Soapy Smith in Phoenix, Arizona, 1883-1884.

Correction: June 5, 2010. De'de' Porter Meyer contacted me to let me know that the photograph below that I have identified as "Marshal Henry Garfias" is actually Phoenix Mayor DeForest Porter as well as Meyer's great grandfather. Thank you very much for correcting my mistake.

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Soapy "sells prize soap on the street"
Phoenix, Arizona, 1883
Jeff Smith collection

Above is a receipt from the city of Phoenix, Arizona allowing Soapy to "sell prize soap on the street" for one month beginning December 26, 1883 and ending January 27, 1884 for the sum of $4.00. The document is signed by Mayor De Forest Porter, Recorder Knapp and Marshal Henry Garfia.

At this current time there is no information or hint from the newspapers as to what Soapy was doing in Phoenix. Obviously he operated the prize package soap swindle but no record of arrest or other activity has been found yet.

Mayor Porter served as elected mayor between 1883 and 1884 and again between 1886 and 1888. Nothing is known of Knapp, however Marshal Garfias is a different story.

This is actually Phoenix Mayor DeForest Porter

and not Marshal Henry Garfias.

Police archivists and local historians agree that an overlooked and untold story is that of Henry Garfias, the first town marshal of the fledgling town of Phoenix.

“Henry’s deeds are the stuff that legends are made of, but for some reason history seems to have forgotten this remarkable man,” says Rob Settembre, a lieutenant and history buff with the Phoenix Police Department.

“Although history may have forgotten Henry, his exploits rival and in most cases surpass some of the more famous lawmen of the old West,” Settembre continues. “Henry Garfias remains a colorful part of our police history.”

It would not be until Ruben B. Ortega was appointed police chief on Feb. 25, 1980 that another Latino would head Phoenix’s police authority.

It could be argued that Garfias, originally a Californian of Spanish descent, was an illustrious lawman on par with Tombstone lawmen Vigil and Wyatt Earp, but the Latino lawman needed a better publicist. While the Earps and several amigos killed three enemies at the OK Corral, Garfias once singlehandedly outdrew and killed four cowboys in one gunfight, according to Settembre.

A PROUD HISTORY

Henry Garfias was born in 1851 in what now is Anaheim, Calif. He was the son of a Mexican army general and Spanish was his first language. He came to Arizona in 1871 and settled in Wickenburg, according to historical sources.

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Phoenix, AZ. 1880s

By 1874, Garfias moved to Phoenix and at age 23, pinned on the badge of a county deputy sheriff. Phoenix, in 1874, was a settlement of about 1,600 people. “Whiskey Row” was on the north side of Washington between Center and First streets. It was there that Garfias established a reputation as lightning-fast and deadly with a pistol.

A large free-for-all fight had erupted at the Capital Saloon. He pushed his way into the crowd and announced his presence to the combatants. At 5’9’’, with a slender but muscular build, Garfias was taunted by a large man: “Look who’s here. You start dancing and you’d better cut some fancy steps ahead of this lead.”

When he made a motion for his gun Henry warned: “Don’t do it.” The man’s draw had just started when a gunshot exploded in the saloon. Witnesses reported Garfias was so fast on the draw, they barely saw his gun leave the holster. The large man stumbled and toppled to the floor, dead.

From that day forward, Garfias set out to tame Phoenix. He would swing into action to quell disturbances and roust rowdy ranchers and miners visiting town on Saturday nights. In those days, the military garrison stationed at Fort McDowell was the only true authority in the region, so the Latino lawman provided a sorely needed service.

A GOVERNMENT IN HIMSELF

By 1881, Phoenix had incorporated into a town. Garfias was appointed as the town marshal. He was officially the first Phoenix police officer. The town marshal was one of the most important men in the early history of Phoenix. He also was the first town marshal elected at the first municipal election and re-elected annually until 1886.




