Frederick Stephen Wombwell: Friend of Soapy Smith?

First time I recognize seeing this particular Soapy Smith grave
photograph postcard. Note the complete wood framing around
the marker and the arrangement of the rocks in a circle, rather
than piled in the center as shown in later photos. I believe this is 
one of the earliest photos of the 2nd marker in the ground.

(Click image to enlarge)

 
   recently came across the text of an extremely rare edition of A Year in the Klondyke: 1898-1899 by Frederick Stephen Wombwell. The 148 page diary-book is incredibly rare because each copy is individually typed and sell for around $4,000. I have never personally seen a copy and it is not shared on-line, however, someone shared a few pages with me. What I have is from the person who owns the book, so I cannot confirm the text. Apparently Frederick Wombwell had a run-in with Soapy and his gang in Skagway so it is certainly worth sharing.

On April 12 Wombwell left Juneau and arrived at a small town about 12 miles below Skagway. The next morning

“I did a bit of exploration around the town. Mud knee-deep in all the streets…I visited around the various gambling places and saloons, and at Soapy Smith’s got into an argument and a fight, out of which I do not think I came out second-best.”

From Skagway they traveled to the summit of White Pass which proved to be quite the ordeal.

“All sorts and conditions of people on the trail, including quite a number of women, and many old men who ought not to be in this country, all looking so tired and grim.”

May 23, 1898.

“…, I met 'Soapy Smith' at his saloon. Soapy acquired his nick-name either from the fact that he is such a 'slippery' individual, or else, as the story goes, because he at one time sold packages of soap supposed to be wrapped in five-dollar bills, which of course, they were not. Certainly he never acquired the name from a prolific use of soap. Anyway, he is reputed to be the most dangerous bad man in Alaska; his looks certainly belie his character, for he really is a small, slim man with soft brown eyes, and a short Vandyke beard. Does not look as though he would harm a fly. I got along very well with him and we had lunch together. Later I wanted to join a poker game in his place, but when he said, 'You are a friend of mine, don’t you play,' I got wise and laid off it.”

I find it rather interesting that nearly every story ever told by a person who survived an encounter with the Soap Gang, never admits to being beaten, financially or physically. This one is even more interesting, considering Wombwell later becomes a friend of Soapy's.

      There is one red-flag here, in which it appears that Wombwell states he had a brawl in Soapy's place in Dyea, but there is no record that Soapy opened any business in Dyea. This very well could be a mistake on the part of the person who sent the contents to me, as Wombwell again goes to Soapy's place, but this time it is clearly in Skagway and he gives no indication that there are two such businesses, one in Dyea and one in Skagway.

 

"Alaska in the Gold Rush days, where life was cheap and thin, Such desperate times were perfect times for brutal, desperate men. In Skagway, Soapy’s grifter mob left many miners broke, And if you weren’t a gambler, they’d just rob you of your poke. "

—Ed Parrish