Artifact #29: Soapy Smith, Deputy Sheriff

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It's true, Soapy was officially given a commission as a deputy sheriff of Arapahoe County, Colorado in which the city of Denver resided. This is not a forgery made by Soapy, but the real deal, made out and signed by the County Sheriff, William K. Burchinell on April 17, 1894, the day of Denver’s transition from the old police and fire board to the new one appointed by Populist Party Colorado Governor Davis H. “Bloody Bridles” Waite. The firings and appointments from and to the old board is what touched off the infamous Denver City Hall War on March 15, 1894 of which Soapy and his men were combatants.

… Given the recent past history of discord and with police forces in disarray, the sheriff wanted to be ready. It seems likely that many such appointments were made that day, and Jeff, having proved able to lead men to city hall on March 15 and able to calm subsequent disturbances there, could be a valuable man to have ready to serve. And so the following document was prepared and signed:

To Whom it may Concern:
Know all Men by these Presents, That posing especial confidence and trust in the integrity and ability of Jeff R. Smith I, WM. K. BURCHINELL, Sheriff of said County of Arapahoe, in pursuance of, and by authority vested in me by law, have appointed, and do hereby confirm him, the said Jeff R. Smith to be a Deputy Sheriff in and for said County Without Compensation from County And all of his official acts legally performed while acting as such Deputy Sheriff are entitled to full faith and credence. Witness my hand and seal this 17th day of April 1894
Wm K Burchinell Sheriff of Arapahoe County

When word got out that Jeff was a lawman, Burchinell denied it. He also denied that Jeff carried any legal weight during the siege at city hall.

I will say that I did not put a single deputy sheriff in the city hall…. If Soapy is running around making arrests then he is doing so illegally and is liable to arrest for impersonating an officer. For all I know he is a special policeman [but not a deputy sheriff].

Eventually, the sheriff admitted giving Jeff a deputy sheriff’s commission but that it had since been revoked A commonplace practice among political figures was to deny involvement with Jeff. It was nothing personal. Most of them worked with him and liked him, but denial was sometimes a necessary part of that friendship. - Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, p.321.

The commission was said to have been revoked but Burchinell did not actually do so, thus Jeff and his younger brother, Bascomb, along with numerous other thugs who worked for the Republican Party in the last election were able to retain their legal positions and Denver went through a period of violence between newly appointed Populists city police officers and Republican deputy sheriffs. Numerous shooting and murders were the result.

For Soapy and the Soap Gang, they used the documents and the badges that came with the commission in swindles against visitors to Denver. Fir instance, once a victim had been swindled in the final hand of a gaffed poker game (“big mitt,” “big hand”) several “officers” (members of the Soap Gang) would enter the room and arrest the gamblers, as gambling in Denver at this time was closed down by the new administration. One of the “officers” would take custody of the victim and start walking him to jail. The victim would naturally plead ignorance of the city ordinance, so feigning compassion, the “officer” would let his arrestee loose on the condition that he leave the city immediately. This method worked most of the time in convincing their conquered victims to leave Denver before they realized they had been had. Over a period of about eleven months this scenario was repeated, with the last known usage of the deputy sheriff commission by Soapy occurring in May 1895.

Following are just a few of the known reported episodes involving the commissions being used after they were supposedly revoked.

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Bascomb Smith, a brother of Jeff Smith, recklessly discharged his pistol at Thirteenth and Market last night, and when Officer Shuck attempted to arrest him he resisted with tooth and nail, finally flashing a deputy sheriff’s badge. The policeman was never phased [sic], however, and Smith was gathered in. -Rocky Mountain News, 05/12/1894.

***

…in Overland Park [Colorado], for an unknown reason, Jeff arrested a man. The police doubted his authority, but Jeff exhibited a deputy sheriff badge that had been given to him by Sheriff Burchinell. [Boulder Daily Camera, 06/18/1894] The outcome is not recorded, but the “fall out” was. On June 19, 1894, the News charged that the sheriff had appointed a very large number of the lawless element as deputy sheriffs. Professional gamblers, tin horns, [and] confidence men of every degree are said to bear the badge of the office, and to flash it when themselves or one of their pals gets into trouble to protect him.