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Washington Street, late 1880s-1890s

Garfias was sometimes referred to as a “government in himself.” During his 22 years of law enforcement service, Henry served in several official duties, including town marshal, assessor, tax collector and pound master. Some sources say that Garfias started a newspaper with his brother-in-law. From 1881 to 1886, he received $100 a month for his lawman duties, a good salary for the day, and a $3 bonus for every conviction he obtained.

Danger was always present on the frontier. One local newspaper reported that Garfias was “brave and conscientious and never failed in his duty no matter how much danger menaced him.” In 1881, a couple of cowboys shot up the town until the Hispanic lawman winged one of them. Another time Garfias was confronted by four cowboys shooting at him, from horseback and on foot. He killed them all.

On April 13, 1883, he was married in a Phoenix Catholic church to Elena Redondo. He and Elena had a daughter and a son. In addition ot his official duties, he ran a successful cattle ranch in Castle Springs. Between the cattle ranch and his salary, Garfias prospered and should have died a wealthy man. But he was very generous. He never turned anyone away and gave away most of his earnings, sources say.

On May 2, 1896, Garfias was riding one of his favorite horses when it threw him and rolled over on him. At the time, he was suffering from tuberculosis and old wounds. He died seven days later. He was praised in papers of the day. On May 9, 1896, the Saturday morning edition of the Arizona Republican carried a story with the headline, “A Brave Officer Gone.” Other headlines announced: “He was one who knew no fear” and “Some of his deeds won for him Southwestern renown.”

The Republican also reported, “Arizona has had many brave men, but for cool determined nerve, coupled with a modest unassuming manner. Henry Garfias stood at the head.” The Phoenix Herald praised his bravery and reported what has been stated repeatedly, that Henry Garfias, “had the reputation of never going after a man that did not return with him, dead or alive.”

A special display has been dedicated to Henry Garfias at the Phoenix Police Museum, 101 S. Central Ave., in the Barrister Place Building.

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Phoenix Square and Queen Street, ca. 1885. City Hall is at the extreme left and the Normal School is beside it. These fine brick buildings were built in 1876 and 1877. The fountain in front of City Hall was built in the summer of 1885. Beyond the Normal School in the distance is the military compound. On the south side of Queen Street is the business district of Fredericton. The Fisher Building on the corner of Queen and York Streets, at the right of the photo, housed the Davis & Staples Drugstore ("Pure Drugs & Medicines"), Moses S. Hall's bookstore, the New Brunswick Reporter, Fisher & Fisher law firm, and other businesses. It was built in 1877. Beside it is Edgecombe's Dry Goods store. The absence of telephone poles and electric lights dates this picture to before 1895. Photograph by George T. Taylor. Credit: Provincial Archives.

Sources:
* Latino Perspectives
* John Goff, Department of History, Phoenix College
* Ruben Hernandez, Henry Garfias Màs hombre de los hombres (Fearless Hispanic lawman tamed wild Phoenix)





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Bascomb Smith - fire starter

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From the Galveston Daily News, September 21, 1883.

An attempt was made yesterday evening to burn the Avenue hotel building by setting a small store-room in the rear. It was discovered in time to prevent any damage. Bascom [sic] Smith, a youth, aged about fourteen years, who had made an unsuccessful application for work at the hotel, was suspected as the guilty party, and has been committed to jail in default of a $1500 bond.

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Klondike Tale story boards

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"How are you fixed for soap?"
courtesy of Averyl Veliz

Averyl Veliz is very busy working on story boards for her Klondike Tale. Below are two examples. Look at the colored ones and tell me you don't see Disney taking on this project.

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Klondike Tale story board 1
courtesy of Averyl Veliz

By clicking on the story board it will enlarge and you will see several neat drawings of Soapy selling his soap.

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Klondike Tale story board 2
courtesy of Averyl Veliz

The second board clearly shows Averyl's talent. She tells me she is busy painting the concept art and will let us know and see them as they come out. I see a winner here boys and girls.

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Soapy Smith retires! Thank you Jim Richards!

