Actors and Scenes in the Soapy Smith Tragedy

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The above postcard was purchased in 1977 at the Hegg photo store. I believe they can still be purchased there but they are not online. I do not know the date of this creation but I do know that the original is a part of the Itjen and Rapuzzi collection and was displayed in Jeff Smith's Parlor when it was a museum. I assume that the original is being restored and will once again reside inside the Parlor as a part of the Soapy Smith museum. In 1977 my parents and my brother went to Skagway with my uncle, aunt and cousin Joanne. Although the museum had long closed to the general public, George Rapuzzi gave us a tour of the Parlor so I had the opportunity to see the place as it actually looked.

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Above is the original piece which was rather large, perhaps 48" x 36." I recall it was in a hall way of sorts, where the walls were too close to get back far enough to take a good photograph. My dad took the above picture and as you can see he had to take it at an angle.

Courtesy of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Parks
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The above photograph is pretty much how the Parlor looked when I saw it in 1977. The print was hanging on the left wall, beyond the door in the rear of the photo.

Jeff Smith

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Condensed version of book, Alias Soapy Smith

When my publisher suggested a "condensed version" of my book, this is NOT what I had in mind!

Jeff Smith

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Did James Coburn play Soapy Smith in the TV show KLONDIKE?

KLONDIKE TV SHOW

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I recently came across a contact sheet from the 1960s TV show Klondike. To date I have never had the pleasure of seeing one episode. I was 2-years-old when it first aired and I bet my father and his siblings watched every episode, especially with titles like, Saints and Stickups, Sure Thing Men, and The Man Who Owned Skagway. Apparently the show did not make much of an impact on them, either in the positive or negative, as there is no known correspondence between them that pertains to the show.  For whatever reasons, the writers chose to use fictitious characters, but it is obvious they were based on real people.

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The show takes place in Skagway with actor James Coburn playing Jefferson Durain in 14 of the 17 half-hour aired episodes. Coburn's character was a con man proprietor of a saloon called "Jeff's Place." It doesn't take much imagination to figure out that this was based around Soapy Smith, although I have not found any official word from the producers as of yet.






The opening song for KLONDIKE

1891: Soapy assaults John W. Chambers (no details given).
1892: Joe Palmer and Bob Ford shoot up the town in Creede.
1894: Soapy officially commissioned as an Arapaho County deputy sheriff.

Jeff Smith

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1898 John and Frank Clancy Skagway business card: Artifact #32

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All the artifacts listed with numbers, as the one above (artifact #32) came from the saved scrapbook files of Soapy himself. #32 is a large size business card from John and Frank Clancy, Soapy's partners in Skagway. Note that the card reads, "Clancy & Company" at the top. It is believed that this is in reference to Soapy. Soapy was a silent partner in their saloon and gambling businesses as exposing  his connection to any gambling could quickly ruin trade if his reputation were to follow him to Skagway, which it eventually did. Even on his own gaming halls and businesses Soapy did not advertise his name. The only business he boldly attached his name stay to was Jeff Smith's Parlor, and it was merely a saloon with no outright gambling inside. This was his parlor, much like a parlor in a persons home during the Victorian era, it was for the proprietor to shine in the eyes of his guests.   

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Note that the back of the business card has the mileage destinations from Skagway, which was certainly handy to the Alaskan and Klondike traveler and stampeder. This surely indicates that the card was made for the Skagway business over that of the Dyea establishment. Clancy's in Skagway opened sometime in January 1898.

John and Frank Clancy were well known saloon proprietors in Seattle. They decided to join the gold rush. It is not known exactly when or where Soapy, John, and Frank met but it very well could have been in Seattle as Soapy gained many associates and established many new friends while going back and forth between Seattle, Tacoma, and Alaska. Once in Skagway the brothers Clancy quickly made friends with the business community and the Skaguay News, which wrote of their new enterprise;

Of all the places of resort in Skaguay that known by the above name is one of the best known and most popular. Located in the business center of the city, it is always to be found by the newcomer, and all old-time residents know Clancy’s.

All visitors to this place are treated with uniform courtesy. There is music and dancing every evening. Clubrooms are maintained in connection, and a first-class cafe is soon to be added. The management leave no stone unturned to make their visitor enjoy themselves.

