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ce Box Murphy
Did He Exist?
Anyone reading my book, Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, and this blog, might have wondered why I have not included the history of the soap gang member, “Ice Box” Murphy. The early biographies introduced me to Murphy, whose story was also included in most of the later biographies and articles. Today, many writers repeat the same old fabrications. Wait, “fabrications?” Since I started researching “Soapy’s” history in 1985 I have never found a single source or newspaper article proving that “Ice Box” Murphy existed outside the old bios.
In my book, Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, 2009, I wrote
Early biographers had access to scant factual information about members of Jeff’s soap gang. Invented yarns and exaggerations where no known facts were available made their stories more interesting. Some of the men said to have worked for Jeff, such as “Ice Box” Murphy, are possibly complete fabrications as not a single separate accounting of their existence could be found.
It was in the book, The Reign of Soapy Smith: Monarch of Misrule, by William R. Collier and Edwin V. Westrate, 1935, where I first read about "Ice Box" Murphy, describing the story of how he got his name (pp. 32-33).
“Ice Box” Murphy, box-car tripper, amateur yegg, and one-time running mate of ‘A No. 1,’ the world-famed hobo, was taken on by Soapy as a booster. Ambitious to be a great safe blower, Murphy’s career in that field was irreparably ruined by the fatal blunder which earned him his sobriquet early in his efforts.
His small stature secured him membership in a gang which took him along on a ‘job’ whose objective was to empty the safe of a wholesale butcher shop. The diminutive Murphy was boosted through the transom. Sent in with ‘soup,’ putty, fuse drills, and blanket, he operated alone in the darkness. Some fifteen minutes elapsed before he unlocked the door from the inside and rejoined his pals. A minute later, the building was shaken by a muffled explosion. The yeggs rushed in-to discover that Murphy had blown the steel refrigerator instead of the safe!
In every direction the floor was strewn with shattered steaks, chops, frankfurters, hams, cutlets, and sides of beef. There was no time to correct the error, and Murphy, in disgrace, was banished forever by the blasting brotherhood. He was never allowed to forget his faux pas, and the name, ‘Ice Box,’ was fastened on him in derision. To Smith, however, he had his uses, and he was kept as a member of the soap gang.
In the book, Soapy Smith: King of the Frontier Con Men, by Frank G. Robertson and Beth K. Harris, 1961, the authors repeated the same story, and did not add anything new on Murphy.
Ice Box Murphy came by his name because in a burglary he crawled into a building to blow open a safe, but confused the safe with a large old-fashioned walk-in refrigerator. Instead of money, he blew steaks, roasts, and mutton chops all over the room.
Since that time, authors have repeated the same story, unable to add anything new. I don't particularly believe that there was an "Ice Box" Murphy but as William Wright said in 1888, "The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence," so I will continue to keep an open mind and open eyes.
"Ice Box" Murphy: page 73.
"The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
—William Wright, 1888
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