Jim Richards
courtesy of the Skagway News

Not the real Soapy Smith, but Jim Richards who has played Soapy for the last 36 years in the Days of '98 With Soapy Smith Show, Skagway Alaska. That's one year less than Soapy was alive. Jim has been instrumental in keeping the history of the real Soapy alive and prospering. Below are the online newspaper stories.

From the Anchorage Daily News.
Published: October 2nd, 2009 12:30 PM
Last Modified: October 2nd, 2009 01:07 PM
Link: Skagway News

Skagway 'Soapy' takes final bow after 10,000 shows

Jim Richards, a Skagway actor who portrayed the infamous Alaska Gold Rush con man "Soapy" Smith more than 10,000 times over 33 years in the town's tourist show "Days of '98," gave his last performance Sept. 17 for a packed house that included many locals. Making the occasion even more poignant was the fact that three weeks earlier, Richards suffered a stroke onstage and was rushed to the medical clinic. Five days later, he was back onstage. When asked after his final performance, "Did [playing Soapy] ever get to your head?" Richards replied, "They took an MRI of my head a few weeks ago, and there is some scar tissue in there." Richards had been easing out of the role for several years, and Jon Baldwin has been taking his place.

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Days of '98 Show poster
Jeff Smith collection

From the Skagway News
Published: September 25, 2009 • Vol. XXXII, No. 17
by Jeff Brady

Final bow for Jim ‘Soapy’ Richards

A packed house at the Eagles Hall Theatre on Sept. 17 witnessed the finale of the undisputed king of the frontier actors.

After a little more than 10,100 shows, Jim Richards is moving on from the role he perfected, that of gold rush con man Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith in the Days of ’98 Show.

Richards came to Skagway at just the right time, the mid-1970s, when the second gold rush – tourism – was in its formative years. Richards first played Slim Jim Foster, a banjo-playing member of the gang, in the original “Soapy Lives” show at AB Hall. When the first Soapy, Tom Biss of Juneau, stepped aside three years later, Richards took over the role. The following year, in 1978, he formed Gold Rush Productions with Dorothy Shaplin and Steve Hites, and they merged with the then-fledgling Days of ’98 Show at the Eagles. What resulted was a professional play about Skagway’s gold rush history that mixes music, dancing and comedy with the rise and fall of Alaska’s most notorious criminal. Richards eventually became sole owner, and the ’98 Show has had a long, successful run with him at the helm.

And for all of those 33 years – almost as long as his character lived on this earth – Richards has been Soapy Smith. Although he gradually eased out of the role over the past few years, allowing Jon Baldwin to play most of the shows, Richards still commanded attention right up to his last time on stage. And on Skagway’s Broadway, he still answered to “Soapy.”

“How ya fixed for soap?”

It’s a special day, as about 100 cruise ship passengers get a hint of what is going on.The place is packed, with locals filling the gaps in the rows, standing in the back, and filling the balcony.Not only is this the 266th and final show of the 84th season, but it’s a “monumental occasion,” says lead-off bard Michael Baish, a boyhood friend of Richards who gets the crowd warmed up with Robert Service poetry.

Then Richards strolls onstage with piano player Mark Radice to loud applause. He picks up his banjo, and announces that they will play a “syncopated tune heard on the streets of Skagway 100 years ago.”

“Yeah, Jim!” yells someone from the balcony.
But the man strums his banjo and stays in characters as the cast rolls right into the show, which is, they sing, “mostly true…partly true!”

After the opening number, Richards launches into the immortal soap pitch, created by Soapy on the streets of Denver, and perfected on his way up to Skagway. Richards is a master at manipulating his audience, probably better than Soapy ever was – except once.
To those who know, this is the moment where a stroke silenced him onstage just three weeks ago.

It happened on a Friday afternoon, Aug. 28. Richards says his mind was clear, but the words just would not come out, and the show ground to a halt. Richards was rushed to the clinic, as the audience got their money back. Baldwin filled in for the weekend shows, and Richards was home from the hospital and back in action the following Tuesday.
Cast members were amazed, and Richards made it another couple of weeks to the season finale.