One of the rights that follow being commissioned a deputy is to carry a gun, and everyone of this element with a commission does carry one. When Soapy Smith and men of his ilk who are deputies flourish revolvers and strike down police officers who don’t walk along according to their lines of duty, is it not time that the extent of this outrage upon law and order should be discovered and proper steps taken to rectify the outrage? Rocky Mountain News, 06/19/1894, p. 4.

The Denver Republican usually supported Jeff but this time did not:

The sheriff says he gave Jeff Smith a commission for some special work several months ago, but has since revoked it. The Colonel still retains his commission and badge.

It is strange, in the face of the sheriff’s statement, that nearly every bunco steerer arrested by the police has in his possession, a revolver and deputy sheriff’s badge. Bascomb Smith, who was arrested last week, was thus equipped, although Mr. Burchinell denies having ever given him a deputy sheriff’s commission [Denver Republican clipping saved by Soapy, unknown date but probably June 1894. Jeff Smith collection.]. –Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, pp. 339-40.

***



BURCHINELL IS POLITE.Protest to Soapy Smith About Displaying a Deputy’s Badge.

Sheriff Burchinell has addressed a letter to “Soapy” Smith, informing him that reports of Smith’s displaying a deputy’s star had reached him, and that he had instructed his deputies to arrest Smith upon a recurrence of this conduct. Sheriff Burchinell chafes at the suggestion that Smith is a deputy sheriff, and says he has no right to carry weapons as such. -Rocky Mountain News, 05/11/1895, p. 8.




***

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Police officer in Skagway, Alaska related to Soapy Smith?

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Believe it or not, a police officer, in Skagway, Alaska may be a descendant of Soapy! Officer Ken Jennings contacted me about this possibility in hopes we might be able to solve this case.

Ken writes,

My name is Kenneth Jefferson Jennings. I am a 22-year police veteran, having retired from the Juneau Police Department (AK) in 2006 as the Departmental Senior Officer and Senior Detective. I am now working as a Police Officer in Skagway, Alaska.

My grandmother is Helen Smith…aka Helen Jennings. She married Boyce Jefferson Jennings of Fort Smith, Arkansas…and they later moved to Augusta in Woodruff County, Arkansas. My Grandfather Boyce died in Augusta, Arkansas in 1963. My grandmother Helen died in Augusta, Arkansas (1995?). My father (Kenneth Lane Jennings, born October 8th 1933 in Fort Smith, Arkansas – died at the age of 73 on June 14th 2008 in Eagle, Idaho) had always claimed we were related to Jefferson R. “Soapy” Smith through bloodline on his mother’s side. My father also claimed we were related to the founding Smith Family of “Fort Smith”, Arkansas.

Additionally, I recall my older father and his brother Billy Ray Jennings (of Little Rock, Arkansas…my uncle) retelling “Soapy Smith stories” they had heard from my grandmother Helen and her brother (my grand-uncle) Robert “Uncle Bob” Smith (who died in Anchorage, Alaska circa 1959). I have family in Arkansas who remember stories of “Uncle J.R.” (Smith) and how he had “turned bad” and “gone up to Alaska and got himself killed”. My father told me stories he recalled of family get-togethers in Arkansas where family history was discussed, remembered, laughed at, and mourned. He recalled how the “older folks” in our family had always used “Uncle J.R.” as an example of what NOT to be when you grow up, and why you should attend church regularly.

Do you have any information regarding Smith’s family and his/their descendants? He (“Soapy” Smith) certainly has a strong physical resemblance to many male relatives on my Grandmother’s side…but that – and the recollections of my family, though honest and sincere they may be – are not reliable sources.

I ask because of this: A notorious “Bunko Man” and criminal who plied his illegal trade(s) in Alaska – specifically between Juneau and Skagway – may have a descendant who was born in Alaska, is a highly decorated Lawman from Juneau, and is currently a Lawman in Skagway. (If the stories are true . . . then Destiny has a peculiar sense of irony).

