Letter to Soapy Smith from John Morgan, 1886, regarding a crooked faro dealing box

John G. Morgan letter to Soapy Smith
November 9, 1886
Jeff Smith Collection

(Click image to enlarge)

o not say anything to any one about it, as a square sport has no business with such things."

On November 9, 1886 John G. Morgan writes a letter to "Jeff Smith, Esq." (Soapy Smith), care of John W. Murphy of Murphy's Exchange, saloon and gambling house. The letter is addressed to #403 Larimer Street, Denver, Colorado, which is not the address of Murphy's Exchange, so the address is probably Murphy's residence or a private mailing box, which was common, in order to keep prying eyes away from private correspondence. Morgan ("and company") is the proprietor of the Board of Trade, saloon and gaming house located at 315 Harrison Avenue, Leadville, Colorado (see Sanborn map).

John G. Morgan
Rocky Mountain News
October 21, 1889

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Morgan has a gaffed faro dealing box stolen from his establishment. Believing the thief took the dealing box to Denver to sell, Morgan contacts his friend in Denver, "Soapy" Smith. It is likely that John Morgan and Soapy Smith met around 1880 when Soapy operated in Leadville. Soapy's replay is not know to exist.

Following is the deciphered contents of Morgan's letter.

 

——

Leadville, Colorado

November 9, 1886

Friend Jeff.

I wish you would look around in some of the pawn shops for a sand tell faro box 2L may have a deck of blue water back cards in it. It has been soaked since last Friday and the chances are that the fellow soaked it soaked it for a square box as he knows nothing about gambling, and the chances are the pawn broker took in for a square box as the deck in the box was so fine that it would take a good sport to discover it. The box was made by Annie Ball and has her name on it. Now just go to the pawn broker and tell them to show you what boxes they have taken in since Friday and if you find my box just pay what was loaned on it and interest and no questions asked unless they tell you voluntarily. A young fellow that used to work for us I think stole it, and he left for Denver Thursday or Friday. Do not say anything to any one about it, as a square sport has no business with such things.

With best wishes I remain

Yours truly

Jno G. Morgan

——

The envelope

 
(Click image to enlarge)

The envelope is addressed to Jeff Smith, Esq., c/o Jno W. Murphy, [Murphy’s Exchange] 403 Larimer St., Denver.

Board of Trade saloon
315 Harrison Avenue
Leadville, Colorado
Sanborn map

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      John Morgan' Board of Trade saloon on Leadville's White Way. Harrison Ave., was a showplace eulogized by the local press. It sat across the street from Doc Holliday's hangout in the 1880s, Manny Hyman's. Morgan and his manager Colonel Sam Houston were indeed the sureties for Holliday's $5,000 bond after he shot and wounded Billy Allen.

      "Occupying a prestigious location on Harrison Avenue, the Silver Dollar Saloon remains one of the popular landmarks of modern-day Leadville. Despite the modern changes that have touched the facade with its rustic, wood-covered exterior, the bar’s threshold is a time machine that transports the visitor back to a time when Leadville had money – lots of it." (Vail Daily, Remembering the Board of Trade) (A)

“It is to this princely palace that strangers are invariably first taken,” the reporter wrote, “the object being to astound and bewilder them at the very outset with the magnificence of our representative club room, and to impress them with the high standard which genteel sporting has reached in the city among the clouds.” —The Herald Democrat, 1887

An 1887 description of the Board of Trade went as follows.

      The building’s front was made of nearly solid plate glass, through which many pedestrians paused to look at the palatial interior. Once inside, the polished mahogany counter and magnificent hand-carved bar, punctuated by a “wilderness of cut glass,” added elegant touches to the establishment. A $10,000 cabinet along one wall contained the finest mineral specimens from 600 mines, and a mirror ran the length of the room. A unique display of “lunch paraphernalia” and another long row of showcases filled with articles from around the world decorated the ante-room over a floor of English tile.

      Through an archway to the rear was the gaming room, filled with tables for faro, roulette, pool and billiards. Free lunch was served to all customers, and nearly every brand of liquid refreshment was available.

      “Man’s most potent enemy is there represented in all shapes and hues,” The Herald Democrat reported.

A complete line of cigarettes and cigars satisfied customers’ tobacco needs.

      On two floors of the Board of Trade, gambling was king. A carpeted stairway led to the upper clubrooms, and players were led there by what the press described as a “companionable attendant.” There, several ample apartments with electric lights, painting and drapery-clad walls and windows and carpeted floors added comfort. All kinds of gaming devices and musical instruments were available for entertainment.

Ironically, proprietor John Morgan claimed to tolerated no “tricks of the trade” or dishonesty from those who dealt the cards or those who played. John Morgan was a liar; at least in regards to his dishonest dealers.

Board of Trade
as it looks today as the
Silver Dollar Saloon

(Click image to enlarge)

      In 2015 I had a couple of drinks in this saloon, but at the time did not realize it was the old Board of Trade saloon. Sounds like a good enough reason to return to Leadville.

SOURCES:
(A) Vail Daily, "Remembering the Board of Trade," April 29, 2003

John G. Morgan: pages 116-17, 123.

"The surest of all “sure things” is a game operated with three little shells. It is one of the oldest bunko games in existence. The newspapers have published columns about it, and the names if its victims are as the sands of the sea."

— Aspen Daily Chronicle, July 30, 1889.

APRIL 13

1775: Lord North extends the New England Restraining Act to South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. The act prohibits trade with any country other than Britain and Ireland.

1782: Washington, North Carolina is incorporated as the first town to be named after George Washington.

1796: The first known elephant arrives in the U.S. from Bengal, India.

1808: William "Juda" Henry Lane perfects the tap dance.

1829: The English Parliament grants freedom of religion to Catholics.

1860: The first mail is delivered via Pony Express when a westbound rider arrives in Sacramento, California from St. Joseph, Missouri.

1861: The Union-held Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces, starting the Civil War.

1866: Leader of the famed Wild Bunch outlaw gang, Robert LeRoy “Butch Cassidy” Parker is born in Beaver, Utah.

1870: The Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded in New York City.

1877: Governor Pennington of Dakota Territory issues a $500 reward for the capture of the men who shot and killed stagecoach driver, John Slaughter during a robbery on March 25. The shooter is Robert McKimie of the Sam Bass Gang. Bad man Soapy Smith will later witness the killing of Sam Bass.

1895: Crawford “Cherokee Bill” Goldsby is sentenced to death in Judge Parker's Court in Fort Smith, Arkansas.