“I’ve never heard him sound better,” Radice says later.
“He was soooo good,” says dance hall queen/director Margeaux Heaton, who will take over the show next summer. “And to think he was just in the hospital 2-3 weeks ago. I can’t imagine the show without him.”

“Greed is what brings them here, greed is what keeps
them here, and greed is what sends them home broke.”

Richards admits, he loves delivering that line.
The unrestrained climate of gold rush Skagway allowed Soapy Smith to prey on unsuspecting cheechakos and then rise to power.

Richards said he still loves playing the “John Fay scene,” in which Soapy takes advantage of an opportunity to put down mob rule by a vigilante committee after the Rowan-McGrath murders.

“Soapy was at the pinnacle of his power, and absolutely had control of everybody,” Richards says. “People were too involved in the gold rush, and nobody opposed him.”
But the power was short-lived and came crashing down on July 8, 1898, when his gang robbed a gold prospector in broad daylight. In the last part of the play, as the vigilante committee grows in strength, Soapy tries to explain himself with each drink from the bottle.

“I’ve been better for Skagway than…” Soapy says, trailing off, a conflicted con man, torn between good and evil, and done in by the carelessness of his own power.

“Did it ever get to your head?” the actor is asked later by the reporter.
Richards laughs, “They took an MRI of my head a few weeks ago, and there is some scar tissue in there.”

And so, unlike Soapy, the actor knows when it’s time to move on.
“You know, it’s been real fun, but I’m ready (to retire),” he continues. “I’m way past ready.”

Richards admits he could have done a better job in the PR department, and says it’s great to be able to hand over the show to someone like Heaton.

“It’s been hard finding someone to take over,” he said. “Margeaux knows the ropes. She’s been involved in basically everything for the past six years, and she’s got some good help.”

“I play Soapy’s…. well, not his mother.”

Jim Richards (Soapy) sings “Moonlight, the Yukon and You” to Margeaux Heaton (Belle) during Richards’ ’98 Show finale after 36 years on the Skagway stage. Heaton will take over ownership of the show next year.

photo by Andrew Cremata

Heaton says the prospect of taking over the ’98 Show is “very scary,” but she is also “thrilled.”

She said it was first offered to her three years ago, and then it progressed from the talking stage to something serious this past summer.

“I’m honored that he would trust me with the tradition,” she said. “I want to take us in the direction we need to go. I think I have the energy and the drive.”

She’s already working the ships, and talking to other local tour operators about pairing up for next summer.

“The sky’s the limit,” she says. “But Jim will help. He’s still trying to con me.”
For now, she will head to Juneau for six weeks of rehearsals for a different show. Heaton will be in Perseverance Theatre’s production of “Leading Ladies” in November.

“We’ll build a sweet little nest, somewhere in the west,
and let the rest of the world go by.”

As Belle Davenport, Heaton sings that song right before her man walks down the street to his death.

For Richards, the westward stroll will take him back to Hawaii with his wife Terri, who has helped him keep the show going these past few years. They’ve been working on a home during their winters on the big island for the past decade, and it’s time to finish it.
But Richards says he will be back in the spring for a couple weeks to assist in the final transition.

The show ends with the traditional “Alaska’s Flag” which Richards belts out for the last time. And then there is a long – very long – standing ovation.

The cast gives Richards a shirt from his first stage gig, “Soapy Lives”, and then Charlotte Jewell presents a large bouquet of flowers from Richards’ former partner, Dorothy Shaplin, and their kids Brooks and Jimmy in Sweden.

He asks us later to print the inscription. How can we refuse Soapy’s last request? After all, he even controlled some of the press in this town for a time:

Well Soapy the day finally came
When the Shell Game comes to an end
You stood here how many times
And repeated always the same old lines.
Dancers, Actors, Writers and Musicians
Directors, Ticket Takers and Light Technicians
Public faces, well known faces
Watching you go through the paces.
Show after show, year after year
Oh, all the stories, we could laugh till tears
Now that you’re feeling just fine
Write them down so we’ll all remember the good times.
Wish I could have been there, Brooks too
Plus a whole lot of others I’m sure
You’ll be missed on stage in the theatre
For we know Jim that nobody did it better.
Wishing you all the best,
Dorothy, Brooks and Jimmy

The Smith family is forever grateful.
Thank you Jim!