Rev. Robert M. Dickey also wrote of the Clancy business, but only in his private diary where he wrote,

"Weary looking girls exerting their last strength to lead men astray. Gamblers stealing hard earned money from men who ought to have more sense.”

Frank Clancy was the manager of Clancy's while John Clancy partnered with Soapy in the opening of Jeff Smith's Parlor but with his name in large font across the front of the building it is obvious Soapy was in control. Within months Soapy aided Frank in winning a seat on the city council. Considering Soapy consistently worked fraudulent election schemes in Denver, Skagway was most surely an easy election process to manipulate and win. Thumbing through my book there are numerous business, social, and political events in Skagway in which Soapy and the Clancy brothers are listed together.

One of the main events for the fourth of July festivities in 1898 was the ball, held at Clancy and Company's dance hall connected to the restaurant and gaming hall at the corner of Runnalls and Shoup streets (7th and State today). Admission was free so no doubt the gambling room was where the overhead for the ball would be recuperated.

Over in the neighboring camp of Dyea the newspaper there listed an ad for "Clancy and Company" located at River Street and Wilson. Soapy may have been a partner in their Dyea enterprises but he apparently was not able to control the newspapers there. The Dyea Press freely warned of Soap Gang activity. “Dyea has everything that every other town in Alaska has, except ‘Soapy’ Smith.” Located in the same issue was this warning: “Don’t play the shell & pea games in Wrangle and Skaguay or you will have to walk home.” The underworld of Dyea may have been under the control of Thomas "Troublesome Tom" Cady, a member of the Soap Gang.

In the ending days of Soapy's empire and his life, John Clancy appears to have double-crossed Soapy as he is the only gang member completely exonerated from punishment by the vigilante's although Clancy was a definite crime partner. Stranger still is that John is made executor of Soapy's estate.

Here are links to other posts on this blog pertaining to this topic:

December 27, 2010
June 24, 2010
April 14, 2010
August 20, 2009
July 4, 2009
June 7, 2009
October 5, 2008

Business card: page 456.

Clancy and Company: pages 481, 523, 595.
Frank Clancy: pages 455, 461, 471, 516, 521, 552-53.
John Clancy: pages 455, 461, 471, 481-82, 543-46, 552-55, 558, 585, 595.

Jeff Smith

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The all-seeing eye!

OK...CLICK THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE
IT IF YOU CAN"T SEE YOUR FUTURE

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Soapy Smith Wake video, 2010

The game of faro

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Friend, Whit Haydn, sponsor of the Soapy Smith Wake (they call it Soapy Smith Night) at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California recently posted a video from the 2010 event (see below). This years party is on Sunday evening, July 10, 2011. This is by special invite so if you are interested in attending you will need to contact me soon.

Here are links to other posts on this blog pertaining to this topic:

August 30, 2010
June 29, 2010

The main website has a Soapy Wake page to check out as well. For some reason the countdown I installed says the next wake will be in 280 days! That is not correct as July is 3 months away. Make plans now.

1892: Soapy “leases” McGinty the petrified man for $3,000 and leaves Creede.

Jeff Smith

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Soapy Smith 1892 lot protection agreement. Artifact #31.

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Artifact #31 from my personal collection is a handwritten, signed lot protection racket document from Creede, Colorado February 27, 1892.

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In the early days of most every new silver or gold rush camp lot jumping was a serious problem. Miners and businessmen came to the camps and purchased a lot or two to build a home or business on. Building took time. The newer the camp the longer it might be due to a lack of ready materials and trained builders. Miners in a hurry to get to the mother lode might leave the lot as is. Business owners would have to leave the lot unattended to go to where contractors and building supplies might be had. Leaving an unattended lot could be "jumped" by another and built upon before the original owner returned. Possession is often considered in a court of law unless proper proof can be shown as to the true owner. Confidence men often sold and resold lots, that were not theirs to sell, as many times as they possibly could before leaving the camp. Courts had their hands full with cases in which numerous parties claimed ownership. Documents were forged and backdated to protect the crooks if caught, which only made things worse for the original owner who could easily lose his case.

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Honest lot protection firms were called for but few are known to have existed. Instead, men like Soapy utilized their power to honestly protect lots ... for a price. Not all lot owners felt the need for such protection at first, but might be quickly convinced to pay the price when having to physically fight off a staged lot jumping by members of the Soap Gang. Seeing the great need, they were often forced to pay a higher fee because of the "obvious danger" presented in protecting this particular lot.

