Soapy Smith musical

The cast of Stonecliff pose
during the death scene of Soapy Smith.
Is that Jesse Murphy about to shoot Soapy?
(courtesy of Crystal Schick/Yukon News)

(Click image to enlarge)

     Originally, this was to be a post about a play (this one a musical) in which "Soapy" Smith play a part. While that is newsworthy for this blog and Soapy family and fans, I did not take much notice of the photograph of the actors rehearsing until I was ready to publish the post. It appears that (1) Frank Reid (left) is wounded in the lower region, a pistol lays nearby. (2) Soapy (center) is laying down, appearing to be holding his leg (as if wounded), with no rifle nearby, and reaching one arm towards (3) another man (right) who has a rifle, perhaps just grabbing it away from Soapy and now pointing it at him? Could this third man be Jesse Murphy? Is this all just coincidence, or did the writer of the play Stonecliff read Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, or perhaps one of my many blog posts? Very interesting.

hite Pass and Yukon Route musical chugs on without director.

The cast and crew of Stonecliff are pushing forward without Conrad Boyce, who went on medical leave.

Jackie Hong Nov. 16, 2017 8:00 a.m.

At the 11th hour, the cast and crew of Stonecliff, an upcoming musical about railway builder Michael James Heney and the construction of the White Pass and Yukon Route, hit an unexpected obstacle that threatened to derail months of preparation and work.

With less than two weeks before Stonecliff was set to debut in Whitehorse, creator, director and producer Conrad Boyce told the company Nov. 5 he’d experienced a medical issue and needed to fly to Ontario for surgery the next day. He wouldn’t be able to return in time for the opening night Nov. 17, or for any other part of the musical’s tour.

“We were shocked. It’s not something you’d expect,” actor Doug Rutherford said in a phone interview Nov. 8.

But within hours, and over orders of pizza, the shock had given way to planning. The cast and crew decided against pulling the plug and instead, like Heney, chose to forge ahead, splitting up Boyce’s responsibilities among themselves to make sure Stonecliff would make it to the stage as planned.

“It’s really important for us, I think, to go ahead, and it’s an important story and it’s a local story that we can all feel passion for,” said actress Angela Drainville, who, on top of playing Harriet “Ma” Pullen, took over as producer for the Whitehorse run. “I think we were all committed to making sure that it was staged and (that we) really do justice to the presentation and we are confident that we will be able to do that, so here we are.”

Named after Heney’s hometown of Stonecliff, ON., the musical, which stars Shaw Festival actor Billy Lake, follows the struggles and triumphs of Henney and his crew as they build the White Pass and Yukon Route, taking the audience on a journey from from Skagway to Carcross to Whitehorse.

“It’s one of those perfect musicals where it has all of those experiences — it has some tragedy, certainly, you can’t build a railroad without tragedy, but there’s also a lot of great comedic and romantic moments where you’re released from that drama as well,” Drainville said.

Producing the Whitehorse leg felt like a natural fit, she added, since she’s familiar with the Yukon Arts Centre and has extensive experience with producing events, including the annual Atlin Arts and Music Festival.

Other cast members who stepped in include story narrator Bruce Barrett, who will be producing the shows in Skagway and Dawson, actor RP Singh, who will be doubling as technical director and playing character Reverend Sinclair actor James McCullough, who will be filling in as director as well as portraying John Hislop, and actor Brett Chandler, who’s taking over logistical and transportation coordination.

“It’s amazing, actually, how many hats Conrad was wearing, because there seems to be far more people wearing far more hats than they used to, than we were Sunday,” said Rutherford, who’s portraying Eratus Hawkins. Rutherford had originally stepped forward to produce the Anchorage portion of the tour, but the cast and crew ultimately decided, under the circumstances, to scrap it and focus on the Whitehorse, Skagway and Dawson stops instead.

Boyce had also left the cast and crew in as good of a position as he could have, Barrett said, which made continuing on without him easier.