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Soapy Smith in Washington, Iowa, 1883

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Soapy Smith's license to sell his "prize soap" Washington, Iowa, 1883
Jefferson Randolph "Little Randy" Smith collection

Here is another copy of a city license obtained by Soapy so that he could "sell prize soap" on the street corners of Washington, Iowa. The license was purchased on May 31, 1883 and expired the following day of June 1, 1883. It is signed by the city mayor, D. C. Kyle. Unlike the others in the Smith family collection this license does not have a space for the fee paid.

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Back side of the license note that Soapy made some notations
Jefferson Randolph "Little Randy" Smith collection

Soapy made some notations on the rear of the license and then scribbled over them. There appear to be several names and monetary figures. The money appears to range from $7.00 to $10,000. From other licenses we have learned that Soapy used the backs of old licenses as note paper when no other was available, and that the notes were not related to the city where the license came from. In this case it is uncertain if the notes made have any relation with Washington, Iowa.

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Negative copy of the notations
Jeff Smith collection

Once again I seek anyone's opinion on deciphering the notations. They may be names of fellow associates or boosters under his pay. They may even hold clues to his next location.

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Panorama of Washington, Iowa
(unknown date)

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Soapy Smith's gold stick-pin

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Soapy Smith's gold stick-pin
Jeff Smith collection

This pin has been in our family since the days Soapy wore it on his ties. Beautifully engraved with his initials "JRS."

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Soapy Smith in Nebraska City, 1883

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Soapy's Nebraska City vendors license, 1883
Jefferson Randolph "Little Randy" Smith collection

In late May 1883 Soapy passed through Nebraska City, Nebraska. It is not certain when he arrived and on what day he left but on May 26 he applied and received the one day license pictured above for the purpose of "Selling Prize Soap." The fee to operate for one day was $2.50. The license is signed by what appears to be "D. J. Goff," the City Clerk, and H. F. Cady, the Mayor. The contemporary newspapers I viewed listed the mayor but not the city clerk.

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Nebraska City, Nebraska

It is currently unknown why Soapy went through Nebraska City. The newspapers showed no fairs, circuses or other events taking place in which potential victims would converge. Being the license was for one day it might be assumed that he was just simply passing through.

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Back side of the license
Jefferson Randolph "Little Randy" Smith collection

On the back of license Soapy made some handwritten notes. It appears that he had learned about two other events taking place in Minnesota that he might attend and wrote them down on the only paper available, the back side of the license. The deciphering of some of the wording is uncertain. Please feel free to reply with your own opinions as to what some of the spellings might be. The following is what I came up with.

“Old settlers picnic of Tiarraban [or Tiarrabanet] & Northfield at Union Lakes June 26. Red Rock Camp meeting June 20 to July 3rd."

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Negative of the notes on the back of the license

There is a good probability that "Northfield at Union Lakes" is Northfield, Minnesota as there was and still is a Union Lake there.

The "Red Rock Camp meeting" is very possibly the annual Methodist get together, also in Minnesota. The Annual Report of the Board of Managers of the Women’s Home Missionary, 1882 states that the Red Rock Camp Meeting took place “in June.”

Red Rock, about 7 miles south of St. Paul, is the spot of "a sacred granite boulder painted with red stripes and worshiped for generations by the Indians [Sioux]. ... Pastor Benjamin Kavanaugh built a two story log cabin. The first floor became a school for children of 'half-breeds' and whites, the upper floor the pastor’s home." Both the Red Rock and the restored cabin, the oldest Methodist building in Minnesota, can be seen on the grounds of the Newport United Methodist Church. Red Rock Camp Meetings were held near this site for many years.

Directions: Follow Highway 494 to Highway 61 going east. Turn left on Glen Road to Newport United Methodist Church.


