I am having trouble with, as well as correcting any of my deciphered words. My long time friend, and publisher, Art Petersen, has been a great help in deciphering and adding additional information.
     I will include the original copy, an enhanced copy, and a negative copy of each page. Also included will be a copy with typed out text, as tools to aid in deciphering the notes.
     There are a total of 24 pages. This means that there may be upwards of 24 individuals posts for this one notebook. Links to the past and future pages (pages 1, 2, 3, etc.) will be added at the bottom of each post for ease of research. When completed there will be a sourced partial record of Soapy's activities and whereabouts for 1882-1884.
     Important to note that the pages of the notebook do not appear to be in chronological order, with Soapy making additional notes on a town and topic several pages later.
     Pages 18-20 are very important as they are descriptions of Soapy's early beginnings of his criminal empire in Denver. From my research I know that Charles L. "Doc" Baggs and "Big Ed" Chase are the two main bunko bosses in Denver, and Soapy is not yet fully entrenched in the Denver underworld at this time.
     Although the communication of twenty-one-year-old Soapy Smith is with himself, the writing also communicates with us about him 142 years later (and potentially far beyond today).
     The bulk of page 20 is a list of sales (soap) in Denver, along with a few plans for future work trips.      
     Below are my attempts to attempts to make the writing easier to see and decipher.

Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 20 - Enhanced copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)


Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 20 - Negative copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)


Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 20 - Deciphered copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)


Page 20
  • Line 1: "May 6th two sales $71.00" [1884]
  • Line 2: "May 7th two sales $75.00" 
  • Line 3: "May 8th 000 00.00"
  • Line 4: " ' ' [May] 9 000" [scratched out]
  • Line 5: "May 10 two sales [$]43.00"
  • Line 6: "May 11 Sunday 0000"
  • Line 7: "May 12 two sales [$]2800"
  • Line 8: " ' ' [May] 13 00 0000"
  • Line 9: "May 14 one sale [$]2600"
  • Line 10: "May 15 one sale [$]2000"
  • Line 11: "May 16th 000 0000"
  • Line 12: "May 18 two sales $7600"
  • Line 13: "May 19 one sale [$]7400"
  • Line 14: "Race Trinidad [Colorado] June 2d [2nd]"
  • Line 15: "C. Gus Jones."
  • Line 16: "Ft. Worth"
  • Line 17: "Tex" [Texas]
  • Line 18: "C. Gus Jones"
  • Line 19: "Racs [races] 27. 28 and 29 May"
  • Line 20: "at Cheyenne" [Wyoming]
     One hundred and forty-one years ago, Soapy Smith was enjoying considerable "sales" success on Denver street corners with the prize package soap sell racket. On Tuesday May 6, for two sales, he made $71, the equivalent of making $2,523.54 in 2025 dollars. On Monday, May 19, in just one sale he obtained $74 (equivalent to $2,630.17). Over the 14 days he operated, May 6 – 19, he worked 8 days and took in $413 (equivalent to $14,679.20), about $51.63 ($1,835.08) per work day, which was an enormous amount in 1884. Even better is taking into consideration that each sale probably didn't last longer than 30 minutes, thus in the 8 days he performed a total of 13 sales for a total of 6.5 hours, meaning that Soapy was making about $63.54 per hour! That's good money today, but that $63.54 is equivalent of $2,258.39 per hour in 2025 dollars! Guess he could afford to take the 5 days off that he did (lines 3, 4, 6, 8 and 11). 
     Note that his days off are not really consecutive (May 8, 9, 11, 13 and 16). Perhaps he also took days off because he felt he should, or had to. Several possible reasons come to mind, such as to allow sore losers time to move on, to allow the market to refresh with new customers, and to reduce exposure that could attract the constabulary, or even a policeman's threat of arrest, or the complaint by one of his victims.
     One must wonder who Jones from lines 15 and 18 might be. A supplier of goods in Fort Worth? A friend? A Ft Worth confidence man Soapy knows, or perhaps a victim seeking the return of his losses? I looked for a "C. Gus Jones" in Texas during this period and found one Gus Jones, a Black machinist and family man.

Union Pacific Railroad map
1883
Courtesy of Library of Congress

Click image to enlarge

     The final comments are in regards to the races in Cheyenne, Wyoming on May 27-29, 1884. A Cheyenne newspaper tells of races in May but of their not being well attended because of the weather. The same paper reported ongoing lightning, heavy rain, and flooding. Going to Cheyenne from Denver was about a one-day journey on the Union Pacific Railroad. The 1883 Union Pacific map above shows an established route that ran about 110 miles north to Cheyenne, less than half the distance to Trinidad. The distance makes Cheyenne as likely a place to take in races as Trinidad. If Soapy went to Cheyenne for those three days of races as he apparently considered doing, he was likely disappointed by the weather.