“We more or less just looked at it and we decided it was doable because the actual show itself was kind of at, let’s say, the 95th percentile of completion. The hard work of actual production and direction and all the artistic components, all of these things were in place and the show was really looking pretty good, so I think that’s what made us decide that, yes, we can carry on,” he said.

“I think we’re getting pretty settled in at this point. I would definitely say we’re almost to where we would be comfortable in saying (it’s) business as usual.”

And in a poetic sort of way, Boyce’s departure and the cast and crew persevering through the challenge of filling in the gaps he left has brought everyone even closer to the story, Barrett said.

“It’s so interesting because it’s a show which is all about overcoming adversity,” he said. “The story’s (about) the unlikely success of, basically, a farm boy from the Ottawa Valley who wound up being renowned as the greatest railway man in North America and his passion and his dedication and his ingenuity and his inventiveness which allowed him to do the things he did. I would say, we’re all taking a bit of inspiration from that right now, so that makes the show very much in the spirit of the show’s hero far more so than anybody would have ever predicted.”

Drainville agreed.

“I think it’s really giving us an understanding, a little bit, of what Michael Henney went through in terms of building the railway, in terms of now staging, making sure this gets to the stage without Conrad,” she said, laughing. “There’s an allegory there.”

Stonecliff runs Nov. 17 to 19 at the Yukon Arts Centre.

SOURCE: yukon-news

"It is said of “Soapy” Smith that he lost more money at faro than any other man in the history of Denver, and old-time gamblers do not dispute the claim."

—Rocky Mountain News, July 11, 1915

NOVEMBER17

1800: Congress holds its first session inside the partially completed Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

1856: Fort Buchanan, named for recently elected President James Buchanan, is established near the Sonoita River in southern Arizona as part of the Gadsden Purchase of 1853. The fort protects emigrants traveling through the new territory from the Apache Indians, who are strongly resisting Anglo incursions.

1863: Council Bluffs, Iowa is designated the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad by President Lincoln.

1871: The city of Boulder is incorporated in Colorado Territory.

1874: An earthquake is reported in Yuma, Arizona Territory.

1877: Outlaw Jesse Evans and his gang escape Lincoln, New Mexico Territory after jailers “forgot” to lock the cell doors the night before.

1882: Indian Chief Rain in the Face and 500 Sioux surrender at Fort Keogh, Montana.

1883: Charles E. “Black Bart” Bowles, is sentenced to 6 years in San Andreas, California prison after confessing to the November 3, 1883 stagecoach robbery.

1890: Indian uprising is reported in Mandan, North Dakota.

1896: Judge Isaac “hanging judge” Parker dies from heart trouble and dropsy. Parker had been a Congressman, appointed federal judge for the Western District of Arkansas with jurisdiction over Indian Territory. He sentenced more than 160 to death, although only 79 were actually executed.

Great additions and more Soapy Wake photos.

Roger Smith drew this wonderful rendition of Soapy

h boy do I have a lot to catch up on! Here are a few items I hope you enjoy.

Skagway held their Soapy Smith Wake on July 8 just as they have for 35-years. Below is a picture of the cast and crew of the Day's of '98 Show with Soapy's 4th grave marker.

DAYS OF 98 SHOW
(back row left to right) Daniel Paun, Jeff Strong, Aliasha Suitor, Afton Toler, Kaitlyn Casanova, Allison Graham, Michael Baish, Austin Fry
(front row left to right) Tegan Baldwin, Jonathan Baldwin, Jon Erdman, Jonathan Hays, Briona Daughtery

Some more photos from the Magic Castle event
(click the images to enlarge)

 

Family members Gini Dalton, Jeff, Ashley, and Jefferson Smith

Gini Dalton giving the traditional toast

Great-great-grandson Jefferson R. Smith

Oh those ladies!
Shari Wendt, Janet Dean, and Karin Mckechnie

Honest John and Lucky Linda

The faro tables are always packed.
Greg Worley and Phil Spangenberger play to win

Doc Holliday, alias Stephen Keith deals blackjack

There was even grand hazard to play

Whit "Pop" Haydn prepares to wow the crowd
and he did

AUGUST 6

1787: The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia begins. The articles of the U.S. Constitution draft are debated.

