Soapy Smith and the Brackett Wagon Road, Skagway, Alaska, 1898

"The Light of Other Days"
A gang of thimble riggers working a dupe
"Thimble rigging" is the shell and pea game, with thimbles
(Credit: friend Tom Frank)

(Click image to enlarge)

uthor Cathy Spude shared a gem from her husband's files.

Cathy writes,

Reading a little farther, I found another article that named Soapy. It is date-lined September 3, and published September 14 [1897]. It is also in the New York World, probably written by Scovel. He worked with a committee of Skagway citizens who were trying to improve the Skagway Trail before Brackett obtained the rights and took over the improvements and construction. This article lists the names of all the businesses and individuals who donated the $1,173 they had raised to date to pay workers on the trail. I list the donors below, alphabetized:

Businesses
Alaska Southern Wharf Company
Battery and Parks
Blockett and White
Dalby and Grant
Fleming and Hornsby
Jackson and Hotchkiss
Klondike Saloon
Klondike Trading Company
The Lighter Company
Manley and Hill
McClellan, A. D. and Co.
Miller and Brogan
Presnall and Sawyer
Richit and Miller
Schmidt, C. and Co.
Sherry and Co.
Skaguay Wharf Company
Troy Laundry
Yukon Bakery

Individuals
Bakers, Jack
Bauer, H. A.
Bennett, C. M.
Brault, T. E.
Brooks, William
Burkhardt, Joseph
Cameron, H. J.
Carcarred, J. J.
Church, Mrs. Anna
Clayson, F. H.
Coselett, J. J.
Davis, William
Dawey, C. E.
Day, J. S.
Deneret, Harry
Dennison, C. H.
Dowling, John
Dunham, F. W.
Edison, John
Forrest, Frank
Graham, James
Henderson, A.
Higgins, Harry
Hoefer, H. R.
Johnson, T. K.
Kelly, Charles
Kirby, John
Klinkowstein, M.
Knight, G. A.
Kossuth, Mrs.
Laure, G. W.
Lengfader, Charles
Littlefield, Dr.
Long, C. B.
Lynch, L. S.
Martin, E. B.
McKenzie, John
McNulty, Ed
Morris, E. W.
Murphy, J. F.
Nugget Saloon
Palmer, James
Pinkham, R. A.
Rays, Charles
Reid, F. W.
Rice, George L.
Runnals, Dr. H. B.
Sedley, H.
Smith, Jeff
Smith, W. B.
Stanley, John
Wadleigh, F. H.
Walker, D. W.
Wise, F. A.

Both Bob and I apologize for not having the page number for this article. He says he was in a time crunch when he was reading these, like decades ago, and was looking for different material. He was good enough to get dates, and has all of the New York World articles in one folder, but not always page numbers. Few publishers require page numbers in their citations these days. ...

Cathy

Thank you Cathy Spude.
 

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ALIAS SOAPY SMITH
BOOK SALE

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"When I disagree with a rational man, I let reality be our final arbiter; if I am right, he will learn; if I am wrong, I will; one of us will win, but both will profit."

— Ayn Rand

MAY 14

1787: Delegates gather in Philadelphia to begin drawing up the Constitution.

1796: The first smallpox vaccination is given by Edward Jenner.

1804: William Clark sets off the "Corps of Discovery" expedition from Camp Dubois. A few days later, in St. Louis, Missouri, Meriwether Lewis joins the group.

1853: Gail Borden applies for a patent for condensed milk.

1862: The chronograph is patented by Adolphe Nicole.

1864: Five men are hung in Virginia City, Montana Territory.

1870: It is reported that thirty people are killed by Indians between Kit Carson and Lake Station, Colorado Territory.

1874: Tiburcio Vasquez is wounded by George Beers and surrenders, after his hideout near Los Angeles, California is discovered.

1874: McGill University and Harvard meet at Cambridge, Massachusetts for the first college football game to charge an admission.

1878: The name Vaseline is registered by Robert A. Chesebrough.

1878: Regulators led by Billy the Kid steal 27 horses from a ranch on the Pecos River, near Lincoln, New Mexico Territory.

1897: "The Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Phillip Sousa is performed in public for the first time at a ceremony unveiling a statue of George Washington.

1897: Guglielmo Marconi makes the first communication by wireless telegraph.

1898: Bad man Soapy Smith opens a saloon named Jeff Smith’s Parlor in Skagway, Alaska.