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.

Was Soapy Smith better known that Wyatt Earp? Cathy Spude's concern.

The "good-old-days"

athy Spude's endeavor to prove Soapy Smith was nothing more than a small time crook continues. A few days ago she created a new page on her website with the focus of disproving an old post of mine. Her page is entitled, Soapy graphs: Soapy Smith and Wyatt Earp: Who was Better Known? and revolves around a discovery I made back on October 3, 2010 under the title, Was Soapy Smith more well known than Wyatt Earp?



I acquired the idea of using the Google newspaper archives as a simple comparison tool from a friend who used it on a Tombstone forum to show all the newspaper articles pertaining to Wyatt Earp between the years 1880-1970. I have always heard that Wyatt Earp was not real well known when he was alive, and that his fame came much later. Because of that I invariably wondered if Soapy might have been more well known than Wyatt, while the two men were alive (1860-1898). When I saw the comparison graph on the Tombstone forum I thought it would be interesting to show a comparison between the two men using the articles in the same Google newspaper archives. This was never meant to be a precision study as no online data base contains every newspaper ever published, let alone all the issues of the titles they do have, plus, these online data bases consistently add to their collections, so for this reason I did not bother to show the X and Y axis comparisons. This comparison was just a simple case study. Because of this I did not bother to publish every newspaper title, of which there were many, all across the United States, which included Arizona, where Wyatt Earp was most famous, and Colorado, where Soapy Smith was famous, along with most of the other states, but did not include Alaska, where the figures for Soapy would have dramatically increased. Per a request I performed separate comparisons for New York and Los Angeles.

This does not sit well with Cathy, who writes,

If you take a look at his bar graphs, prepared by Google News Archives, you will see that there are no scales, and no idea of what database of newspapers the articles come from. In other words, we don't know if the Wyatt Earp scale is the same as the Soapy Smith scale, and we don't know if Google News's 1880's newspapers were mostly large cities only (including Denver) and didn't include the smaller towns such as Tombstone, Dodge City and the cow towns where the Earp name would have been more familiar.

Checking up with Google News today, almost two years after this posting was made, it is impossible to determine how Smith came up with his data. The graphing feature he cites doesn't exist and Google News does not talk about its database of newspapers.

Again, it was just a comparison of what Google had available, which was quite a lot. At the time I did not wish to write down every single newspaper title as there were just too many. It never dawned on me that anyone would question the graphs because they were easy to do and figured anyone could do their own study in short order, plus the fact that I knew that new titles would be added as time went on.

Cathy did decide to perform her own comparison and writes,

What I CAN do is provide the kind of data that I found missing on Smith's graphs. GenealogyBank.com is a database of over 6,100 historic newspapers that can be searched on-line for a very reasonable yearly subscription fee. They have made an effort to cover every state for all time periods for both large and small population towns.

Cathy is mistaken when she writes, "they have made an effort to cover every state for all time periods for both large and small population towns." I enjoy reading old newspapers looking for clues to fill in the gaps as to where Soapy traveled. I have thoroughly checked out GenealogyBank.com's list of newspaper titles and I can vouch that some key cities and newspaper titles are missing from their data base. There are enough missing to warrant my not using their service. Even so, if you take a look at her graph, you can see that in the 1880s and 90s Wyatt and Soapy are close together, not a "landslide" as Cathy reports.

On January 23, 2012 I performed another comparison, this time using Gale Primary Source Media and Archival Solutions, the largest data base of digital newspapers in the United States. I used the same method as I did in 2010, between the dates 01/01/1860 - 12/31/1899. Once again Soapy beat out Wyatt, by 210% Wyatt's score is 164 while Soapy won with 345.Although the largest data base it is far from complete so again this is just a simple comparison. Apparently Cathy did not see this comparison study as she does not allude to it on her website. She does, however, try to disprove my graphs with another comparison graph of her own, between Soapy and J. M. Tanner. Cathy writes,

Now, to show you why its all a function of what newspaper base you're looking at and how you ask the question, the graph below shows you the number of newspaper articles about Soapy Smith and J. M. Tanner in Alaskan newspapers in the three decades that Si Tanner lived in Alaska. If Jeff Smith's reasoning is correct, the number of newspaper articles written about a man shows how well known he was known in the place he lived. As you can see, Si Tanner was much better known than Soapy Smith.