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In modern times house squatting of empty homes for sale has become a legal, time-consuming problem. So much so that real estate agents are hiring house watchers, or allowing people to stay in homes that are hard sells, so that squatters don't move-in. Another modern problem is confidence gangs renting a vacant home to honest renters, only to have the original owner show up to find someone has moved into their home.    

The above document is between Soapy and a George Patterson, which reads as follows,

This Agreement made and entered into this twenty seventh day of February A.D. 1892 by and between Geo J. Patterson of Creede Colorado party of the first part and Jeff Smith, Will Henry and C. H. Davis all of Creede, Colorado parties of the second part: Witnesseth That the said party of the first part for and in consideration of services to be performed herein-after mentioned and stipulated by the said second parties does covnaut [covenant] and agree to and with the second parties aforesaid that in case the lots belonging to the said first party and others lying west and south of the D and R. G. [Denver and Rio Grande] depot in South Creede shall be protected from lot jumpers to the best endeavors of the said second parties, then and in that event the party of the first part agrees to pay the said second parties one half of all proceeds arising from the sale of any or all of the aforesaid lots immediately upon the conclusion of such sale.

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The said first party further agrees to bear all expense of preparing said lots for sale and the proper holding of the same such as lumber for foundations and expenses of laying same.

The said second parties agree to use due diligence in protecting the aforesaid lots from trespassers.

Witnessed our hands and seals this 27th day of February A. D. 1892

Geo J. Patterson [Seal]
Will Henry [Seal]
Jeff. R. Smith [Seal]
C. H. Davis [Seal]

Will Henry is unknown at this time but C. H. Davis is a member of the Soap Gang.

 

Artifact #31: page 222.

Jeff Smith

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Howard Blum on the upcoming film, The Floor of Heaven.

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The following comes from Word and Film.

Film rights to New York Times bestselling author Howard Blum’s forthcoming book, The Floor of Heaven, have been acquired by Twentieth Century Fox for a feature film. Here, Howard Blum shares his experience in Hollywood and the making of the movie deal, and will continue sharing the journey in future posts on Word & Film. The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush will be released from Crown Publishers on April 26.

“Walk past the cowboy, then left at Marilyn Monroe.”

It was one of these shiny, bright blue, and comfortably warm California days and if that weren’t enough to awaken the senses after the long Connecticut winter, the Twentieth Century Fox Studio guard’s directions were further reason to rejoice. With wide-eyed wonder I ambled down the grass-lined path until I passed first the wall-size cowboy image (a scene from “The Ox-Bow Incident“) and next the wall filled with Marilyn as her skirt was blown by a mischievous gust (”The Seven Year Itch“). Then I arrived at a small, yellow bungalow that immediately reminded me of the cabin at the sleep-away camp I’d attended a lifetime ago. I walked up the steps, arriving for the meeting with the studio executives from Fox 2000 and Chernin Entertainment. Just days earlier I’d agreed to sell them the film rights to my new book, The Floor of Heaven.

Talk about heady moments! I had spent years researching then writing my book. It’s a true story about a cowboy turned Pinkerton detective who gets caught up in a puzzling and suspenseful mystery that leads him on a chase across the far north during the Yukon Gold Rush. All the time I’d spent writing my mind was filled with same grim thought: Would anyone want to read this? Sure, I was caught up in the story; each day at my desk I felt as if I was entering a world filled with the icy challenges and dangers of the north country. But would anyone else be willing to come along on that journey with me? However, in the past few weeks I’d begun to get the first real inkling that perhaps I’d not set off on my long expedition in vain.

Although the book would not be published until April 26, the advance reviews were very flattering and gratifying (“Wildly compelling … a huge success,” said Publisher’s Weekly. “Truly memorable,” Kirkus. “In the tradition of great history and great literature,” Library Journal). Then, there was the movie interest. Out of nowhere (or so it had seemed) there were several studios suddenly competing to purchase the rights for my still-unpublished book. After some phone conversations with the principals, and discussing things with my longtime movie agent and friend, Bob Bookman of CAA, I decided to go with the Fox group. Now I was going to meet them and learn if I’d made the right choice (although in truth, a large motivation in my making the “right” choice had been the desire to cover my smart childrens’ oversized tuition bills).