The Democratic Leader
Cheyenne, Wyoming
May 29, 1884

Click image to enlarge


The Democratic Leader
Cheyenne, Wyoming
May 29, 1884

Click image to enlarge



 










Part #19
Part #21 (not published yet)
Part #22 (not published yet)
Part #23 (not published yet)
Part #24 (not published yet)








"Neither gunman nor ruffian, but always a lawless marauder, he was the Robin Hood of the frontier. Continually at odds with the law, which pursued him in endless exasperation, he was, frequently, the law’s best friend."
—The Reign of Soapy Smith, 1935










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May 30, 2025

Soapy Smith by Fred Spooner, a review


(Click image to enlarge)




Review of Soapy Smith, by Fred Spooner





213 pages.
No index.
No Forward.
No Acknowledgements (understandable as he didn’t use any).
No photographs (except the cover).
No notes.
No Works Referenced.
No sources.


     This is my review of the self-published book, Soapy Smith, published by Fred Spooner in April 2025. In short, this biography, if it can be defined as such, is a travesty to history. Of all the biographies on my great-grandfather, published since 1907, this one is without a doubt, the most poorly researched and written book to date. Besides information and artifacts, I collect books written about Soapy Smith, so I purchased this one by Mr. Spooner. I am not exaggerating when I say it was a tortuous and painful read. 
     Instead of actual information on Soapy Smith, Mr. Spooner chose to use his imagination, filler, and repeated points and information in nearly every single paragraph to stretch the books size to 213 pages, when the legitimate historical information could have been published in a considerably smaller book or article. The book contains no photographs (except on the cover), no listed notes or references, no index and no sources. Mr. Spooner promises “a nuanced, well-researched portrait,” but this promise is never realized, instead defending his “scholarly” (his words) work throughout the book that there is a “lack of detailed records.” The author skirts around having to do any research by instead, inventing events that never occurred. The author couldn’t even be bothered to find out the names of Soapy’s parents, his gang members, or anyone he associated with, except for “Frank Reid,” one of the vigilantes that shot Soapy during the shootout on Juneau wharf in Skagway, Alaska in 1898.
     From this book I must conclude that the author did not investigate, read, or apparently know of the other well-known biographies on Soapy, including my own, Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. He either chose not to use, or did not investigate, the known research, letters, documents, etc., that exist, instead writing, “the limitations of primary sources are also evident in their absences. The lack of extensive personal diaries or detailed memoirs written by Smith himself limits our direct access to his thoughts and motivations.” The history of Soapy Smith is out there and relatively easy to find, but Mr. Spooner failed in performing the most rudimentary research. Instead, he guesses and invents his own version of Soapy Smith's history, all-the-while stating that his work is well-researched and scholarly. 
     In the preface, Mr. Spooner states, that “Through meticulous examination of primary sources – newspaper accounts, letters, and legal documents from the era – we strive to present a balanced account of Smith’s life, revealing the man behind the myth.” However, Mr. Spooner does not publish a single source, other than simply stating that he uses “evidence often found in later newspaper articles and accounts from those who knew him in later years.” In order to justify his non-existent research, he chooses to compare Soapy with other historic individuals, writing, “the absence of detailed information necessitates a comparative analysis,” giving him the freedom to invent history, which he calls a "nuanced, well-researched portrait.”
     In the introduction, Mr. Spooner writes that “This biography seeks to move beyond the sensationalized tales and explore the multifaceted (he loves this word, using it many times throughout the book) nature of his existence offering a balanced historical analysis grounded in primary source materials,” but fails to deliver any “historical analysis grounded in primary source materials,” beating every bush to keep from exposing that he performed no actual research.
     By page 5 I knew there was a major problem with Mr. Spooner’s “research” when under the chapter, “Early Life and Family Background,” he writes that Soapy was born in Iowa. Spooner uses no sources for this, defending his work, writing, “while definitive biographical details of his childhood remain scarce …” Which is absolutely untrue. He then wastes the readers time by expanding on Iowa’s history as the source for the history of early Smith family history, Soapy’s upbringing and education. I, and my family, have been researching Soapy's life and death for decades, and nowhere have I ever seen any publication or information stating that Soapy was born in Iowa! Smith family history, via genealogical records and sources, clearly shows that Soapy was born in Coweta, Georgia, and every published work I have in my collection states the same, so I have to wonder where Mr. Spooner found this tripe? I speculate that the author has previous information on Iowa and its history and thus chose that location as the birthplace to simplify his labor in this “well-researched portrait.” In short, he made it up, rendering this part of the book on Soapy's childhood and upbringing absolutely useless.
     Mr. Spooner writes, “the westward migration of Jefferson Randolph 'Soapy' Smith … remains a somewhat hazy journal, shrouded in the same lack of meticulously documented record-keeping …” Again, the author gives excuses for his lack of research, while touting his book as being “grounded in primary source materials.” Furthermore, he writes, “Smith’s travel’s lack the same level of detailed personal accounts … absence of first-hand narratives.” Had Mr. Spooner performed the bare minimum amount of research he would have found that Soapy kept detailed records of his travels, via published letters and personal notebooks, which are seen online and in my book. After spending a little time on Soapy’s fictitious childhood, Mr. Spooner jumps twenty years to 1897-98 and Soapy’s time in Skagway, not mentioning, and probably not knowing that Soapy spent a decade as a crime boss in Denver, Colorado.
     Regarding Soapy’s prize package soap sell racket, Mr. Spooner didn’t know that Soapy wrapped cash into the cakes of soap, instead, writing that Soapy wrapped “merchandise and inferior quality merchandise.”
     Throughout the book Mr. Spooner uses the same excuse of, “there is no sources and information,” allowing him to make up the history. There are so little actual facts in this book that Mr. Spooner could have edited the book down to about ten pages, but opted to stretch the number of pages to 213 pages, via useless fictional filler and the act of repeating his points over and again for about 164 pages, the majority of the book, hence a tortuous and laborious read.