Sources:
* Jefferson Randolph "Little Randy" Smith collection.
* Annual Report of the Board of Managers of the Women’s Home Missionary, 1882
* Red Rock, Frontier Methodist Camp Meeting by Merrill E. Jarchow.
Minnesota History, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Jun., 1950), pp. 79-92
Published by: Minnesota Historical Society Press

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Nebraska City, 1868
courtesy of History-Map.com

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Judge James Wickersham on Soapy Smith.

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Battleship U.S.S. Maine
Sank in Havana Harbor

The following passage comes from Old Yukon: Tales — Trails — and Trials by Judge James Wickersham, 1938. Wickersham was a U.S. District Judge in Alaska between 1900-1908 and later a delegate to Congress for 14 years. His credentials are good but his stories about Soapy are mostly fiction with added filler to help sell books.

The War with Spain then engaged the attention of the country and the people were filled with patriotism. With that cunning impudence which characterized him, Smith wrote a letter to President McKinley offering to raise a company of Alaska rough riders. Smith received from the President's secretary a courteous letter of acknowledgment that gave no authority to act as an enlisting officer. This letter served Smith's purpose, however, for it was promptly framed and displayed in "Jeff's Place," where it was accepted by the ignorant public as proof that Soapy was a patriotic citizen in direct communication with the White House. Quite a crowd of men appeared and offered to enlist. His "lambs," as Soapy called the sneak thieves and highwaymen that composed his town gang, picked clean the pockets of the volunteers when they left their clothing in the disrobing room preparatory to submitting to a pretended medical examination in another apartment.

Soapy also boldly took over the 4th of July celebration. His gangsters controlled in true ward-heeler style the public meeting held to organize the parade, and elected Soapy grand marshal. He led the parade on a spirited gray horse followed by a brass band of dance hall musicians, then by a special body guard of "tigers" and such citizens as marched in loyalty to their country's flag notwithstanding the character of their leader.

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Soapy Smith in Gonzales, Texas, 1883.

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Gonzales county occupation tax, 1883
Jeff Smith collection

The above document is one of the more fragile ones in the Smith family collections. It is an occupation tax receipt that Soapy Smith received after paying the $3.00 fee to operate his swindles in Gonzales, Texas county as a "seventh class merchant" for the period of one year beginning on January 25, 1883, the date the document was signed.

The receipt is signed by A. T. Bass, the tax collector. Bass was also the counties one time Surveyor and had been a captain in the county sheriff's department. The Comptroller of Public Accounts also signed it but I could not find the name of the person, only the office. It appears to read "Wm. Brown."

The Gonzales Branch Railroad Company was chartered on November 12, 1881. Twelve miles of track between Gonzales and Harwood, Texas, and a connection with the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway were completed in August 1882. This is the probable method of arriving into Gonzales.

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Three-card monte gang working a train

sources:

* Jeff Smith collection
* Ancestry.com





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“Crime hole of Hades!”

“Say, this Soapy Smith fellow must be a regular Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde!” exclaimed an irate stampeder. “And I hear a few silly women of Skagway a few months ago were calling him the ‘dashing, colorful Robin Hood of the North!’—just on account of a few good deeds he did, generally with ulterior motives. One of his so-called ‘good deeds,’ which he never expected to be discovered, was a villainous act! Seems he gave the new preacher a good size sum of money to help build a church … but all the time, his men lay in wait to rob the minister on his way home. Think of it! Not only did they take Soapy Smith’s generous donation, but they took all their other donations as well! And to think, this slick soap salesman, this sleight-of-hand performer whose hand is quicker than the eye is the real power behind this evil ring! Now, they tell me Soapy dresses as a captain of the U.S. militia, drills several hundred of his gang in uniform. Sometimes he rides a beautiful white horse through town. Many call him the ‘Shah of Skagway!’ They say his big ambition, though is to be chief of police. Imagine! It’s a damned outrage, I tell you! Why, with his trained men armed to the teeth, Soapy Smith has the sinister power to declare martial law, and I understand has already threatened to do so. There’s no doubt about it, Skagway is a fever-stricken, crime hole of Hades! And my advice to you is, keep a sharp eye on your money, your hand on your gun; and don’t take up with strangers and, above all don’t go over White Pass unless you’re armed!”