My first impression was that I was outnumbered. There were four of them, and just one pale, jet-lagged author. But what I lacked in numbers I made up for with nervous chatter. And soon we were deep into the discussion of what kind of movie this would be. Straight off, we all agreed that it would be a “northerner” (to use Bob Bookman’s word) rather than a Western. The goal would be to create a world that captured the dangers of the high mountains and snow-packed passes of the far north. To accomplish this, the movie would need a director who could re-create this world and stars who could authentically play the men and women who inhabited it.

But who? Perhaps the only moment headier than selling your book to the movies is to sit in a room with studio executive and bandy about the names of the famous and talented who might be approached to be involved in the film. Oh, there was quite a list – and many of them familiar boldfaced names.

Would they be interested? Would they read my book (or at least the outline I’d put together)? Would I soon be working with them (after a fashion)?

On that first giddy afternoon in the meeting in Bungalow 78 on the Twentieth Century Fox lot anything – and everything! – seemed possible. But the making of The Floor of Heaven will, even in the best of all possible movie worlds, be a long process. And this was just the opening scene … Check back on Word & Film as I document my experiences with “The Floor of Heaven: The Movie.”

Here are links to other posts on this blog pertaining to this topic:

March 26, 2011
March 9, 2011
March 8, 2011
February 24, 2011

Jeff Smith

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Cy Warman of Creede, Colorado and Canada.

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I had no idea that Soapy's friend, Cy Warman, was in Canada during the Klondike gold rush! I do now, thanks to Marlene McCluskey over at the Skagway Historical Society blog.


Marlene writes,

Besides Robert Service and Jack London, there were other writers about the Gold Rush.

Cy Warman was born in 1855 in Illinois. He grew up on a homestead given to his father by the U.S. government for gallant service in the Mexican War. He had a meagre education, and got his first job, at the age of five, as water boy for a railroad construction crew. When he was older he thought about being a wheat buyer, but lost all but 50 cents when the market crashed on his $1,000 investment. He failed at several other business, and went to Colorado in 1880, first helping to plant an orchard in Canon City, then moving on to work a 12-hour night shift in a smelter and reduction plant.

Colorado was in the midst of a railroad binge, and Warman was attracted to it. He decided to be a locomotive engineer. The Denver & Rio Grande hired him as a general labourer. His second day on the job, doing a particularly hot and dirty task, he impressed the foreman who recommended that he be promoted to fireman. Three years later he was an engineer on what he called "The Perpendicular Run" from Salida to Leadville. One run was enough. But his experiences during this period gave him a future livelihood recounting the noises, smells, humour and romance of railroading. He began developing his flowing writing style. The railroad poems, read to fellow railroaders, had the cadence of locomotive wheels clicking on the rails. Never particularly strong physically, Warman had to give up the railroad work in body, but never in mind or spirit.

He began writing verses and short stories about railroad life. Railroad friends backed him in publishing a magazine called The Frog in Denver but it failed financially. In 1888 he became editor of the Western Railway Magazine, a semi-monthly; it also failed. The Rocky Mountain News hired him to cover railroads, crimes and politics, but he wanted to edit his own paper, and Creede beckoned. It is said he was a friend of Soapy.

He moved to Ontario Canada in 1892 where he became well connected in Liberal party circles, and was regarded particularly highly by Frank Oliver who became the Minister of the Interior in 1905.

On April 11, 1914, in Chicago, Cy Warman died of paralysis[?]. Shortly before his death he wrote "Will The Lights Be White":

WILL THE LIGHTS BE WHITE?

Oft, when I feel my engine swerve,
As o'er strange rails we fare,
I strain my eyes around the curve
For what awaits us there.
When swift and free she carries me
Through yards unknown at night,
I look along the line to see
That all the lamps are white

The blue light marks the crippled car,
The green light signals slow;
The red light is a danger light,
The white light, "Let her go."
Again the open fields we roam,
And, when the night is fair,
I look up in the starry dome
And wonder what's up there.

For who can speak for those who dwell
Behind the curving sky?
No man has ever lived to tell
Just what it means to die.
Swift toward life's terminal I trend,
The run seems short to-night;
God only knows what's at the end --
I hope the lamps are white.

