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| Soapy at the Brooklyn Hotel, San Francisco San Francisco Examiner October 30, 1882 |
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oapy in San Francisco, at the Brooklyn Hotel again.
It seems Soapy went to San Francisco more than previously believed. He also seems to have preferred staying at the Brooklyn Hotel when operating in San Francisco, California. It is known that Soapy had been in San
Francisco in 1881, being arrested TWICE for operating his prize package
soap sell racket, and was there again on November 13, 1882 (see February 22, 2021). Note that this time he lists his residence as "New York," and each time he registers he changes that resident city. Likely this is for self-defense purposes ("I've never operated in S.F. before.")
While it is possible that this is a different "Jeff R. Smith," it is known that Soapy was traveling between San Francisco and numerous cities in Oregon during this period. The fact that he went back and forth between the two is "normal" for Soapy, perhaps simply for the reason of staying out of jail, as often times, the city police and courts gave bunco men the option of leaving town rather than facing trial and jail-time. Due to the lack of quality record keeping, city courts and police departments had short memories, giving Soapy the opportunity to leave a city and return, as a "different person," giving him the chance of being given the opportunity to "leave town" again, as opposed to being thrown in jail as a repeat offender.
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| Again in San Francisco, at the Brooklyn Hotel San Francisco Examiner November 23, 1882 |
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Twenty-five days later (November 23, 1882) Soapy is back at the Brooklyn Hotel in San Francisco, and this time registering his residence as "Fort Worth [Texas]." As stated above, Soapy registered at the Brooklyn on November 13, 1882 as well. While possible, It is not likely that Soapy stayed in town for ten days. His normal routine during this period is one or two days in each town, then off to another town. Then again, could it be that Soapy found a distraction, a reason to stay in town, perhaps a female companion?
Interesting to note is that Soapy had
stayed at the same hotel again, close to three years later, on
February 22, 1884, listing his residence as "Denver, Colorado."
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| The Brooklyn Hotel San Francisco, California Circa 1875 Archive of California, Bancroft Library |
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San Francisco: pages 40-41, 60, 82, 85, 109-10, 118-19, 152, 242, 361, 409, 411-12, 418, 425, 428-29, 432-33, 450, 463-65, 472, 492, 504, 527, 545, 574, 587.
"No wife can endure a gambling husband unless he is a steady winner."
—Lord Dewar
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