Officer Kenneth J. Jennings
Skagway Police Department
Skagway, Alaska 99840

In another email Officer Ken wrote,

Hi Jeff…

I don’t recall my grandmother (Helen Smith – ne Jennings) as having a middle name. However, as she was born in the deep south, and as EVERYONE in the south has a middle name (Jimmy Dale, Billy Bob, etc – haha) it is certainly plausible. I also had an Aunt named Helen, who married a man named Robert. Robert died and was buried in Anchorage, Alaska circa 1968. I believe Aunt Helen’s maiden name was Worthington, and she worked for British Petroleum in Anchorage as a very senior secretary. As a child (early 1960’s) I recall I was afraid of her because she had one of her legs removed just above the knee. I don’t remember what caused this. She has – in all likelihood – passed away by now.

In the late 50’s (1958?) my father (Kenneth Lane Jennings) traveled to Anchorage, Alaska with a cousin named Billy Ray Smith (from Arkansas – now living in Texas) Billy Ray Smith was a professional football player who used to play for either the Miami Dolphins or the Baltimore Colts - - or both. His son, Billy Ray Smith Jr., also plays/played football (for the Arkansas Razorbacks and I believe went on to play professionally…though I don’t recall the team).

According to my father, their uncle (my great uncle?) named Robert “uncle Bob” Smith lived in Anchorage in the 50’s. “Uncle Bob” may have had other male family members living in Anchorage, as my father used to tell stories about how “Uncle Bob” and his brothers couldn’t walk down the same side of the street together as the police would instantly know who they were and run them in on “general principles” (apparently he – and many of my Smith and Jennings clan – were a bunch of hard drinkers and hard fighters. Seems to run in the family from WAY back….). Anyway, “Uncle Bob” used to get himself embroiled in one barroom fiasco after another, and would continually call my father and Billy Ray to either “back him up” or “bail him out”.

Uncle Bob died in Alaska in the 1950’s…probably from drowning. As best I can recall the story told by my father, Uncle Bob was on board a boat in waters in or around Anchorage, Alaska (not sure why, but apparently he might have been working as a fisherman). Apparently there was a pretty violent storm. In the middle of all this, Uncle Bob (and those aboard the boat he was on) located a fully loaded barge. The barge was adrift in the storm, and no tug or other vessel in sight. My father says Uncle Bob declared he was going to claim the barge for “Salvage” (Maritime Law says an abandoned vessel in International waters can be claimed thus). As the story goes, Uncle Bob grabbed his 30-30 lever action Winchester rifle and managed to board the barge during the storm in order to claim salvage rights. That was the last anyone saw of Uncle Bob. However, my father and many others walked the shorelines looking for Uncle Bob. The beaten-up barge and damaged cargo was found on the shoreline. About 3” of the barrel of his rifle was sticking out of the sand on a beach not far from the barge. The rifle was recovered, but the body never was.

I spoke to my mother, who says she remembers a few stories about how we are related to Soapy Smith. She is going to send me an Email today or tomorrow about what she remembers. I’ll forward that along. (As a side-note…she also claims we are related to Captain James Cook (British naval officer & explorer who discovered areas of the Pacific including parts of Alaska, Hawaii, and the Cook Islands). I don’t know about that, but that is another story for some other time.

I have also contacted several other family members, and will keep you posted if I learn anything further. And thank you very much for everything you are doing. Truly, I didn’t expect such an effort. It is greatly appreciated.

Officer Kenneth J. Jennings
Skagway Police Department

Dear, Officer Jennings.

As you write, Destiny would have a peculiar sense of irony, —or perhaps even a bizarre since of humor. You certainly have a number of family members who firmly believe Helen Smith is a descendant of Soapy’s. That’s a positive sign, but as you state, it’s not a reliable source (of provenance).