SKAGWAY

     Mr. Spooner incorrectly writes that the steamship Portland brought Soapy to Skagway, but this is inaccurate. I believe he learned that in 1897 the steamship Portland arrived in Seattle, Washington, carrying prospectors and a ton of gold from Alaska, marking the beginning of the Klondike gold rush, and used that to deduce how Soapy arrived in Skagway. He writes that Soapy arrived in Skagway alone, but a little simple research would have shown Mr. Spooner that Soapy arrived with two other gang members, and that they profited almost $30,000 in 19-days work. Not a single source is noted, though he promised said sources. Amazingly, Mr. Spooner makes no mention of Soapy’s saloon, Jeff Smith’s Parlor.
     The author invents a fictional shootout that he says occurred earlier in the day on July 8, 1898, the same day as the shootout in which Soapy was killed by Jesse Murphy and Frank Reid. He writes that this fictional shootout occurs on the corner of Broadway and Third Avenue, where Soapy had planned and held a "peaceful political rally" in which a minor scuffle escalated into a “full-blown gunfight that left several people injured and the streets awash in blood.” There are no mentions or sources, that that this fight ever took place, other than in Mr. Spooner's book. In fact, this is the first time I have ever heard of this event.
     In the section on the shootout on Juneau wharf, Mr. Spooner states that Soapy died, “in Skagway’s streets,” which is completely false, as Soapy died on Juneau wharf. This fact is well-known, and just one more piece of evidence that the author did little to no research. Spooner also invents that numerous people, from "four to eight" were shot and killed or wounded, other than Soapy and Reid, all without any evidence or a single source.

SMITH’S PLACE IN HISTORY AND POPULAR CULTURE

     Mr. Spooner writes, “He never became the subject the subject of a major biographical epic …” Besides my own book, there are numerous other biographies on Soapy. There are also several films, including Clark Gable’s Honky Tonk, centered on Soapy’s life, not to mention several well-done history documentaries. 

REPEAT … AND REPEAT, OVER AND AGAIN.

     The last 164 pages of the book are exhaustingly hard to read as the author chose to repeat the same points, over and over. It became nauseatingly difficult to read, and found myself skipping down pages looking for something, anything, new that Mr. Spooner had to say, but found nothing worth writing about. The author used filler and unrelated topics to stretch out the book size, including such topics as the social fabric of the indigenous populations, the introduction of diseases in society and other health problems, the environment, pollution, water contamination, etc., all having little to nothing to do with Soapy's history, because Mr. Spooner had so little information on Soapy to begin with.
     In the author’s section titled, Suggested Readings and Additional Resources, he writes “This section presents a curated selection of resources, categorized for ease of navigation, to facilitate further exploration,” and then doesn’t include a single resource or example, giving the reason that “a definitive biography remains elusive,” obviously, not putting forth any effort to find, let alone read, any of the other biographies on Soapy.
     In the chapter titled, Famous Con Artists and Their Methods, Mr. Spooner does not discuss other confidence men or their methods, instead choosing to discuss Charles “Black Bart” Boles, a stagecoach robber, not a con artist.
 
