Soapy Smith opens a shell and pea game on the pass, October 1, 1897

‘Soapy’ Smith opened up a shell game
The Philipsburg Mail
Philipsburg, Montana
October 1, 1897

(Click image to enlarge)

 

alk about hard times”

Below is the transcribed article clipping from The Philipsburg Mail (Philipsburg, Montana), October 1, 1897.

“Talk about hard times,” said Mr. Harris, “one could scarcely believe there was such a thing any where in the land after seeing the apparent prosperity among the people of Sheep Camp. Any man you may meet is prepared to change a $100 bill, and big gambling games are constantly going on. A fellow who is known in many parts of the country as ‘Soapy’ Smith opened up a shell game on the pass and in a few days he captured enough ‘suckers’ so that he pulled out when we did with $20,000 in cold cash. One-half of his winnings were scooped from two brothers who had spent the past three years in the Klondike and were on their way home to make their families happy when they fell victims to the ‘sure thing’ game and went broke. 

 

Interesting to note that "Mr. Harris" knew about the amount of money (actually $30,000 not $20,000) taken in by Soapy, Jack Jolly and Jerry Daily. The story of Soapy's profit during his first 23 days in Skagway. The earliest newspaper accounting I could find occurred in September 1897 so it is possible that "Mr. Harris" read about Soapy's success and pretended to be a first-hand witness. My first hint that led me to question "Mr. Harris," is how a miner would have so much information on Soapy's operation, including the fact that "One-half of his winnings were scooped from two brothers ..." Great story though!

 

"Someone once asked me why women don't gamble as much as men do, and I gave the common-sensical reply that we don't have as much money. That was a true but incomplete answer. In fact, women's total instinct for gambling is satisfied by marriage."

—Gloria Steinem