1850: Louis Vasquez becomes the first Postmaster at Fort Bridger, present day Wyoming.

1860: Major Sedgwick and six companies of the 1st Cavalry battle a combined force of Kiowa and Comanche Indians on Cottonwood Creek, Kansas.

1873: Vigilantes lynch four suspected murderers in the Court Plaza, Tucson, Arizona Territory.

1874: James Reed, first husband of female outlaw Belle Starr, is shot dead by Deputy Sheriff J. T. Morris in Lamar County, Texas.

1880: “Buckskin” Frank Leslie marries Mary Killeen (who he had made a widow in June) in the lobby of the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tombstone, Arizona Territory.

1895: Bad man, Jim Clark is shot outside the Colombo Saloon in San Antonio, Texas while in the company of a man known only as Mexican Sam. An errant bullet pierces Clark's heart and he dies within the hour.

1896: Lawmen, including Frank King, fight a gun battle with the outlaw Black Jack Ketchum gang when it attempts to rob a bank in Nogales, Arizona Territory. The outlaws are driven off.

1902: Outlaw Harry Tracy commits suicide rather than face prison during a gun battle with lawmen on a farm in Creston, Washington. During the fight Tracy dashed into a wheat field. The posse fired volleys of shots into the field and heard Tracy fire only one shot in return. The following morning, Sheriff Gardner of Lincoln County and his deputies find Tracy dead. One of his legs had been shattered by two of the rifle balls fired by the posse. He had attempted to stop the flow of blood with a bandage, but when it became obvious he could not escape, Tracy apparently decided to make good on his promise that he would never be caught alive, and shot himself in the head. His body was returned to Salem prison for identification and was displayed to the inmates as an object lesson in the rewards of a life of crime.

Skagway, Alaska parade July 4, 2012, part 2.

Recruiting volunteers for the Spanish American War in 1898.
Winner of "Most Patriotic Float"
Pictured left to right: Interpretive park rangers Gina Palmer, Historian Karl Gurcke, Bruce Dansby
and Sebastian Selig.
(NPS photo)

ational Park Historian, Bob Lyon sent me a couple of great photographs taken on July 4, 2012 during the Skagway, Alaska annual parade. The float created by the Klondike Goldrush National Historical Park that I posted about on July 6, won "Most Patriotic Float."

The float theme was just as I thought. My first post on July 6 did not contain any pictures of the front of the float so I took a guess. The photo at top shows Soapy (Bruce Dansby) and one of his gang members (Karl Gurcke) signing up volunteers for the Skaguay Military Company. The signed up volunteers then enter the examination tent with their clothes intact. They exit the rear of the tent sans most of their clothing.  

Close up of the rear of the float
"Volunteers" sans clothing after being "examined"
(NPS photo)

The NPS gang before the parade
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR WIN!

The Days of 98 Show float won a category prize as well

The beautiful Allison Graham sells garters for Diabetes research

July 6, 2012

JULY 12

1861: Gunman David McCanles, is shot dead by “Wild Bill” Hickok in the Rock Creek station, Nebraska. McCanles had challenged Hickok to fight because Hickok was seeing the same woman he was.

1862: The U.S. Congress authorizes the Medal of Honor.

1864: President Abraham Lincoln witnesses Union forces repell Jubal Early's Confederate army on the outskirts of Washington, DC.

1870: Battle of the Little Wichita River in Texas. Kicking Bird and 100 of his Kiowa fighters battle Captain McLellan and 54 members of the 6th Cavalry. Capt. McLellan had been dispatched to recover the mail from Indians who had attacked a mail coach sixteen miles west of Fort Richardson six days previous.

1876: “Wild Bill” Hickok, age 39, arrives in Deadwood, Dakota Territory.

1882: The Tombstone Epitaph reports that Johnny Ringo is drunk in Galeyville, Arizona Territory.

1893: Deputy Marshal Sherman Russell is shot and killed by Sam Woodward near Muskogee, Indian Territory. It is unknown if Woodward was ever brought to justice.

