Artifact #66: Soapy Smith, Horseshoe Saloon, Wells Dyea Saloon, Dyea, Alaska, 1897.

Envelope (front)
"Horseshoe Saloon"
Jeff Smith collection

(Click image to enlarge)

rtifact #66

      A Washington Post envelope postmarked in Washington D.C., January 17, 1898, addressed to Jeff R. Smith Jr., care of the Horseshoe Saloon, Seattle, Washington. The postmark on the rear reveals that it was received in Seattle on January 23, 1898. This was likely sent by Soapy's cousin, Edwin Bobo Smith, a reporter for the Washington Post. Another key hint is that it is addressed to "Jr," and few knew his father was Jefferson Randolph Smith, Sr.

      Between 1896-1898 Soapy was seeking to prosper in Alaska, already having predicted a major gold rush there. Soapy was based in Seattle, Washington waiting for signs that a major gold rush was on. Seattle was already becoming the primary port for sailing to Alaska, and it is very probable that Soapy was on the Seattle docks, July 17, 1897 when the S. S. Portland arrived there with about 4,000 pounds of gold in her cargo hold.
      In August 1897 Soapy made his way to Skaguay (later changed to Skagway), made some $30,000 in nineteen days, and returned to Seattle, where on October 1, 1897 he had a "rough and tumble" fight inside the Horseshoe Saloon, the same saloon addressed on the envelope. In November Soapy went to Washington D. C. for a visit with cousin Edwin. While there, Soapy obtained cousin Edwin's help in obtaining permissions and permits to open a "hotel" at Fort St. Michael, one of the early hot spots for gold rushes in Alaska. The letter that went with this envelope probably contained some final formalities about the permits, as 11-days later the Adjutant General of the War Department signed a letter giving Soapy his permits he sought. But by this time, Soapy had probably already decided on making Skaguay his new base of operations.

Envelope (rear)
"Wells Dyea Saloon"
Jeff Smith collection

(Click image to enlarge)

      The rear of the envelope reveals some hand-written notes scribbled by Soapy, two sets of notes, separated by a line. The top note is very hard to read. I see "13 Whiskey," "ship to Minnesota," and "Out for cow against Smith." An old friend of mine, Erik Anderson, sees "3 whiskey," "ship to Minnesota" (could it be "ship FROM Minnesota?"), and "cut for cash against Smith." The latter may refer to a bank draft.

     Alaskan historian Art Petersen, believes that "Out for cow" may be "cut for law." He believes the upper portion may a shortened form something like, "13 cases of whiskey ordered from a shipper in Minnesota. There will be a cut for the law paid for by ("against") Smith."

What do you see?

      The lower notes are easier to read: "Well's Dyea Saloon OK." A saloon owned by a man named Wells? I contacted the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and they provided me with a list of known Dyea saloons. Though there is no "Dyea Saloon," there is a "Dyea Beer Hall," located at the corner of 4th and Broadway in Dyea. Today, there are no remains of Dyea, but the Dyea Beer Hall is one of the few structures that the KGRNHP can locate on the ground, where it once stood. The name of Well's remains a mystery. Soapy probably wrote "OK" to remember that the saloon was fine with bunco men using the establishment for use, no doubt for a cut of the take. In letting my imagination run wild, I wonder if this Soapy's attempt to help, or swindle, a saloon in Dyea or Skaguay, in supplying a whiskey stock that is running low.

Wells Dyea Saloon: page 450.

"Poker is a game of chance, but not the way I play it."

— W. C. Fields

APRIL 18

1676: Sudbury, Massachusetts is attacked by Indians.

1775: American revolutionaries Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott, ride though the towns of Massachusetts giving the warning that "the British are coming."

1818: A regiment of Indians and blacks are defeated at the Battle of Suwann, in Florida, ending the first Seminole War.

1846: The telegraph ticker is patented by R. E. House.

1847: U.S. troops defeat almost 17,000 Mexican soldiers commanded by Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo, during the Mexican-American War.

1861: Colonel Robert E. Lee turns down an offer to command the Union armies during the Civil War, instead, joining the Confederacy.

1877: Charles Cros writes a paper that described the process of recording and reproducing sound. In France, Cros is regarded as the inventor of the phonograph. In the U.S., Thomas Edison gets the credit.

1895: New York State establishes free public baths.

1892: McGinty, the petrified man belonging to bunco artists Soapy Smith, goes on display in Murphy’s Exchange, Denver, Colorado.

1899: Bat Masterson opens the Olympic Athletic Club in Denver, Colorado at the corner of Sixteenth and Market Streets. One of his regular boxers is “Reddy” Gallagher, one of bad man Soapy Smith’s toughs, who had followed Soapy to Alaska in 1898.