As promised, I looked in my personal family tree and did not find Helen. However, do not close this case yet. The genealogy of my family is a huge tree with many branches each having ever sprouting twigs flowing in all directions.

Here’s one of the issues: When Soapy was born in Georgia; his family was one of good standing in Coweta County. When the pillars of the family (his grand-parents) passed away Soapy’s parents moved to Texas. When Soapy’s mother passed away in 1877 Round Rock, Texas the father dove headfast into a state of alcoholism and eventually ended up in an asylum (where they used to put alcoholics). Contact with the main family in Georgia waned, and ceased with Soapy reaching manhood. Once becoming a known bad man, the Georgia branch of the family erased acknowledgement of his existence, as well as his name from the family bible. Except for what they read in the newspapers, there was little, if any connection between the families outside of Soapy’s cousin, Edwin Bobo Smith. Up until the 1960s the Georgia clan did not know of my side of the family. Even the plots at the Newnan cemetery were “lost” as far as location. In the 50s my father and his siblings began searching for the old family and today, thanks to their efforts, many were found and connections were made. However, over the decades since Soapy moved to Texas, many family tree branches had uprooted and left Georgia, knowing they were related to Soapy, but not much more. I believe this is possibly your families’ case.

On top of all that uprooting there were family members who were very shamed that Soapy was in their bloodline. They chose to pretend that he did not exist; hence, there are many families, like yours, with only a few hints of a relation.

I contacted my friend, Gay Mathis, who is a professional genealogist to look into your search. I am also hopeful someone else in my branch of the family knows of yours.

Here’s what Gay found. Note: These Smith’s are not currently listed in my personal family tree but may very well be candidates for admission if anyone can connect them. Without going into the detail that Gay so kindly sent me here is what we have thus far.

(1880 census)
James Smith and Elizabeth Willingham aka Cumire E. married in Tennessee 1868. They had 9 children, including son, John D. Smith, born about 1875-1880.

John D. Smith and Pearl Killchrist married in Tennessee 1903. They had 3 children including Helen Smith. Born: August 15, 1908 in Arkansas.

Helen Smith and Boyce Jefferson Jennings married in Augusta, Woodruff, Arkansas. Helen Smith died May 18, 1996.

I will send Officer Ken the details Gay found in hopes he might be able to solve this case. I also need my family’s help in seeking out clues.



TO ALL FAMILY MEMBERS

Please check your trees for Helen Smith, born: August 15, 1908. Died: May 18, 1996. Married to Boyce Jefferson Jennings, Augusta, Woodruff, Arkansas.

1898: Soapy posts “answer to warning” handbills in Skagway for the Committee of 101. The handbills are signed from the Committee of 317.



Special thanks to Gay Mathis, genealogist extraordinaire!

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Soapy Smith in the upcoming movie, The Floor of Heaven.

THE FLOOR OF HEAVEN
NOW SHOWING

There was a secret about this book that I was asked by the author, Howard Blum, to keep until it was settled. Well, yesterday I received the word. I'll let Howard tell you. 

Just wanted to let you know that 20th Century Fox bought the film rights to THE FLOOR OF HEAVEN. I'm in LA this week and will be meeting with the studio executives (who are quite smart; they "get" the story) and I will mention the role you could play as a source and a technical advisor.

An excited Howard

I am excited too! Not only is there a good chance that Soapy will soon be in a major motion picture, but there is also a chance someone in the film industry will see this (depending on how well Soapy is portrayed) and say, "wow, what a character! He should have a film about HIM!"

Now we can see who was right in picking the actor who plays Soapy! Cross your fingers Soapy fans!

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

February 24, 2011
March 8, 2011

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Howard Blum acknowledges the book, Alias Soapy Smith

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Last month I told you about Friends of Bad Man Soapy Smith member, Howard Blum's new book, The Floor of Heaven, that contains Soapy as a main character. I wondered what sort of acknowledgement he wrote. I wonder no more. There is a link with some excerpts from the book the the Note to the Reader contains the acknowledgement.