A toast to Soapy Smith's ghost.

uly 8 is a big day for the family and fans of bad man Soapy Smith, aka Jefferson Randolph Smith II. It was on July 8 1898 that Soapy was shot and killed by Frank Reid and Jesse Murphy on Juneau Wharf, Skagway, Alaska. In 1977 my family and I visited Skagway and there, with the cast of the Days of 98 Show, we held the first "wake" over Soapy's grave. This year marks the 114th anniversary of Soapy's death, the 35th anniversary for Skagway's wake, and the 9th anniversary for the Soapy Smith Night (wake) held at the Magic Castle.

I hope you are able to attend one of the events being held across the U.S., but even if you are unable to, I would like to invite all of you join us, no matter where you are, no matter what you might be drinking at the time, to raise your glass at approximately 9:15 p.m. (your time) and drink a toast to this amazing character of the old west.

I enjoyed and wish to share with you what Friends member, Hyam A. Shyster, a magician, had to say today on Facebook.

"The next week for me are officially declared Soapy Smith days and will be dedicated to the memory of the best bad guy you ever wanted to like, Jefferson R. Smith. ... My birthday is July 12 between now and then I will honor Soapy as all my shows will be tributes to him. ... Soapy Smith is one of my hero's and is an icon of American history. I'm glad to honor men like him. Soapy inspired the name Hyam A. Shyster (say the full name to yourself) has also been the inspiration for the type of shows I do."

Thank you very much for that fine offer of tribute Mr. "Shyster." Soapy would be proud.

JULY 7

1754: Kings College (Columbia College) opens in New York City.

1846: U.S. annexation of California is proclaimed at Monterey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.

1862: The first railroad post office is tested on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad in Missouri.

1867: The 8th Cavalry reports one soldier wounded in action against Indians at Beale's Spring, Arizona Territory.

1875: Indians kill three members of the 7th Infantry near Camp Lewis, Montana Territory.

1876: Jesse and Frank James, Cole, Jim and Bob Younger, Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts, and Bill Chadwell stop and rob the Missouri Pacific train of $15,000 as it slowed to cross an old railroad bridge east of Otterville, Missouri.

1879: Caldwell, Kansas lawman, George Flatt, along with Constable W. C. Kelly, Deputy John Wilson and W. H. Kiser shoot it out with George Wood and Jake Adams in the Occidental Saloon. Flatt is credited with killing the two men.

1885: G. Moore Peters patents the cartridge-loading machine.

1898: The U.S. annexes Hawaii.

1898: Rev. John Sinclair takes a photo of Soapy Smith on his horse. It is the last known photograph of Soapy alive as he is killed in a gunfight the following day.

1898: John Stewart arrives in Skagway with a poke of gold. The following day he will be robbed of his gold by the Soap Gang, which causes a chain reaction leading to Soapy Smith’s death.

1903: A shootout in Parachute, Colorado on July 5 ends in the suicide of a man authorities claim is Harvey Logan, alias “Kid Curry.”

Soapy Smith represented again by the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park

"Suckered by Soapy"
The National Park Service parade entry
(photo by Thomas Pickerel)

(Click image to enlarge)

kagway resident photographer, Thomas Pickerel set up his camera on Broadway and 8th to get some great long-range shots of the July 4 parade. He shared them on Facebook and was kind enough to send me larger versions. Thank you Thomas!

This year's parade theme was "volunteerism," and once again the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park was able to work Soapy Smith into their parade entry. When word of the Spanish-American War reached Skagway, Soapy jumped for the cause. There is little doubt that he was a very patriotic man, but there was also big money to be made thanks to President McKinley's offer to financially support military militias that prepared to fight. Original documents and minutes sent to President McKinley and Governor Brady of Alaska pertaining to the newly created Skaguay Military Company clearly show that Soapy was more than willing to create, arm, train, and lead a government authorized company of soldiers, under his command of course. A story created in a Vancouver newspaper in May 1898 told the story of how volunteers were being robbed of their money, and even their clothing, in a fake physical examination set up by Soapy and the gang. Although no actual victims ever came forward with the same story of being robbed, Soapy continued to drill and parade the Company until July 4, 1898. The robbery story was obviously made up but nearly all the Soapy biographers repeated the story as if true. Although my book, Alias Soapy Smith, clearly shows the story the work of fiction, the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park used it as the story for their float. I don't mind it, the float concept was humorous and it seemed to work out well. I am sort of surprised that they would cater to fiction when they are so strict about their non-fiction status elsewhere.

