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| Frank Reid's revolver Smith and Wesson Safety Hammerless Or New Departure aka "Lemon Squeezer" Courtesy of Margaret Tibbets and Mike McLucas |
(Click image to enlarge)
s this Frank Reid's revolver?
One key point in favor of it being Reid's is that Leslie Butler, as executor of Reid's estate, held legal claim to it.
When it comes to Soapy Smith I am very cautious in believing what I hear. It's even worse when it comes to Soapy's guns. Over the last 40 years I have seen so many "this is Soapy's gun," and very few make any sense. In those decades I do not recall seeing one of Reid's pistols. This one has worthiness. As an honest historian I cannot, in good faith, say that "this gun is positively Frank Reid's gun," as that would be presumptuous of me. However, I am more inclined to believe that this gun is indeed Reid's.
Some time ago I received an exciting comment on one of my posts, from Margaret Tibbets.
I’m so excited to find your site. Can’t wait to buy your book. I’ve been researching Soapy for an article about Leslie Butler, a friend of Frank Reid who was an important early Oregonian. Leslie managed Frank’s estate and owned the gun Frank used purportedly to kill Soapy Smith. Leslie’s daughter wrote an account of her summer in Skagway and included her account of Soapy’s death. I have a copy of this unpublished document written in 1925. She and her sister sat at Frank’s bedside singing hymns to him for the 10 days before he died at the Hospital.Leslie Butler is listed twice in my book, Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, as being Frank Reid's executor of his estate, appointed by Reid himself, but this is the first account that the two men were friends. The following is from Alias Soapy Smith.
Leslies’s great-grandson, Mike McLucas, is an old family friend. I got interested in this story while researching Leslie Butler and his contributions to Oregon history.
I would love to be in touch. I enjoyed finding your website.
Regards
Margaret Tibbets
Four days before his death, Reid made a will dated July 16, 1898. It directed, first, that his “body be decently buried” and that when his executor, Leslie Butler, had “sufficient funds in hand, [he] pay all funeral expenses and the expenses of my last sickness.” And “Second, I give and bequeath unto my brother, D. U. S. Reid, now in Eugene, State of Oregon, the sum of One (1) Dollar.” Third, his executor was directed to manage his “rights, title and interest” in a one-sixth interest in and to a 39-acre tract of land “fronting on Skaguay Bay” and to “sell and dispose of [it] in trust for the presiding Pastor or Board of church Directors of the Presbyterian Church Society. And fourth, he directed that his “personal estate … be sold” and that the proceeds “given to the president of the Women’s Relief Corps of the Town of Skaguay” for its “use and benefit.” The 27 items left by Reid, including the real estate, were valued at $487.40, and Commissioner Sehlbrede ordered them sold for cash on August 3, 1898. Disbursements do not appear in the Skaguay Probate record, but presumably they were distributed as requested. Reid’s possessions were listed in detail, down to one pair of shoes and a clothes brush. However, his pistol is not mentioned. Apparently Tanner, who picked it up the night of the shootout on the wharf, still had it.Note that Reid's pistol is not mentioned in the estate. As Tanner (Josias Martin "Si") took possession of Soapy's rifle, and that Tanner picked up Reid's revolver moments after the shootout on Juneau Wharf had taken place, I guessed that Tanner retained possession of Reid's gun. Tanner did hand over Soapy's rifle to Soapy's son and widow, so, perhaps, as there were no relatives of Reid's coming to Skagway, and that Leslie Butler was the executor of the estate, Butler was legally entitled to Reid's revolver, which is pretty good evidence towards any provenance that the revolver shown in this post did indeed belong to Frank Reid.
The story of ladies singing at Reid's bedside is recorded in Mabel Pearce Reed's book, Skagway Memories:1897-1901 (1988). However Mabel, a Skagway pioneer, inserts her mother into the story as one of the singers.
Reid had been known to have a very colorful vocabulary, he did a lot of swearing and using foul language, so Mama was surprised when he asked for the ladies quartet from the church to sing for him as he lay dying. Mama sang alto in the quartet and said they sang every afternoon until his death.It is not unrealistic to believe that there may have been numerous ladies volunteering their vocal services.
Margaret Tibbets added more to Leslie Butler's personal history, previously unknown and unpublished.
I first became interested in Leslie Butler after talking to Mike one spring after I made a trip to Maupin, Oregon to speak at the funeral of one of my favorite teachers. I spent a wonderful spring afternoon relaxing along the Deschutes River talking with Mike and his wife Gloria. Mike is the most wonderful conversationist and story teller.