Soapy Smith was shot down before he could fulfill his often-made promise─or threat, concsidering the secrets he knew─to record his life story. Jeff Smith, his great-grandson, however, has taken Soapy’s letters, correspondance from other family members, diary entries, legal records as well as the albums of newspaper clipping Soapy collected, and written a smart and exhaustive biography that was published by Klondike Research, in Juneau, Alaska. 

I only wish he would have publish the name of the book, lol.

Here are links to other posts on this blog pertaining to this topic:
February 24, 2011

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Did Soapy belong to the KKK?

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Now this is a piece I dreaded posting! This was included in Soapy's scrapbook, but there is no date. Who knows when he obtained this? It could be something from his childhood? Something that might have been sent to his family during Reconstruction?




ANY IDEAS? _____

1894: Colorado Governor Waite replaces fired commissioners Orr and Martin with Populist Party members, Dennis Mullins as fire commissioner and Samuel D. Barnes as police commissioner, a starting shot in the Denver City Hall War.

1898: Skagway vigilante Committee of 101 posts warning handbills for the bunco men to leave the area.

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Forgiving the north.

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Here is a partial newspaper clipping from Soapy’s scrapbook, containing an interview with Robert E. Lee. This comes from an unknown newspaper with no date.

… Many of the most beautiful and pathetic incidents of the late war occurred after it was all over. At a hotel at Washington in 1868 a gentleman, whose face I could not exactly remember, though it seemed strangely familiar, introduced himself and asked permission to present me to his mother, a singularly beautiful old lady of queenly and dignified bearing, to whom he said:

“Mother, let me present to you General R. E. Lee of the late Confederate Army, whose saber thrust gave me this scar on my right cheek and who bears the mark of a wound I gave him.”

The beautiful old lady threw her arms around my neck and wept on my shoulder, and in that tender embrace and in the fervent clasp of that Federal officer’s hand and mine we buried the animosity of the war forever.



___


One of the most devoted adherents the Southern cause ever had was Colonel M. When my surrender to General Grant was inevitable a young officer delicately hinted to the Colonel that perhaps his confidence in the ultimate success of our arms, which was still as boastful as ever, was perhaps a trifle overweening. The Colonel looked at him for a moment with an expression in which contempt, anger, horror and amusement struggled for the mastery. Then with hands uplifted, hair standing on end and eyes flashing fire, he roared out at the discomfited Lieutenant in the voice of a stentor: “Dam up Niagara Falls with tissue paper, bottle up the Atlantic Ocean in a whisky flask, paste ‘to let’ on the sun and moon, catch a flash of lightning between your thumb and finger, build a worm fence around a winter supply of summer weather, harness a thunderbolt to a sulky, waft all the clouds out of the sky with a lady’s fan, saddle and ride a hurricane, fasten a dish clout to the tail of a comet, pack up all the stars in a beer keg, knock a tornado out of time with your fist, put Hades to cool in a springhouse, put the sky in your pocket, unbuckle the belly band of eternity, but never again allow yourself to fancy for a moment that the poor little North can ever whip the great Southern Confederacy!”

1894: Colorado Governor Waite fires commissioners Jackson Orr and D. J. Martin, but they refuse to vacate their positions, starting the Denver City Hall War.

1898: Peter Clancy Bean, a miner, was murdered. Powder burns were on his face and a .38 caliber slug in his left breast. Near his body was his empty pocketbook.

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James Keeley tries to break Soapy's bank.

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A clipping from Soapy’s scrapbook, unknown newspaper and date.

THE USUAL RESULT.
_____

James Keeley Tries to Break Jeff Smith’s Bank.

James H. Keeley struck the city direct from Salt Lake City last night. He carried a roll of greenbacks and several certified checks and with these tried to break Jeff Smith’s bank with the usual result. He applied to the police board, got his checks back, and now vows that smith is the finest gentleman in the city and Jeff doesn’t dispute it.

_____

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Did Soapy Smith know Naoma Kelly in Denver?

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Here is a fun mystery letter from my files that was not included in my book.