He wrote The Last Spike and other RR stories in 1906, and "1899 Building a Railroad into the Klondike" published in 1906 by Charles Scribner's sons; McClure's 14:March

Cy was a friend of Soapy's. Cy was introduced to Soapy in Creede when he started up the Creede Chronicle in 1892. In his own words he said that Soapy protected him and the newspaper, no doubt in exchange for good press. It is Cy's comments about gunman, Bob Ford which verifies the riff between Bob and Soapy that lead to the theory that Soapy might have had a connection to Ford's murder. Cy and Soapy continued to write to one another for years, the last known letters dating 1897.

Cy had his own fame. The Canadian town of Warman, Saskatchewan was named after him. As a writer he wrote several historically remembered books and songs, one of the latter being the hit, Sweet Marie. I searched but was only able to find an instrumental version. In the 20th century several songs were written with the title Sweet Marie causing some confusion with song historians.

Here are links to other posts on this blog pertaining to this topic:

June 3, 2010

Creede: page 200, 207, 218-19, 226, 229, 231, 234, 394, 424.

Jeff Smith

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Honky Tonk, 1941 MGM film

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I came across a Honky Tonk Trailer (see below). Honky Tonk is the 1941 MGM film in which actor Clark Gable played Soapy Smith.



On the main website I have the following information.

An American black & white film starring Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Frank Morgan, Claire Trevor and Chill Wills. MGM purchased the rights to the book, The Reign of Soapy Smith, by William Ross Collier and Edwin Victor Westgate and transcribed into a cinema play by Ann Lee Whitmore and Tom Sellers, with Clark Gable playing the lead (L.A. Times, 04/29/1940. p. 8). The film was to be about Soapy, but according to Jeff, his grandfather, Soapy's son, (Jefferson Randolph Smith, III) threatened to open a lawsuit against MGM if they used his father's name and story.

Soapy's son still had rights over usage of his father's name. Rather than scrap the movie, which had already begun filming, MGM just changed the names around. Soapy Smith became Candy Johnson, a con man, played by Clark Gable. Candy Johnson, tired of running from town to town, sets his mind to have a town of his own. A very fun film with great comical dialogue and a few shootouts thrown in for flavor.

At the start of the film there is a beautiful rendition on three-card monte, the game that was instrumental in the real Soapy's death. In the film Gable, as Mr. Johnson, for the sake of a woman, decides to use his huckstering skill to build a small-town church, but soon he's up to his old tricks, again, managing a dance hall and gambling emporium. There is a happy ending.

In the past there were questions regarding how I knew that Clark Gable was actually playing Soapy so I included the following newspaper clippings.

By Douglas Churchill Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 28, 1940--Clark Gable will play the lead in "Soapy Smith," which Pandro S. Berman will produce for Metro, the studio announced. The story, based on "The Reign of Soapy Smith," by Edwin Victor Westrate and William Ross Collier, deals with the ...

LOS ANGELES TIMES, April 29, 1940--Clark Gable will be the star in one of the earliest pictures produced by Pandro Berman for the M.G.M. studio. The film scheduled for this star features Soapy Smith, one of the characters celebrated in early Colorado history. "The Reign of Soapy Smith," written by William Ross Collier and Edwin Victor Westgate, has been purchased by the studio and will be transcribed into a cinema play by Ann Lee Whitmore and Tom Sellers, two of the younger writers at the establishment.

Here are links to other posts on this blog pertaining to this topic:

March 13, 2009

1861: Confederate forces opened fire on the U.S. garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Georgia was the fifth state to secede from the Union.
1898: Soap Gang member Harry Green signs his name as “Jeff Smith” on the register of the Hotel Northern in Seattle.

Jeff Smith

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Barbara Meeks, Sue Henry, and Soapy Smith

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Most people who come across Soapy's history and wish to contact me don't have too difficult of a time being able to find me. Googling Soapy Smith or Alias Soapy Smith is the easiest way as my sites are number one on most search engines. Searching for Jeff Smith doesn't work so well as there are far more famous Jeff's in the search engines listed and I didn't bother seeing how far back I was listed.  Most people also search regarding recent events so everything is fresh and new, but what happens when the information they are working with isn't so fresh?