ABOUT FRED SPOONER

Mr. Spooner has published at least 56 books, all with the same cover, minus the use of a different photograph. I will assume that all of them lack much effort or research. I cannot find any other information or contact for this author.

CONCLUSION

In short, Mr. Spooner did little to no research, making up much of the history, rendering this book absolutely useless. If you wish to learn about Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith, I suggest not wasting your time and money on this book. As a Soapy Smith historian and collector I will keep this book in my collection, but if I was the average reader who happened to purchase and read this book, I would likely just toss this one in the nearest trash container.



 









"Soapy Smith - cleaning up the West - one pocket at a time"
—unknown





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April 3, 2025

Soapy Smith's "STAR" notebook, 1884, early Denver: Part #19 - page 19

Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 19 - Original copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)




oapy Smith begins an empire in Denver.
Operating the prize package soap sell racket in 1884.

This is page 19, the continuation of page 18, and dated April 14 - May 5, 1884, the continuation of deciphering Soapy Smith's "star" notebook from the Geri Murphy's collection. A complete introduction to this notebook can be seen on page 1.
     These notebook pages have never been published before! They continue to be of revealing interest. The picture that the pages draw is of young 22 year-old Jefferson pursuing "soap sales" over a very wide spread of territory and in a very tenacious, even driven, way.
     The notebook(s) are in Soapy's handwriting, and sometimes pretty hard to decipher. A large part of this series of posts is to transcribe the pages, one-at-a-time, and receive help from readers on identifying words I am having trouble with, as well as correcting any of my deciphered words. My long time friend, and publisher, Art Petersen, has been a great help in deciphering and adding additional information.
     I will include the original copy, an enhanced copy, and a negative copy of each page. Also included will be a copy with typed out text, as tools to aid in deciphering the notes.
     There are a total of 24 pages. This means that there may be upwards of 24 individuals posts for this one notebook. Links to the past and future pages (pages 1, 2, 3, etc.) will be added at the bottom of each post for ease of research. When completed there will be a sourced partial record of Soapy's activities and whereabouts for 1882-1884.
     Important to note that the pages of the notebook do not appear to be in chronological order, with Soapy making additional notes on a town and topic several pages later.
     In one noticeable respect, page 18 and 19 are different from most of the other pages seen so far, as it is notes taken after the fact. Page 18 and 19 are also different as they are descriptions of his early operations and the beginnings of his criminal empire in Denver. From my research I know that Charles L. "Doc" Baggs and "Big Ed" Chase are the two main bunko bosses in Denver, and Soapy is not yet fully entrenched in Denver at this time, but this page is the beginning stage of his empire there.
     Although the communication of twenty-one-year-old Soapy Smith is with himself, the writing also communicates with us about him 142 years later (and potentially far beyond today).
     The bulk of page 19 is a list of sales (soap) in Denver. 2/3 down the page begins more notes on future trips in Colorado and New Mexico. Below that is a list of names and monetary figures. Are these men early gang members?      
     Below are my attempts to attempts to make the writing easier to see and decipher.

Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 19 - Enhanced copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)


Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 19 - Negative copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)


Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 19 - Deciphered copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)


     Page 19 contains quite a bit of interesting information about the successful start of Soapy's career in Denver.
     For consideration of page 19, I looked back to page 18 and how Soapy tracked his sales data. He began selling in Denver on March 28, a Friday. He worked Saturday the 29th. No dates are listed for the 30th, 31st, or the 1st. The next date to appear is April 2, and dates continue on this page to the 12th. Between the 2nd and the 12th, one date does not appear, the 6th, which was a Sunday. A conclusion to be drawn is that Soapy was filling in lines of the notebook a day at a time. When he did not work, he recorded no date.
     Page 19 is different. It continues from April 12th on page 18 with April 14, skipping the 13th, a Sunday, so apparently not a work day for Soapy's swindles. He later changed that policy, working every day that he had the opportunity, including Sunday's and holidays. Then, as evidence shows, he listed the next 17 dates ahead of time and filled in each day's data. For the month of May, however, he changed back to the day by day method of recording as used on page 18. May 4, a Sunday, is not listed because in the day by day method, he had nothing to record for that day. 