Denver Col June 1st
Mr. Jefferson Smith

Dear Sir.

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I would like to see you on business of importance, not knowing where to find you I thought best to write. If it will be convenient to call next Tuesday eve I will be at home. Please answer and oblige.

Mrs. Naoma Kelly
1347 Marion St.
Denver

The meaning behind the content of the letter could be one of several possibilities. We know it is from a female resident of Denver, possibly known to Soapy, but we don't know the year.

Is Naoma a single woman? Could this be from a female admirer? Or is Naoma married? Soapy knew a number of men named Kelly. Perhaps Naoma is wishing to borrow some money to hold her family (and her too proud to ask husband) over during hard times? Is she seeking legal help from Soapy the “political and court fixer”? Is she possibly the wife of a Denver man who was swindled in one of Soapy’s many rooms, and she is wishing for the lost funds to be returned?

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Soapy Smith and the burros of Creede.

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Following is another interesting past correspondence that did not make it into my book, involving Soapy's supposed charity to Creede, Colorado mining burros in 1892. The 1979 letter is addressed to my father, from Ken Butler of Oklahoma.

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DO YOU THINK THE STORY IS FICTION OR TRUE?

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Craig Medrid loves Soapy Smith?

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Back in November 2009 I began a lengthy correspondance with Craig Medrid over the way he handled Sarah Palin's comments regarding Soapy Smith in her book Going Rogue. I don't like any politicians per say, but Mr. Medrid has a special dislike for Republicans. Basically, it's not possible for them to be correct in his mind and so we went round and round over his comments regarding Soapy's history. Well, thankfully I didn't sour him on using Soapy's legend for comparisons. Check out the two articles below that he wrote for the Alaska Dispatch.

It’s great that Mr. Medrid continues to help us spread Soapy’s fame by using him to compare items he considers "bad." We thank him very sincerely for helping us keep people's minds on Soapy. However, I have to wonder if one day someone will ever use Soapy’s good deeds as a comparison, such as, “That Mr. Jones is a fantastic human being, giving so much to charity the way he does. Why he's something of a modern Soapy Smith!”

If only Joe Miller had been what he said he was

Upwards of 60,000 Alaskans clung to the myth of Joe Miller on election night in Alaska despite the storm of revelations that followed the Senate candidate's victory in the August GOP primary, and there is something noble about that. Yes, there were some cynics in the Miller camp, old-school, party-line Republicans who cared not a whit that Miller was something of a modern day "Soapy" Smith.

"Sarah Palin in pants'' is how one of them, who is not a Palin fan, described him. But Miller was the party's guy, the winner of the primary, the man chosen by the party faithful, and by God, the thinking among this group went, "If that's what the party faithful want, then it is the responsibility of a party member to hang in there, hold his or her nose, and cast the Miller vote." But these people were a minority.

Voting for Miller was a lot easier for most of the 70,000 Alaskans who blacked in the oval of the Yale-educated lawyer from Fairbanks by way of Kansas. They believed. They took Miller for what he claimed to be -- a sensible conservative. I refuse to use that Palin-spawned label, "commonsense conservative," here. I've spent much of a lifetime writing about people dead in the Alaska wilderness because sense isn't common.

Miller, to his credit, didn't really seem to buy that common-sense idea either. All campaign long, the first words out of his mouth were that he was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Yale Law School. Old, established, elite, East Coast institutions, these are two of the best schools in the world. They aren't in the practice of counting on common sense to help young people get ahead in life. They are in the practice of teaching people to think. And Miller excelled at both institutions.

What the hell happened afterward became the big question of this year's election. What the hell was Miller's story in Alaska?

Alaska tends to attract two kinds of immigrants. Adventurers who want to live in or on the edge of America's Last Frontier, where life is a little edgier than anywhere else. Even metropolitan "Los Anchorage," we must remember, bills itself as the "Big Wild Life,'' and it is. Almost nowhere else in the world do you run the risk of stumbling into a grizzly bear in a city park. And that up-close-and-personal encounter with a moose, as portrayed in the old TV series "Northern Exposure,'' is more likely in Anchorage than in any city anywhere. Some Alaska immigrants come for this, or for the authentic, closer-to-the-land connection to the still truly wild Alaska that exists just beyond the road system.