During our conversation we began discussing the history of the area... I was amazed to hear about Leslie Butler and the important things he did in early Oregon. From starting the first Bank in the Columbia Gorge to sitting on the first State Highway Commission... his work to help establish the Dornbecker Hospital for Children and in establishing the State Tuberculosis Hospital in Salem, and his patronage of the Boys Farm Home in Corvallis, Mr. Butler was at the center of some of the most important initiatives in Oregon between 1900 and 1940. As a child growing up in Indiana, he even saw Abraham Lincoln speak. And then there was this tale of the Klondike Gold Rush, Soapy Smith, and Frank Reid! As you can imagine, as an amateur historian and a banker, I was mesmerized!
Further research revealed Leslie had been one of the first Chairmen of the Oregon Banker’s Association, an organization I belong to. I spoke to Linda Navarro, the current President of the association, and she shared that they still have a portrait of Leslie Butler on display in their office! Leslie was one of the most well thought of men during the early 1900s in Oregon.
All the Best
Margaret Tibbets
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| Mike McLucas Leslie Butler’s great-grandson showing Reid's revolver (open position, ready to load, unload, or clean) Smith and Wesson Safety Hammerless Courtesy of Margaret Tibbets and Mike McLucas |
Mike McLucas, the great-grandson of Leslie Butler, has the revolver Frank Reid used to wound Soapy Smith (pictured). Margaret continues
The gun is a 5 shooter, called a lemon squeezer because of the way safety is on the end of the gun and must be squeezed to pull the trigger. You have to have a strong grip and hand to squeeze the safety and pull the trigger.
Margaret adds
What Mike learned as a child supports what you say…. Frank Reid had trouble getting off his shot and his was not the fatal wound. Mike had no idea who shot him. But he was told a 45 wax the fatal bullet wound.
Previously, the only known information on Reid's revolver came from Matthew M. Sundeen and Clarence L. Andrews whose versions were published in The Alaska Sportsman (November
1947), under the title, The Real Soapy Smith, by Andrews.
Three of the four men on guard were reportedly unarmed. Clarence L. Andrews, writing in a 1947 article, identified himself as a Skaguay resident who knew Commissioner Sehlbrede and Tanner as a deputy US marshal and who listened to the stories of the men of Skaguay for five years. Andrews wrote that Reid’s weapon “was a .38 Smith & Wesson,” and the newspapers reported that it was a .38. Years later Matthew M. Sundeen, age 33 in 1898, wrote that,Reid carted an old Smith and Wesson six-shooter, an ancient gun he had used in the rip-roaring days of the west and which he considered the best gun in Skagway. He said it never failed him but its failure finally cost his life.
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| Mike McLucas Leslie Butler’s great-grandson Reid's revolver Smith and Wesson Safety Hammerless Courtesy of Margaret Tibbets and Mike McLucas |
The Smith and Wesson Safety Hammerless
The Smith and Wesson .38 Safety Hammerless models were produced from 1887 (1888 for the 32) to just before World War II. They were chambered in either .32 S and W or .38 S and W with a five-shot cylinder. They were most often produced with a 2-inch, 3-inch, or 3.5-inch barrels; but some 6" barrelled versions are known to exist.
These top-break revolvers were designed for fast reloading and concealed carry as the hammer was internal and would not snag on drawing the revolver from a pocket. They were known as "The New Departure" to reflect the company's new approach to designing revolvers.
Minor design changes were made to these revolvers over the years, resulting in several different design models, as termed by collectors. The first model was manufactured from 1887 to 1902. The .38 was based on S and W's medium frame, while the .32 was based on the smaller sized "1½" frame. [Wikipedia: Smith and Wesson Safety Hammerless]
Shooting the Smith and Wesson Safety Hammerless
Frank H. Reid:
Frank H. Reid: pages 10, 439-41, 447, 477, 529-42, 544, 547-53, 555, 574, 576-77, 579, 585.
"Casinos and prostitutes have the same thing in common; they are both trying to screw you out of your money and send you home with a smile on your face."
—V. P. Pappy
Thanks for the interesting update. It's great to have a sleuth like you looking for the right puzzle pieces to fill out historical pictures. Art
ReplyDeleteThanks Art. Makes one wonder what else might be out there waiting to be "discovered."
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