Victims of Soapy's fake examination exit without their clothes.
(photo by Thomas Pickerel)

(Click image to enlarge)

The two photographs above show the rear of the Park Service entry as it turns onto Broadway. They are enough to see that the front portion of the float has Soapy signing up fully clothed volunteers to the Skaguay Military Company. The volunteers then enter the tent for their examination, and come out the back side of the tent in their long-johns, representing the robbery of their possessions. I would have loved to have seen it in person.

Signs on the float and carried by Park employees dressed in period garb, read, "STAND WITH US OR AGAINST US," SOAPY PUTS THE TEARS IN VOLUNTEERS," "SUCKERED BY SOAPY," and "UNCLE SOAPY WANTS YOUR MONEY."     

Thomas Pickerel's blog: Skagwaydelta








Last year's entry by the Park Service
July 7, 2011 

Skaguay Military Company: page 486-505.

JULY 6

1699: Pirate, Captain William Kidd, is captured in Boston, Massachusetts and deported back to England.

1777: British forces capture Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution.

1854: The Republican Party holds its first convention in Jackson, Mississippi.

1858: Lyman Blake patents the shoe manufacturing machine.

1863: John Bozeman leaves Fort Laramie in present day Wyoming to blaze a trail to the Yellowstone Valley in what will be named the Bozeman Trail.

1869: Nine Indians are killed and ten wounded by cavalry as reported by Lieutenant McCleave in Arizona Territory.

1876: Captain McCaskey of the 20th Infantry receives a communiqué at Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory from General Terry at 2:00 a.m. He summons officers to inform 27 widows. Elizabeth Custer is wakened at 7 a.m. with the news of the deaths of her husband, her brother-in-laws Tom Custer, Boston Custer, and James Calloway, and her nephew Henry Armstrong Reed. Elizabeth then accompanies an officer as he visits 25 other widows.

1885: Louis Pasteur successfully tests his anti-rabies vaccine. The child used in the test later becomes the director of the Pasteur Institute.

1886: The Academy of Music in Denver, Colorado burns down. In addition, the theater, Kinneavy's Saloon (Soapy’s friend), the St. Cloud restaurant, two stores and the Western union office were destroyed. Next door, the hotel Doc Holliday was living in, the Metropolitan, was spared as were the Board of Trade saloon, a warehouse, the German National Bank and Charpiot's restaurant suffered a scorching loss of windows from the heat.

Soapy Smith to aid Colorado fire victims!

Soapy would be honored and proud!

ust received some amazing news. Dave Elstun, Friends of Bad Man Soapy Smith member and mastermind behind the annual Soapy Wake in Denver, Colorado came up with the brilliant and very humane idea of donating proceeds from this year's event (July 8, 2012) to victims of the Colorado fires that have wreaked havoc on the state and it's occupants.

Dave told me that the idea came to him because of Soapy's history as a charitable man, which he indeed was. I think this is a wonderful way to advertise the Wake, which will hopefully bring in tons of money for the victims. Soapy would be so proud to know that even in the grave, he can still help those in need. The following is from Dave Elstun

The Lumber Baron Inn and Garden's is pleased to announce "Denver's Second Annual Soapy Smith Wake". A special event to raise money for victims of Colorado wildfires. Soapy's Wake takes place at 7:00 PM, Sunday July 8th, 2012 at The Lumber Baron Inn, 2555 W. 37th Ave., in Denver's historic Highlands Neighborhood. The show features the talents of the Three Soapy's, Magician Dave Elstun, Comedian's Darrin Ray and Matt Vander Muelen also featured Lumber Baron Owner and Historian Walter Keller, Songbird of the west Laura Powers and Physical Comedian and Juggler Reid Belstock. Tickets are now on sale at The Lumber Baron Inn (303) 477-8205 for only $15.00 per person. For more information please visit http://www.magicindenver.com/The-MagiCabaret-.html.