And then there is that other group Alaska attracts -- con artists, schemers, ne'er-do-wells and end-of-the-roaders looking for that place at the edge of civilization where the rules are lax and the tolerance for oddballs is high.

Animal-loving, grizzly-bear petting, destined-to-die-early Timothy Treadwell was drawn to this like a moth to a light. The same for scripture-quoting fanatic, and later convicted child molester, "Papa Pilgrim." And then there was John Lindauer, the onetime chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage who tried to buy an election as governor with his wife's millions and ended up so deep in charges of election fraud the GOP actually withdrew its nomination of him; and Victor Jorge, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race musher and trusted Anchorage television anchorman (back in the day when people in the media were actually trusted) who turned out to have concocted nearly his entire backstory, and, of course, the aforementioned "Soapy" Smith, who Anchorage author Charles Wohlforth has described as running a "scam-pire" in Skagway back in the Gold Rush days.

There is a bit of many of these people in a lot of Alaskans living here now, too. It's what helps make Alaska interesting. Some of the most entertaining people I've met in almost 35 years of Alaska journalism are those whose only connection to the truth is a half-truth.

That Joe Miller turned out to be one of them is unfortunate. That he took some Alaskans for a ride on a Soapy Smith railroad is just sad…

There is more to the article but Soapy isn't mentioned, so why bother. If you wish to read the remainder of the article click the link at the start of this article.

Not even CPR can save this TV show

Could "Alaska State Troopers,'' the reality series, possibly be as bad as some of the national reviews make it out to be?

You betcha.

What did we learn from the first episode of this National Geographic TV series?

Wrestlers bundled in cold-weather clothing, be they drunk or sober, are slower moving and seemingly less dangerous than those in shorts and T-shirts. Some of our troopers are really nice and others are as shady as Soapy Smith…

Once again I did not post the entire article, for the same reason. If you wish to read the whole writeup please click the link at the top of the article.  

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

• Nov. 27, 2009
• Nov. 29, 2009
• Nov. 30, 2009
• Nov. 30, 2009
• Dec. 1, 2009

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Dr. Isaac Moore on Soapy Smith, 1931.

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I received a nice new piece of Soapy folklore from Ashley Bowman of the Arctic Brotherhood historical research blog.

-Forward-
I. H. Moore is Dr. Isaac H. Moore who came to Skagway from Pocatello, Idaho in 1897. He is one of the White Pass & Yukon Railway physicians who examined Frank Reid after the shootout on Juneau Wharf. -Information comes from Marlene McClusky of the Skagway Historical Society


Ashley writes,

Hi Jeff,

We emailed a little last summer about who would play Soapy in a movie-- my pick being Jim Richards :) [Richards owns and portrayed Soapy in the Days of ’98 Show] I'm writing you because I'm writing a book about the Arctic Brotherhood, and in my research came across an article written in the 30s by Dr. I. H. Moore for Alaska Weekly. He gives more than just a passing mention to Soapy and I was wondering if you folks had that source as part of your collection of Soapy resources. If you don't, let me know-- … Hope everything's going well!

… Here are the excerpts from Dr. Moore's article about Soapy! At the end I added some of my comments on what was interesting about it... because I kinda like to dissect things like this :)

--Ashley Bowman

Here is the article excerpts she sent us.

...The Arctic Brothers carried truth and justice wherever they went, either to established communities or the wilderness. They played a prominent part in breaking up the infamous Soapy Smith gang in Skagway 1898. No Arctic Brother was ever a member or sympathized with that gang which was recruited from mining and cow camps of the West and from city undesirables.
For many months this gang had spread a reign of fear and terror in the community and along the trail. Many a poor, innocent, tenderfoot stampeder was victimized by this ruthless crowd.