Every now and again someone finds me using a little elbow work Today, I'd like to introduce to you, Barbara Meek, a persistent elbow-er, who brightened up not only my day, but that of an author I worked with back in 1996 whom I haven't talked to since the late 1990s. A new friend is made and an old one rekindled. 

A number of days ago I received the following email,

I have a Sony e-book and tried to find your book The True Story of Jefferson Randolph Smith by Jefferson Randolph Smith III. But I couldn't find it in the Reader Library. The only book they had on this subject is Klondike. Can you please do whatever it takes to get your books in this library.

Thank you,
Barbara Meek

When I read the email the first time I thought it was the beginning introduction to a sales pitch from someone at the Reader Library trying to get me to shell out the money to have my book placed in their eBook sales listings. I'm not a fan, let alone knowledgeable, of eBooks yet. I'm one of those die-hards who like to hold my books. I also understand that footnotes and source listing are an ongoing issue that raise the prices for eBooks. Being a historian who loves to research my books footnotes I am not ready to give that up just to have my book on a contraption. I'm sure people said that very sentence about most great new devices. Hell, I remember wondering why people would ever need a computer in their homes. Oh God, I'm old! I digress...

I wondered where Barbara got the idea that the name of my book was The True Story of Jefferson Randolph Smith, and that my name was Jefferson Randolph Smith III. The latter made me think of Cathy Spude who continues to call me that, knowing full well it's not my name. Regarding the title, I just figured Barbara forgot the true title as she was typing the email to me. I always respond to my emails and did so with Barbara's.
 

Hello, Barbara.

The name of my book is, Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel by Jeff Smith (I'm not Jefferson Randolph Smith III). There are currently no plans to put my book on ebook. From what little I understand about ebooks placing all my footnotes, etc. would be cost prohibitive. My publisher is a smaller firm in Juneau, Alaska. I'm very sorry but the only way you will be able to read my book is to do it the old fashion way. Books can be ordered in several ways. Click this LINK to see more. You might enjoy the page even if you don't plan on buying a book.

If there is anything else can help you with please don't hesitate to write.

Jeff Smith

Barbara did not hesitate to write,

Hello, Jeff,

Ok, thanks, I will do this. Where I received my information was from a book called Death Takes Passage by Sue Henry. It mentioned on page 79 that Jefferson Randolph "Jeff Smith, IV, Soapy Smith's great grandson wrote the book The True Story of Jefferson Randolph Smith. Just so I know, is this incorrect information?

Thank you for this information. I'll be ordering your book soon.

Thank you again,
Barbara Meek

That email explained everything to me. I went through my library and found my sacred copy of Death Takes Passage and all those long-gone memories of writing and talking with Sue Henry came flooding back to me. That period of my life from 1996-1998 was fantastic. The Klondike gold rush centennial was being planned and executed and Soapy and I were right there in the mix. I was invited to be one of the few passengers on the Spirit of 98 during it's reenactment of bringing a ton of gold into Seattle. The reenactment included actually bringing a ton of gold into Seattle on that ship one hundred years to the day. The Washington State Museum in Tacoma asked and received from me, a loan of several artifacts of Soapy's for a room devoted to him during a special exhibit on the history of the gold rush. This kept me from being on the ship but enabled me to make the trip to Seattle and be on the docks when the ton of gold arrived! I have always believed Soapy was there on the docks when the original ship, the Portland arrived into Seattle July 17, 1897. It was a great time, which you can read about and see some photographs I took on a page devoted to the event.

I now understood where Barbara was coming from and told her so.   

Hi, Barbara.

Ok, now I know where you're coming from. That is me depicted in the book. I wanted to be the bad guy in the end but Sue's publisher felt there might be legal issues so I ended up as an unknowing pawn in the books heist. The book was written in 1997 and my book did not come out until 2009. In 97 I did not have a title yet, lol. Thank you for sharing that with me, it will probably make the pages of my blog, if you don't mind.

... Sue Henry did her very best to base her fictional story around a real event. I was actually supposed to be on that ship during the ton of gold reenactment but a museum loan and offer beat them out of my commitments. In fact, because the museum was in Tacoma I made arrangements to spend the day in Seattle and met the ship coming into dock. Soapy very well might have been in Seattle down on that dock in 1897.