Page 19
  • Line 1: "2 Sales $55.00 Apr. [April] 14th [1884]"
  • Line 2: "2 Sales $51.00 Apr [April] 15th." 
  • Line 3: "1 Sale $31.00 Apr [April] 16."
  • Line 4: "0 ' ' [Sale] 0000 ' ' [April] 17."
  • Line 5: "0 ' ' [Sale] 0000 ' ' [April] 18th"
  • Line 6: "0 ' ' [Sale] 0000 ' ' [April] 19th"
  • Line 7: "0 ' ' [Sale] 0000 ' ' [April] 20th"
  • Line 8: "0 ' ' [Sale] 0000 ' ' [April] 21st"
  • Line 9: "0 ' ' [Sale] 000 ' ' [April] 22nd"
  • Line 10: "0 ' ' [Sale] 000 ' ' [April] 23rd"
  • Line 11: "0 ' ' [Sale] 000 ' ' [April] 24th"
  • Line 12: "0 ' ' [Sale] 0000 ' ' [April] 25th"
Notes: From April 17 to 25 (lines 4 to 12), 9 days, the notebook shows Soapy did not work, or, at least did not make any money from his street swindles. For those days, he entered zeros next to those already listed dates. Why he ceased working during this period could be for any number of reasons. Had he been arrested and incarcerated? No record shows (so far) that happening. Was he ill? Was he working somewhere, in a saloon gambling house, or other establishment? Nothing (yet) shows evidence for these possibilities. 
  • Line 13: "2 Sales $74.00 [April] 26th"
  • Line 14: "0 [Sales] 00 [April] 27.th"
  • Line 15: "1 Sale $65.00 [April] 28.th"
  • Line 16: "1 Sale [$]30.00 [April] 29.th"
  • Line 17: "1 Sale [$]22.00 [April] 30.th"
  • Line 18: "May 1.st 1884"
  • Line 19: "3 Sales $114.00"
  • Line 20: "2 ' ' [Sales] 2.d May. $70.00"
  • Line 21: "3 Sales 3 May. $110.00"
  • Line 22: "1 Sale 5th May. $35.00"
  • Line 23: "Fair at Albuquerque [New Mexico]"
  • Line 24: "1st week October [1884]"
  • Line 25: "Order to Dick Clark"

Albuquerque Morning Democrat
September 30, 1884

There will no doubt be an influx of confidence men and thieves into Albuquerque during fair week, and the action of Chief Richmond, in ordering them out of town as soon as he discovers them, is highly commendable.

     The Albuquerque Fair ran six days, from October 6-11. I don't see Soapy as recording that he went to the October Albuquerque fair in April, or that he went back to that page 6 months later to make the notation. I see him as recording an order he placed on "Apr 22" in preparation to go to the fair 6 months later. Why did he decide the October fair would be a good investment of his money and time? The local police chief was expecting the likes of Soapy Smith. My guess is that while on an April train trip from Denver, he learned about the territorial fair, perhaps from someone named Dick Clark. He might have gone to Albuquerque to check out New Mexico's largest community. The order with Clark was made on the 22nd, about in the middle of his absence from Denver, giving plenty of time to reach Albuquerque, spend a night or two there and meet the Dick Clark person with whom he placed an order (for something) related to the future fair.
  • Line 26: "12874 22.d Apr. [April]"
     The last portion of page 19 is devoted to two other matters, and these help to explain the 9 days of zeros. The first matter is a note about attending the "Fair at Albuquerque, / 1st week October." Indeed that's when that fair occurred, October 6-11, 1884. In preparation, he made note of having placed an order for something with Dick Clark on "22 Apr." That date is among the 9 days over which he made no "Sales." A number appears beside this notation, 12874 which is apparently in connection with it. Could it be the monetary figure: $128.74?Or perhaps an order number? That this information about the fair and an order is a unit is shown by a line that half encircles these data points. The numbers do not seem to be a money figure. With so large a figure, surely Soapy would have used a dollar figure (as he so often does) if the numbers stood for dollars. Even when there's no cents to compute, Soapy signifies no cents with zeros. Neither appear with the number.
  • Line 27: "Races at Trinidad." [likely Colorado]
Notes: The scenario I laid out began with a hypothesis, that the 9-day absence was based on some event, possibly a train trip south as other events (arrest, sickness) don't account for other evidence on the page. From that idea, I developed a theory that included the evidence—the "Races at Trinidad" and (showing he was there for them) the names under that heading, one of which is a known horse, Jumbo, and the Albuquerque fair and order notation. While the evidence does not make this proposed trip a fact, such as having a train ticket or the racing bet ticket stubs would do, still the circumstantial evidence accumulates in favor of being in southern locations. What different theory might account for all the evidence? One for me doesn't come to mind. Of course, though, it's worth looking for one.