The main flaw in her reasoning is that she starts her graph in 1900, AFTER Soapy was deceased and at the RISE of Tanner's career as a lawman and politician in Skagway. Naturally, Tanner would have been mentioned in the newspaper a lot more than Soapy, because Soapy was dead. What would have been interesting is for her to include the years 1897-1898 in her comparison, when Tanner was a complete unknown.

"Saluting the memory of Soapy Smith, forever inseparable and significant to the Old West history of the Mile-High City."

―Robert Bandhauer

AUGUST 23

1838: The first class graduates from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, Massachusetts, one of the first colleges for women.

1842: Explorer John C. Fremont carves his name in Independence Rock, Wyoming.

1858: "Ten Nights in a Barroom," a melodrama about the evils of drinking, opens in New York City at the National Theater.

1868: Three members of the 31st Infantry are killed by Indians near Fort Totten, Dakota Territory.

1868: Eight settlers are killed by Indians between Pond Creek, Kansas and Lake Station, Colorado Territory.

1873: Outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez is involved in the “Tres Pinos Massacre.” He is believed to have killed 42 men. On March 19th 1875 Vasquez is hanged for the murders committed during the “Tres Pinos Massacre” at San Jose. California

1877: John Wesley Hardin is arrested by Texas Ranger John B. Armstrong on a train for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb in 1874. Armstrong killed Jim Mann and pistol-whipped Hardin until he was unconscious.

1882: Two murders are lynched from a tree in Globe, Arizona Territory.

1892: The printed streetcar transfer is patented by John H. Stedman.

1945: Lawman Elfego Baca dies at age 80 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Soapy Smith Wake: Magic Castle, 2012

The kids and I
Soapy Smith Night (Wake) at the Magic Castle 
(left to right) Jefferson R. Smith, Jeff Smith (me), Troy Hall, and Ashley Smith
Hollywood, CA.

aiting for details from the Magic Castle and writers block has kept me from posting here for a few weeks. I hope posting this today will get me out of that rut.

This year's Soapy Smith wake at the Magic Castle (they call it Soapy Smith Night) was fantastic. They just get better every year! It was for me, perhaps the best in the nine years the Castle has been putting them on. Although the event was on a Sunday evening I had twice as many guests on my membership card than in previous years. The problem for me has always been writing about the event afterwards. I get so hyped up and excited before the event, and then when the day finally arrives it's all within a few seemingly shorter hours. It usually takes me a few days to unwind. This year was harder than previous years as I was laid up in bed the following day.

So much fun!

 (Click image to enlarge)

Whit Haydn, the man behind the event tells me there were a total of 420 guests that raised $2,520 for the Dai Vernon Fund. Once again, my friend, Phil Gessert brought in his fantastic gambling collection and set up a gold rush era gambling hall. Actually, the crowd loves the play gambling (with $100 in Soapy money) that the gambling hall was enlarged and separated into two locations on each end of the downstairs room. Guests played roulette, faro, chuck-a-luck, and black-jack. There were also short cons operating around the Castle, such as the shell and pea game, three-card monte, and fast and loose. Once again, prizes were given to the most successful dealer and player. Cheating is not only welcome, but encouraged.

Jeff Smith talks about the history of the wakes
(note the cased grave marker in the background)

(Click image to enlarge)

The Soapy Smith wake at the Magic Castle is one of the few times guests can come in 1890s costume and every year more people come dressed and enter the costume contest. Prizes were given out for the most authentic male and female, the funniest male and female, and always the favorite, sexiest female. This year we also added sexiest male costume. Live period music was provided by Professor Dave Bourne and the Medicine Show Band. Very popular at each annual party is Chef Anton, the two-time national trick shot champion at pool, presented his incredible demonstration of billiards wizardry. The auction of Soapy and magic memorabilia always brings in a lot of money for the charity. Every year or so I clean out the case holding Soapy's 2nd grave marker and donate the larger splinters of wood to Whit Haydn. He picks a nice piece or two and puts them in a nice shadow box. This year the splinter sold for $96 with all the proceeds going to the charity.

Encased sliver from Soapy's grave marker donated
for the charity auction brought a winning bid of $96.00

I spend the evening talking with people and every year I run into people with great stories. This year one of the full-time Castle employees told me she chooses to work every event except for the Soapy Smith Night. It's the one event she attends as a guest, "because it's so much fun." I certainly can't argue with her.
  