Sue and I talked over via mail and telephone numerous times to get her facts straight. The changes made were not the fault of hers. At the time I thought my book would be completed by the time hers came out. I was only off by 12 years!


Jeff Smith

You can preview Death Takes Passage at this link. Page 20 is where I am introduced and my character begins

Barbara writes,

Hi, Jeff,

Yes, Sue is an excellent writer and I absolutely love her books, as I love Alaska. I do understand about her research vs your research. And I know she tried her best to be totally accurate. I know you missed a real treat by missing that particular boat ride, but know it was enjoyable to meet the ship in Seattle. You're right, Soapy may have been there in 1897. I think it would be an honor to meet you and discuss your research/book and also to meet Sue. I am so glad she writes books around the AK area.

First, to try to find you and the book, I went to the Reader Library for my e-book. This did display a book by another author about Soapy, other characters back then and about the Klondike. but I wanted to read your book since you are directly related to Soapy and I know the facts would be, without a doubt, correct. I'm not saying the other author isn't correct, but I know you definitely are. . But, you're right, I found you by Googling "Soapy Smith" and it referred you to me.

Barbara Meek

Barbara ordered my book and her and I have continued to write to one-another everyday since.  In one of the conversations we discussed Sue Henry and how Barbara really wanted to let her know how much she enjoyed her books. I looked through my files from 1996 and found a letter from Sue that had her phone number. It has been 16 years since I last talked with her on the phone and naturally figured there was a good chance the phone number was no longer correct. Amazingly, it was! I told Sue about her special admiring fan, Barbara and Sue wanted me to make sure I told her that she really appreciated her devotion. Sue wanted Barbara to know that her latest book will be out hopefully in the fall of this year. Sue and I then caught up on old times and what has happened since. It was real nice to talk with her again. In fact, Death Takes Passage now sits on my nightstand where I am enjoying it as much as I did when I first received it.

In Barbara, I think I've found a life-long member of Friends of Bad Man Soapy Smith, as well as a personal friend.

Jeff Smith

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Join Friends of Bad Man Soapy Smith

We can do this the easy way... 

Click image

OR 
We can do this the hard way...

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Looking for a band to sing this Soapy Smith ballad.

We are looking for a band to sing and record

The Bloody Ballad of Soapy Smith

In 2008 my good friend, Ed Parrish wrote and sang a fantastic ballad about Soapy Smith. The full title is The Bloody Ballad of Notorious Bad Man Soapy Smith’s Wretched and Violent Demise. With a future film already in the works a ballad might send a band into the big time, one never knows.

Personally, I'm thinking of a period piece like Ed sings it but I'm no musician so ideas are welcome. If you know a band perfect for this song please send the post along, however, Ed owns the song so please contact me so the "legal" stuff is taken care of.

For those interested in singing the song it is also published on the main website HERE.

1892: Parson Tom Uzzell has money and pants stolen in Creede.  
1892: McGinty the petrified man “discovered.”  
1892: Soap Gang member, Cornelius “Con Sullivan” Sullivan elected to the Creede city council.  

1898: John Addison Porter, Secretary to President McKinley, writes to Soapy acknowledging the minutes and letter from the Skagway Military Company. Soapy hangs this letter on the wall in Jeff Smith’s Parlor.

Jeff Smith

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Bob Wieking, grand nephew of Martin Itjen

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Thanks Bob!

Jeff Smith

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Is Sarah Palin the reincarnated Soapy Smith?

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In Alaska, those who don’t like her often compare Sarah Palin to Soapy Smith.

Craig Medred, a staff writer for the Alaska Dispatch is known for using Soapy’s name often when comparing him to politicians, etc., however, this time, for Medred’s article, entitled, Sarah Palin's fake reality (March 29, 2011) it came from visitor comments. The article is about Palin’s new TV reality show and he has a great dislike for all things Palin. The comments involving Soapy are as follows.

Sarah certainly DID follow in the footsteps of SOAPY SMITH, in bringing similar welcome attention to ALASKA. –Aapa

and

You and I must be kindred- in spirit- for I thought of Soapy Smith too..! I think she is his reincarnation.... as for Cook... tough breaks, when you do the devils' work. –RockyMissouri

Click the link above if you feel the need to read the entire article and all the visitor comments.

1891: Soapy shoots and wounds Jack Devine in the Turf Exchange saloon.

Jeff Smith

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