Soapy Smith was a scoundrel! He was a Con Man and one of the countries earliest Crime Bosses. Soapy operated In Denver from approximately 1879 to 1889. He was also said to be a large a generous contributor to charities. Soapy Smith is also an important part of the history that creates Denver's unique western character. It is in this spirit that The Lumber Baron Inn is producing "Denver's First Annual Soapy Smith Wake". The Wake is a recreation of and old fashioned Saloon Show just the way Soapy would have liked it. Imagine if in 1890's a group of Soapy's friends had gathered at Denver's infamous Tivoli Club to toast their friend.

Stay tuned as more develops.

JULY 1

1847: The U.S. Post Office issues its first adhesive stamps.

1861: Confederate forces, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John B. Baylor, occupy Mesilla, New Mexico Territory.

1862: President Lincoln signs the Pacific Railroad Act, which authorized the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroads to build the first transcontinental railroad. The two railroads were loaned capital at the rate of $16,000 per mile over prairie land and $48,000 over mountainous terrain. The act also granted them ten sections of public land per mile for the track that linked Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California.

1862: The U.S. Congress establishes the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

1863: A victorious Colonel Williams leads 800 members of the 1st Kansas Colored along with 500 Indians against a force of Texas Confederates lead by Cherokee chief and Confederate general Stand Watie at Cabin Creek, Kansas

1863: The first day of fighting at Gettysburg begins, during the Civil War.

1865: Camp Tyler is established on the South Platte River Road in Colorado. It is later renamed Fort Morgan.

1871: Grayson County, Texas - Richard Johnson, a Texas cowboy who sided with the Lee faction in the bloody Lee-Peacock Feud that raged during the 1860s, shoots and kills Lewis Peacock ending the feud. Johnson was never apprehended for the murder.

1874: The Philadelphia Zoological Society zoo opens the first zoo in the United States.

1875: The 2nd Cavalry reports killing two Indians in a battle at the Little Popo Agie River in Wyoming.

1876: The first news of the Little Bighorn battle reaches Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory when Crow scouts, Speckled Cock and Horned Toad, tell the Indians there of a big fight and of a white leader (Custer) who committed suicide.

1877: Soapy Smith’s mother, Emily Dawson Edmundson, dies in Round Rock, Texas.

1883: The stage running through Black Canyon, Arizona Territory is robbed for the second time in three days.

1887: Gunman and rancher, Clay Allison dies in a freak accident. He was returning from Pecos, Texas, with supplies. Allison toppled from his buckboard he was driving and fell beneath the wheel of the heavily laden wagon. The horses jerked forward and the wheel crushed Allison's head killing him instantly.

1890: Prohibition goes into effect in North Dakota.

1892: The outlaw Dalton Gang stops a train, near Red Rock, Cherokee Strip. They force the express car door open taking $11,000 from the safe.

1893: The first wooden bicycle race track in the U.S. opens in San Francisco, CA.

1898: Theodore Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" wage a victorious assault on San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

1898: U.S. forces attack Spanish troops entrenched at El Caney and on the San Juan heights, east of Santiago-de-Cuba. The Americans win tactical victories, driving the outnumbered Spanish defenders to the outskirts of Santiago.

Annual Soapy Smith wake 2012

Poster for the Magic Castle event

t's that time of year again! Come July 8, 2012 it will be the 114th anniversary of Soapy Smith's demise.

This year's annual Soapy Smith wake will be held in four states!