Family member Ginni Dalton gave an eloquent toast this year 

I had the pleasure of having my two children, Ashley and Jefferson, there again. They are hooked. I also had a few first-time family members attend. It was also the first time ever meeting them. They are Shelagh Moriarty and son Aron and Ginny and Russ Dalton. Shelagh brought old photographs of her grandmother and Soapy's son, my grandfather. We will be getting together soon as she has a lot of history regarding the family. Ginny helped me with giving the toast.

More photographs of the event can be seen on Pop's Soapbox

A special thank to Whit "Pop" Haydn, the man behind this event. 

Our family is forever grateful.

JULY 13

1585: A group of 108 English colonists, led by Sir Richard Grenville, reach Roanoke Island, North Carolina.

1754: At the beginning of the French and Indian War, George Washington surrenders the small, circular Fort Necessity in southwestern Pennsylvania to the French.

1787: U.S. Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, enacts the Northwest Ordinance, which establishes the rules for governing the Northwest Territory, for admitting new states to the Union and limiting the expansion of slavery.

1812: The first pawn-broking ordinance is passed in New York City.

1832: U.S. Indian agent and explorer Henry Schoolcraft discovers the source of the Mississippi River. Its 2,552-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico begins at Lake Itasca, Minnesota.

1835: John Ruggles receives patent #1 from the U.S. Patent Office for a traction wheel used in locomotive steam engines. All 9,957 previous patents were not numbered.

1863: Opponents of the Civil War draft riot for three days in New York City, which results in more than 1,000 casualties.

1866: Construction begins on Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming, between the forks of the Little Piney and Big Piney Creeks. Red Cloud, Ogalala Crazy Horse, Black Shield, and High Backbone of the Minneconjous Indian tribe, seal a pact and over the next six months kill 154 soldiers and settlers in 51 skirmishes.

1867: Lieutenant Goodale and the 23rd Infantry report five Indians killed and two captured on the Malheur, Oregon Territory. One soldier is killed.

1871: The 21st Infantry reports killing fifteen Indians and one soldier killed, Clenega de Los pinos, Arizona Territory.

1872: The 5th Cavalry reports killing four Indians in a battle in the Whetstone Mountains, Arizona Territory.

1875: David Brown patents the first cash-carrier system.

1882: George Hackett, driver of a Wells Fargo stage nine miles outside of Strawberry, California shoots at stage robber Charles Earl Bowles, alias “Black Bart.” The shot scars Bowles forehead, but he escapes into the woods.

1891: William Oliver is swindled for a second time in the Tivoli Club and gets into a fight with bunco man, John Goodfellow.

1896: Philadelphia’s Ed Delahanty became the second major league player to hit four home runs in a single game.

1898: Deputy US Marshal Taylor is officially relieved of duty by US Marshal Shoup after the death of Soapy Smith. Taylor was in Soapy’s pay.

1898: Sheriff Pat Garrett of Dona Ana County, New Mexico and four deputies attempt to arrest Oliver Lee and James Gilliland at Lee’s ranch for murder. The lawmen were greeted with gunfire from Lee and Gilliland. Garrett receives a slight wound in the side and Deputy Kent Kearney is mortally wounded. The lawmen retreat, but both men later surrender. Lee and Gilliand are acquitted of the murder charge. Garrett loses his job as sheriff. Lee returns to ranching and is eventually elected twice to the New Mexico legislature.

1937: Outlaw Emmett Dalton dies. He was a member of the train and bank robbing Dalton Gang in Indian Territory. He survived the ill-fated Dalton raid on two banks in Coffeyville, Kansas, despite receiving 23 gunshot wounds. After serving 14 years in prison for the crime, Dalton capitalized on his notoriety to author books and become an actor in Hollywood. Emmett Dalton died in Los Angeles, California. It is believed that Mary, the wife of bad man Soapy Smith was a cousin to the Daltons.

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 says, "Happy July 4!"

Jeff Smith's Parlor
July 4, 2012
(photo by Donna Smith)

onna Smith and Jerry Stainer, Friends of Bad Man Soapy Smith members, took a trip to Skagway, Alaska recently. It's definitely not their first trip there but Donna wanted to send me some photographs of how things are looking, Soapy wise.

The photo at top shows that the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park is once again taking interest in the July 4 festivities by decorating Soapy's saloon in red, white, and blue. Soapy was indeed very patriotic, and in fact, photos of Jeff Smith's Parlor without patriotic bunting draped all over it are on the rare side.