Railroad map, 1884


     The evidence does not add up to the fact that a trip was taken, but it does make for a strong working theory of what the evidence could mean. I know I seem pretty sure about it, but I'm not one to insist on a theory. All this is submitted in the spirit of inquiry over what the evidence might mean, not what it does mean. That he attended races in Trinidad at some time during the period of April 17 to 25 is not just possible but probable. Two communities in the U.S. are named Trinidad. The small one on the coast of northern California, named in the 16th century by the Spanish, is 1,377 miles to the west. The other Trinidad is 195 miles south of Denver, which in 1884 could be reached by rail on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad. A visit to the California Trinidad would be a round-trip of two to three weeks. A journey that included the Colorado Trinidad, however, would be a round trip journey of 5 to 6 days, and if the trip included Albuquerque, 251 miles south of Trinidad, that would make for a trip of 7 to 9 days. If Jeff traveled during the 9 days he did not work in Denver, and was in Trinidad, he journeyed to the one south of Denver, not to the west in California.
     Such a trip probably was not expressly to Trinidad but to explore southern Colorado and to reconnoiter the 30 communities along the rail line to Trinidad near the border with New Mexico. The major ones are Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Rocky Ford, La Junta, and Trinidad. Beyond Trinidad to the south along the same railroad lay another 29 communities ending with Albuquerque. That Soapy was looking toward this largest community in New Mexico or near there or perhaps visiting there on or about 22 April is told by his notation about the territorial fair and his order for something that appears to be in connection with the fair.
  • Line 28: "Irish Jim $9.50"
Notes: Who is "Irish Jim?" A friend? An acquaintance? A new member of the growing soap gang? Perhaps the name of a horse Soapy wagered on? 
  • Line 29: "Gates $12.50"
Notes: Who is Gates? Did Soapy pay, or receive $12.50 from Gates? Perhaps the name of a horse Soapy wagered on?
  • Line 30: "Jumbo $4.00"
Notes: Jumbo was a race horse. Below are three newspaper clippings regarding Jumbo.

Jumbo
Albuquerque Evening Democrat
September 29, 1884


Jumbo at the Territorial Fair
Albuquerque Evening Democrat
October 10, 1884


Jumbo wins
Albuquerque Evening Democrat
October 13, 1884


  • Line 31: "Otto $5.00"
Notes: Name of race horse Soapy wagered on?
  • Line 32: "Cambell $5.00"
Notes: Wager on race horse?
  • Line 33: "Mart $3.00"
Notes: Wager on race horse?
  • Line 34: "Sumaiba $5.00"
Notes: Wager on race horse?

     As for a stop in Trinidad, that is told by his note about "Races in Trinidad." His attending horse races there is shown by the seven names listed under "Races": Irish Jim, Gates, Jumbo, Otto, Cambell, Mart, and Sumaiba. A dollar figure appears beside each name. If these are horses, the figures could be the amounts wagered and/or the amounts won on the races. At least one of the names is known to belong to a horse, Jumbo. He was recorded in the Albuquerque news prior to and during the fair in October as a plain-looking local horse made notable by his exceedingly fast speed once he got underway. A search for the other names did not reveal that they were horses, but as Jumbo turned up three times in 1884 as well as in Soapy's notes under "Races" strongly suggests the names under "Races" in his notebook are those of horses.
     If the figures beside the names were losses, probably Soapy the accountant would indicate so, such as the bet lost he recorded on notebook page 18. It seems unlikely Soapy could win so little if he had picked 7 first-place winners. Rather, the amounts seem more likely to be winnings from small parimutuel bets, that is, a bet that his horse would be among the three top winners. In parimutuel betting, winning tickets split the amounts lost by betters on horses below the top three. Developed in France in 1869, the practice was popular in Europe and the U.S.
     Soapy might have spent at least two days in Trinidad. To have 7 winners (win, place, or show) all in one day seems unlikely as 7 races do not seem possible in one afternoon. Over two afternoons, though, 7 wins could be possible.