• Skagway, Alaska: Where it all began in 1977, which makes this the 35th annual. This event is now mostly a private event held at the Eagle's Hall but if you happen to be in Skagway I'm sure you could get in and celebrate with the locals.
• Denver, Colorado: This will be the 2nd annual event held at the Lumber Baron Inn. I have no details for this event yet but they will be posted here on the blog when I get them. I suggest you can in advance if you wish to attend.
• Chicago, Illinois: The Wizard's Club of Chicago will be celebrating their 80th anniversary and the Soapy Wake in one evening for the first annual event which will actually be taking place on July 27th. Only 100 tickets will be sold at $30 which will include
  
  • A two hour Western Buffet Dinner.
  • Old west gambling and con games played with our own Soapy Money.
  • A Champaign toast to Soapy.
  • Gambling themed magic presentations.
  • Western Costume Contest.
• Hollywood, California: This marks the 9th annual party held at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. This has been a huge success for the Castle and people come from all over the country to attend. So far everyone I know who has attended over these last nine years has returned year-after-year. In fact, the president of the Wizard's Club of Chicago, Keith "Grifter" Cobb, flew out from Chicago to California every year just for this one night. After years of doing this he decided he should create his own event, and he did (see Chicago, Illinois above). The poster at the top tells of some of the special action for this night but failed to mention the period gambling (play gamble with $100 in Soapy money) set up by my very good friend Phil Gessert and family. This is very popular with attendees. I am already receiving more family names to attend this year and that really makes me happy because our family should be involved. This is a private club so if you wish to go please contact Jeff Smith.

Something to think about: If you are a big fan of Soapy's but just can't travel to one of the parties mentioned above...why not create your own! All of the wakes started out small. The first one at the Magic Castle was advertise with a hand-done black marker and Xeroxed. It can be a public affair or completely private. "Build it ... and they will come." If you do create a Soapy wake Please let us know here and we will advertise it.

MAY 2

1774: The Quartering Act, which required American colonists to allow British soldiers into their houses, is reinstated. 

1851: Maine becomes the first U.S. state to enact a law prohibiting alcohol. 

1860: Colonel Hayes and his troops engage Paiute Indians near Pyramid Lake, Nevada Territory. 

1865: Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith surrenders the Trans-Mississippi Department to Union forces in Galveston, Texas. 

1875: Comanche Chief Quanah Parker leads his people onto the reservation near Fort Sill, Indian Territory. He becomes a respected and well to do rancher and businessman. 

1876: Outlaw Charles Earl Bowles, more commonly known as “Black Bart,” robs the Roseburg, Oregon and Yreka stage nine miles from Yreka, California. 

1883: The first baseball game under electric lights is played in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

1884: Lilly Langtry plays a return engagement at the Opera House in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. 

1885: New Orleans World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in Louisiana closes to the public after a six month run. Soapy Smith states he attended the affair. 

1886: Grover Cleveland becomes the second U.S. president to get married while in office. He is the first to have a wedding in the White House. 

1889: Thirty-four Sioux surrender on the Missouri River, Dakota Territory, to Captain Sprole of the U.S. Army. 

1896: Guglieimo Marconi's radio is patented in the U.S. 

1896: The steamer Utopia docks in Seattle with Soapy Smith on-board. Upon disembarking he registers at the Butler hotel. 

1899: The outlaw gang “The Wild Bunch,” rob the train at Wilcox, Wyoming. The gang consists of Butch Cassidy, George "Flatnose" Curry, Elzy Lay, Harvey Logan, Lonny Logan, Ben Kilpatrick, Harry “The Sundance Kid” Longbaugh (or Longabaugh), and Ben Beeson. The bandits stop the Union Pacific's Overland Flyer on a small trestle which was barricaded. Cassidy ordered the engineer, W. R. Jones, to uncouple the express car. He refused and Harvey Logan pistol-whipped the engineer. He still refused and Lay took the controls in the engine's cab and forced the train forward. The gang ordered the guard to open the express car door and come out but he refused. Dynamite was used which tore the car in half, injuring, but not killing the guard inside. The bandits ran about, picking up more than $30,000 in bank notes and securities which had been blown from the car. 

1924: The United States Congress grants full citizenship to American Indians.