From Black Sand and Gold by Ella Lung Martinsen, 1956.

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A review, an update and followers...

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Book cover for
Riding With the James Gang
courtesy of Gayle Martin

There are a couple of items I wanted to cover today. The first covers a book review for Arizona author, Gayle Martin asked me to do for her latest Luke and Jenny adventure series, Riding With the James Gang. It is an honor to be asked to do such a review and the book was a fun read so it was a pleasure as well.

This is Gayles' third book in the series, the other two dealing with Billy the Kid and the Gunfight at (near) the O.K. Corral. All three can be seen on Gayle's website HERE.

On September 22 I reported on the recent changes Cathy Spude made on her upcoming Soapy Smith book. I wrote that her book was scheduled to be released in May 2010. She has since changed that date to January 2010.





I seek followers. No I'm not creating a religious cult... although some might see it as a historical cult. In the first column of the sidebars to the right I have a box marked "Please join and follow this blog." I put a lot of time and effort into this site and I want to be able to see that I am gaining converts. No matter your personal thoughts about Soapy Smith, if you come here every so often to read what I have posted then I would appreciate knowing about it. It's easy to join and no salesmen will visit your door. You won't receive emails or notices, but rather it just lets me see my followers. ...So, as the flag says...

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Letter to Soapy Smith from Tombstone, Az. 1882.

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Letter to Soapy Smith
Jefferson Randolph "Little Randy" Smith collection

Above is a letter written to Soapy Smith from Tombstone, Arizona in 1882 using stationary from the Russ House, famous for partner Nellie Cashman.

From the 1960s through the 1980s my father and his siblings shared Xerox copies of their inherited collections a few pieces at a time and sending them via the postal service, Unfortunately these copies were often very poor. The above letter is an example.

In late 1882 (most likely December) Soapy Smith, was in Fort Worth, Texas where he wrote known confidence man and good friend, John T. Waller. On December 24, 1882 Waller responded with a letter from the Russ House in Tombstone, Arizona.

Dec. 24, 1882.
Friend Jeff

I received your card. I shall not stop in El Paso. You never said what you had been doing. Can you not take time to write a letter and give me the news. I am afraid that you will get busted before you get home. If so send me word & as long as I have a dollar you can have half of it. I am doing a good business here. I sold $82.75 yesterday. I took in $43.50 last night, & it was so cold that I came very near freezing. I shall only stay here 2 or 3 days longer. I got in here last Wednesday. I saw Taylor & and girl on the stage that day, going out. I wish you a Merry Christmas & a happy new year. Address Colorado City, Texas.

Yours truly
John T. Waller.

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Envelope for the above letter
Jefferson Randolph "Little Randy" Smith collection.

Note: The envelope is paired with the stationary and the cancellation stamp is from Tombstone, addressed to Soapy in Fort Worth, Texas.

The letter indicates at least two known confidence men and friends of Soapy's were operating in Tombstone. The "Taylor" mentioned in the letter is believed to be John Taylor, a con man thought possibly to have been Soapy's first mentor.

Waller does not mention any legal entanglements with the local city officials. In fact, Waller appears to have been doing quite well in Tombstone. $82.75 and $43.50 may not seem very successful in today's terms but using an inflation calculator, Waller took in the equivalent of $3,457.68.

The Russ House as it looks today
(Nellie Cashman Restaurant)
Tombstone, AZ.

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Soapy Smith in Salem, Oregon 1882.

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Salem, Oregon city license, 1882
Geri Murphy collection

A nice city license dated September 16, 1882 for Soapy Smith granting him permission to "hawk his prize soap" on city streets for the period of one week from September 16, 1882 to September 23 for the fee of $15.25. The license is filled out by City Recorder, Charles W. Bowie, of whom I could only find an 1876 marriage record.

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Salem, Oregon 1876

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