24 DAYS OF SELLING PRIZE PACKAGE SOAP

From page 18 through page 19, 39 days passed. Of those, Soapy worked 24 days, held 38 sales, and took in $1,080.50 (or $36,207.56 in today's money). Soapy was making a success of his professional calling, "Sales," and it allowed him to take time off from selling for a train trip to explore communities to the south. The trip could have taken 3 days travel to Albuquerque, 1 day there, 1 day back to Trinidad, 2 days in Trinidad, and about 2 to return to Denver. That adds up to 9 days of not "selling" in Denver, which resumed on Saturday 26 April 1884, producing $74 or in today's dollars, $2,479.74 for that day's work.


24 Days of selling prize package soap
$1,080.50

(Click image to enlarge)



 









Part #20 (not published yet)
Part #21 (not published yet)
Part #22 (not published yet)
Part #23 (not published yet)
Part #24 (not published yet)









"Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunters."
—African Proverb




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March 11, 2025

Soapy Smith's "STAR" notebook, 1884, Denver: Part #18 - page 18

Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 18 - Original copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)



oapy Smith in Denver.
Operating the prize package soap sell racket in 1884.

This is page 18, the continuation of page 17, and dated March 28 - April 12, 1884, the continuation of deciphering Soapy Smith's "star" notebook from the Geri Murphy's collection. A complete introduction to this notebook can be seen on page 1.
     These notebook pages have never been published before! They continue to be of revealing interest. The picture that the pages draw is of young 22 year-old Jefferson pursuing "soap sales" over a very wide spread of territory and in a very tenacious, even driven, way.
     The notebook(s) are in Soapy's handwriting, and sometimes pretty hard to decipher. A large part of this series of posts is to transcribe the pages, one-at-a-time, and receive help from readers on identifying words I am having trouble with, as well as correcting any of my deciphered words. My long time friend, and publisher, Art Petersen, has been a great help in deciphering and adding additional information.
     I will include the original copy, an enhanced copy, and a negative copy of each page. Also included will be a copy with typed out text, as tools to aid in deciphering the notes.
     There are a total of 24 pages. This means that there may be upwards of 24 individuals posts for this one notebook. Links to the past and future pages (pages 1, 2, 3, etc.) will be added at the bottom of each post for ease of research. When completed there will be a sourced partial record of Soapy's activities and whereabouts for 1882-1884.
     Important to note that the pages of the notebook do not appear to be in chronological order, with Soapy making additional notes on a town and topic several pages later.
     In one noticeable respect, page 18 is different from most of the other pages seen so far, as it is notes taken after the fact. Page 18 is also different as it is a description of his operations in Denver, and only Denver. From my research I know that Soapy is not yet entrenched in Denver at this time, but this page may be the very beginning stages of that entrenchment.
     Although the communication of twenty-one-year-old Soapy Smith is with himself, the writing also communicates with us about him 142 years later (and potentially far beyond today).
     The first half of page 18 seems to be expense notes, and the second half begins to list income (which continues on p19).      
     Below are my attempts to attempts to make the writing easier to see and decipher.

Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 18 - Enhanced copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)


Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 18 - Negative copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)



Soapy Smith STAR Notebook
Page 18 - Deciphered copy
1884
Courtesy of Geri Murphy

(Click image to enlarge)