Donna says you can't go to
Skagway without visiting
Soapy Smith's grave.
(photo by Donna Smith)

While in Skagway Donna purchased my book, Alias Soapy Smith at the Skagway News Depot, which had been autographed by me, so they also had the entire cast of the Days of 98 Show autograph it! I thought that was a wonderful idea. Donna and hubby Jerry also took in the Temsco helicopter ride and rode the steam train to Fraser and back again. During the ride they saw two bears. Donna said they even did a little geocaching while they were there. That's a game people play where someone will hide small little prizes and then those with a GPS (global positioning system) application try to find it. My daughter Ashley and her boyfriend just started playing the game. Afterwards Donna told me they saw the play and did the usual tourist shopping in the stores of Skagway.

Thank you very much Donna!

Soapy Smith's Olde Tyme Photo Parlor
A modern business capitalizing on Soapy's name
(photo by Donna Smith)

Donna Smith and Jerry Stainer
April 2, 2011
April 1, 2011 

JULY 3

1775: U.S. Gen. George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1844: U.S. Ambassador Caleb Cushing successfully negotiated a commercial treaty with China that opened five Chinese ports to U.S. merchants and protects the rights of American citizens in China.

1862: Union forces are the victors in a battle with Confederate troops in Locust Grove, Indian Territory.

1863: The Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania ends as a major victory for the Union after three days of fighting.

1865: General Connor arrives in Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory (present day Wyoming), with orders to protect the stagecoaches of the Overland Mail Company from Arapaho Indians.

1867: The 3rd Infantry from Fort Wallace, Kansas, reports one soldier wounded near Goose Creek, Colorado Territory.

1869: Four Indians are killed in a fight with the 8th Cavalry in Hell Canyon, Arizona Territory.

1871: The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company introduces the first narrow-gauge locomotive. It is called the Montezuma.

1873: Vigilantes lynch a rustler who stole a widow's cow in Phoenix, Arizona Territory.

1876: The steamship Far West begins the journey down the Yellowstone River, Montana Territory, carrying the bodies of George Custer and his men, Reno's wounded, and the horse Comanche.

1876: The first newspaper account of Custer's battle at the Little Bighorn appear in the Bozeman Times, Montana Territory.

1878: A posse under command of J. J. Dolan terrorizes San Patricio, New Mexico Territory, as they search for the Regulators. One of the Regulators is outlaw Billy the Kid.

1878: John Wise flies the first dirigible in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

1880: The publication, Science, goes on sale, with inventor Thomas Edison having provided the principle funding.

1884: E. C. Abbott, alias “Teddy Blue,” records that the outfit, under the leadership of Granville Stuart, hung a rustler between the DHS Ranch and Fort Maginnis, Montana Territory.

1888: Wyatt Earp's second wife, Celia "Mattie" Blaylock, commits suicide in Pinal, Arizona Territory. Mattie had accompanied Wyatt to Tombstone and separated (abandoned) from the lawman after they left Tombstone. She worked as a prostitute.

1890: Idaho becomes the 43rd state of the Union.

1897: G. A. Lancaster files a claim on Eldorado Creek in the Yukon, later to be known as Gold Hill, located in the Klondike, Yukon Territory.

1898: During the Spanish-American War, six Spanish warships in Cuba's Santiago-de-Cuba Harbor attempt to flee by shooting their way through a U.S. blockade. U.S. warships destroy all of the Spanish ships killing more than 350 Spanish seamen. The U.S. loses one sailor in the battle. Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst maneuvers his steamer close to the action and captures (rescues) 17 Spanish seamen from the water.

1901: Harvey "Kid Curry" Logan, Ben Kilpatrick, “Deaf Charley” Hanks, and an unknown 4th member of the Wild Bunch gang, rob a Great Northern Coast Flyer train near Wagner, Montana, getting away with up to  $65,000, gold watches, and a bolt of silk. After Kilpatrick boarded as a passenger, “Deaf Charley” (or possibly Harvey Logan) snuck onto the coupling between the tender and baggage car, and hijacked the train to a prearranged point where Logan and Kilpatrick then robbed the express car, blowing up the safe with dynamite. Before leaving, the Express Manager asked for a souvenir, and Logan emptied his gun and handed it over, saying, “Thanks for your help.” It is the last recorded Wild Bunch robbery.

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.