Page 18
  • Line 1: "Clothes from March 28 to [1884]"
  • Line 2: "Apr [April] 27. [$]75.00" 
Notes: Soapy paid $75 for clothes in the span of one month, between March 28 - April 27, 1884.
  • Line 3: "Board &. [$]75.00"
Notes: room and board, likely a hotel, for the same one month period, March 28 - April 27, 1884.
  • Line 4A: "incidental [$]70.00"
Notes: It's common to build "incidental[s]" into a budget.
  • Line 4B:"Paid RB [room and board] clerk [$]140.00"
Notes: Why is this different from Line 3? Was it another town, another hotel? Listed is $75.00 and then $140.00 as "Paid RB clerk." Instead of cost for board being listed twice, probably the 75 for "Board" is part of the $140 figure. That would make sense except that 75 + 70 = 145. Perhaps what's happening is that Soapy figures 70 may be what "incidental[s]" will come to, but in paying in advance for his stay, he paid the RB estimate of 75 but only 65 for "incidental[s]." If these came to more, he could pay upon checking out, OR, if he didn't use all the incidentals money, a refund would be due.
  • Line 5: "March 28th 1884"
  • Line 6: "ticket [$]5.00"
Notes: Train or stagecoach ticket?
  • Line 7: "License [$]10.00"
Notes: Likely a Denver city street vendors license. it is known that in other cities, Soapy did purchase "licenses" to engage in "sales." Ironically, following city ordinances often protected Soapy from legal problems.
  • Line 8: "lost [$]5.00 on bet."
Notes: Oh to know the details! This second "March 28th 1884" date may be a heading for expenses that day, including a notation for how much he has left ($114) after expenses "to open" his Denver sales campaign. The March 28 expenses list a license for $10 and $5 lost on a bet. These expenses seem clear, but two others are not—the "ticket" for $5 and the room also for $5. What was the ticket for—entrance to something, a train ticket? Or might the "ticket" be a printed sign of some kind that he could set up, or cards (as in business cards) for some purpose.  
  • Line 9: "room [$]5.00"
Notes: room and board for one night? He already paid for room and board, so what could another room be for—to conduct sales in, or a storeroom for storing sales good? Then there's the amount of $5, which is quite a bit ($167.55) for a room, unless it were over time, such as for a month. 
  • Line 10: "had [$]114.00 to open"
Notes: To open what? His street game? The prize package soap sell racket?
  • Line 11: "Commenced"
  • Line 12: "to sell in Denver"
Notes: He 'started' or 'begun" his game(s) in Denver, Colorado. 
  • Line 13: "4th time on Friday"
  • Line 14: "March 28th 1884"
Notes: March 28, 1884 is a Friday, but what does "4th time" refer to? Four sales, or four attempts? Perhaps it refers to prior visits since 1882-1883, as he was traveling the West for quite a while.
  • Line 15: "1. Sale $20.00 March 28th"
Notes: Line 13 implies it was the "4th time," however, line 15 reads only one sale?
  • Line 16: "2 Sales [$]55.00 ' ' [March] 29th [1884]"
Notes: Two sales for a total of $55 on March 29, 1884. He then took Sunday through Tuesday off, and began again on Wednesday, April 2nd, earning the largest amount of sales recorded on page 18, $74.50 ($2,645.50 in today's dollars).
  • Line 17: "2 Sales $74.50 Apr 2nd"
Notes: Two sales for a total of $74.50 on April 2, 1884.
  • Line 18: "2 ' ' [Sales] $28.00 ' ' [April] 3rd"
Notes: Two sales for a total of $28 on April 3, 1884.
  • Line 19: "2 ' ' [Sales] $39.00 ' ' [April] 4th"
Notes: Two sales for a total of $39 on April 4, 1884.
  • Line 20: "2 ' ' [Sales] $36.00 Apr 5th"
Notes: Two sales for a total of $36 on April 5, 1884.
  • Line 21: "2 ' ' [Sales] $45.00 Apr [April] 7th"
Notes: Two sales for a total of $45 on April 7, 1884.
  • Line 22: "2 Sales $32.00 Apr [April] 8th"
Notes: Two sales for a total of $32 on April 8, 1884.
  • Line 23: "1 Sale $28.00 ' ' [April] 9th"
Notes: One sale for $28 on April 9, 1884.
  • Line 24: "1 ' ' [Sale] $33.00 [April] 10th"
Notes: One sale for $33 on April 10, 1884.
  • Line 25: "1 Sale $14.00 ' ' [April] 11th"
Notes: One sale for $14 on April 11, 1884.
  • Line 26: "1 ' ' [Sale] $19.00 [April] 12th"
Notes: One sale for $19 on April 12, 1884.

     In Seattle in July 1882, over several days, Soapy took in $112 ($3,702,84 in today's dollars). "Several days" may be estimated to be three, so for the first three days of sales in Denver, Jeff took in $149.50 ($5,308.75) for an increase over Seattle sales of $37.50 ($1,331.63), or a 34% increase.
     Soapy's total income recorded on page 18 through April 12 (taking Sunday the 6th off) for 12 days' work through April 12, 1884, is $423.50 ($14,191.49). Soapy's skill at "selling" has apparently improved. Additionally, instead of moving from place to place, he's discovered a way to conduct his selling in one city without having to move from place to place. In this regard, if Jeff was working on 17th Street, the main thoroughfare from the train station, he had a steady stream of new customers all day every day.
     The Denver sales continue on notebook page #19



 



 









Part #17
Part #19 (not published yet)
Part #20 (not published yet)
Part #21 (not published yet)
Part #22 (not published yet)
Part #23 (not published yet)
Part #24 (not published yet)







"If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday. "
—Pearl Buck
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