Soapy Smith ranks 6th place.

amily member and Friends of Bad Man Soapy Smith member, Christina Kelley "Tina" Marshall sent me the following "Top Ten" video on CON MEN. Soapy Smith is #6 in the ranking. His story starts at 01:08 on the timer. The two sources mentioned for the bit on Soapy are the books, Scams by T. Ogunjobi and Which End of a Buffalo Gets Up First? by G. Hubbard. I found no information when I Googled the first book. I have heard of the second book but have not read it. I am guessing it is just the usual general information. It's good to see people are noticing Soapy as an important figure of history. Enjoy the video.

JUNE 30

1841: The Erie Railroad rolls out its first passenger train.
1859: Charles Blondin becomes the first person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
1863: George A. Custer, age 23, is made brigadier general of Union Army volunteers.
1864: On the western slopes of the California Sierra Nevadas Yosemite, Valley Park becomes the first state park in the US. It is named after the Yosemite Indians.
1867: The 18th Infantry and Indians fight near Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming.
1882: Edward Fulsom, a hardened criminal who fled to the Indian Territory to escape justice in February 1881, is hanged in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for the murder of William Massingill, whom he beat to death with his pistol butt during a saloon brawl. Dropping from the gallows did not snap Fulsom's neck and the outlaw's pulse continued for sixty-three minutes before the doctors pronounced him dead.
1891: The first passenger train ascends the summit at Pikes Peak Mountain, Colorado. In 1806 it was thought that no one would ever succeed in climbing the mountain.
1893: Texas Ranger Captain Frank Jones is killed by Mexican cattle thieves, Jesus Olguin and his son, Severio, when he attempted to arrest them. The Olguins were never prosecuted because the incident occurred on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.
1895: Three armed men escape from the Oklahoma County Jail in Oklahoma City. The men are Bob and Bill Christian, held for the murder of a Pottawatomie County deputy Sheriff, and Jim Casey, held for the murder of a Canadian County deputy sheriff. Chief of Police John Jones and Officer G. Jackson confront the escapees at Grand and Broadway and a gunfight ensues, in which Chief Jones and Jim Casey are killed. The Christian brothers escape.
1908: An explosion in Siberia, knocks down trees in a 40-mile radius and struck some people unconscious near the 40 mile mark. It was believed by some scientists to be caused by a falling fragment from a meteorite.

Soapy's soap: Souvenir of the Day's of '98 Show

Soapy's Soap
from The Day's of 98 Show

onathan Hays, co-owner of the Day's of '98 Show (With Soapy Smith), in Skagway, Alaska previewed the brand new Soapy Soap line, based on the prize package soap sell racket. Hays says, "The bills feature Soapy's portrait, his photograph as Grand Marshall of the 4th of July Parade, and our company logo. The soap sells (*ahem*) for $5 a bar, and comes in several fragrances, including Eucalyptus Spearmint, Sunshine Magic, Rosewood, and Cedarwood Sage.

We're looking for a new (that is, "old") tripe and keister for our display." To order, please contact info@thedaysof98show.com!

JUNE 29

1652: Massachusetts declares itself an independent commonwealth. 

1767: The British Parliament approves the Townshend Revenue Acts. The acts imposed import duties on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea shipped to America. 

1776: The Virginia constitution is adopted and Patrick Henry is made governor. 

1804: Privates John Collins and Hugh Hall of the Lewis and Clark Expedition are found guilty by a court-martial consisting of members of the Corps of Discovery for getting drunk on duty. Collins receives 100 lashes on his back and Hall receives 50. 

1857: At Solomon's Fork on the Kansas River, Kansas, Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart is wounded in a fight with Cheyenne Indians. 

1860: The first iron-pile lighthouse is completed at Minot’s Ledge, Massachusetts. 

1863: Deputy Dillingham is murdered by the outlaw gang known as the “Innocents,” at Alder Gulch, Montana Territory. 

1878: Justice Wilson issues an arrest warrant for Alexander A. McSween during the Lincoln County War, New Mexico Territory. 

1879: Crow scouts kill six Indians at Alkali Creek, Montana Territory. 

1883: Tualisto, a member of the Creek Indian tribe, is hanged in Fort Smith, Arkansas after being convicted of robbing and murdering Emanuel Cochran, on July 6, 1881. Before he was hung, he announced to the spectators that the four buttons sewn into his hat were taken from the four white men he had killed. 

1893: Texas Ranger Frank Jones is killed by Mexican cattle thieves, Jesus Olguin and his son, Severio, when he attempted to arrest them. The Olguins were never prosecuted because the incident occurred on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. 

1897: The Chicago Cubs score 36 runs in a game against Louisville, setting a record for runs scored by a team in a single game.