“Soapy” Smith a Bandit Gentleman

It met its downfall through the slaying of its leader by vigilante Reed… (section missing) encounter. The sacrifice made by Reed in performing this service is recognized by all as a great public service in the furtherance of law and order throughout the north. The disposal of the leader had a salutary effect on the undesirables-- many were “blue-ticketed” out of the country and others went voluntarily to a safer and more genial clime.

Not wanting to be considered an admirer or champion of Soapy Smith, I feel that, in keeping with the Arctic Brotherhood teaching, “look for the good in everyone,” I can say for him a few kindly words.

I knew him well and really had learned to appreciate some outstanding qualities of heart and mind. He was a natural-born leader of men and enjoyed a rare loyalty from his gang. He was generous-hearted to a fault. More than once I asked a charity donation from him for some one in distress and always received a generous donation of gold. He held the friendship of many of the Skagway merchants by his “keep-the-change” system of doing business with them. This, perhaps, was a diplomatic method of banking on men’s weakness.

He came from a family of refinement and education. A brother has been, for years, one of the most prominent journalists in a large Eastern city. He was public-spirited, and it seemed, not acted, but natural. The purpose of this may have been to dull and hypnotise the minds of men to such a degree as to cause them to be indifferent so that they would not enangle him with the law.
He controlled the U. S. Commissioners’ Court at so much per day, and none of his men ever arrested and tried, u up to the time of his death, was ever convicted. Old-timers of Skagway will not forget the disappearance of John U. Smith, U. S. Commissioner, the night of Skagway’s great tragedy.



“Soapy” Died Broke

It is supposed that he took a small boat and made his way down Lynn Canal and finally to Juneau, to catch a boat for Seattle. He could not at that time be intercepted, for it was before the days of the telegraph in the Northland. The U. S. Deputy Marshal was also on the payroll, but his salary was small when compared with the commissioner’s. He was punished by court sentence at a trial held in Sitka later.

Soapy was naturally a polished gentleman. He was just an unfortunate bad-boy, led away by evil companions, and had a proper environment and influence moulded his life he would have been a useful citizen to any country.

He was supposed to have a large amount of money at his death, but to the contrary, his cash on hand was less than $100, and an old trunk full of cards and sure thing games. He was so popular with the men of Skagway that he was selected to serve as grand marshal on July 4th, just three days before his death. He assigned me a seat in the only carriage in the parade, to me a novel experience.

Just three days later, “Soapy” Smith breathed his last. I held his head as he passed into the Great Beyond. He died with his boots on. His body lies in the cemetery at Skagway, and on his grave is laid an occasional wreath, a tribute by a passing tourist who possibly appreciated the good in this colorful character.

I tell this much of unwritten history only because the Arctic Brotherhood was so active in making the country safe and clean.

As the embers on the hearth die away the visions change from that depicted in the last episode to more cheering memories of which I shall give you in a succeeding chapter.


“If one of my readers should linger,
Over my pages in the long, long night,
And on some lone line lay a calloused finger,
Saying ; It’s human, true, it hits me right,’
Then will I count this living toll well spent;
Then I will dream a while-- content, content.”

　

My thoughts.... [Ashley Bowman]

1. Interesting that Moore claims that the AB was instrumental in breaking up the Soap Gang, considering the brotherhood wasn't formed until 1899, and a good deal of the members didn't even arrive in Alaska until after Soapy was gone. He says at the end that he only includes this story as a way to illustrate the great deeds of the AB... but I think it's just a way to try and make himself seem important by claiming to know famous people in Alaska legend.

2. Interesting that he is not willing to be considered a Soapy sympathizer but ignores Frank Reid's sordid past in idolizing him as a hero. And spells Reid wrong!

3. As you are aware, Soapy and Frank being such celebrities in Skagway, lots of people claimed to have known them but didn't... the details Moore gives make it seem feasible that he actually did, considering he acknowledges Soapy's good side; but if he actually did know him, and is giving a factual account, why include the fictitious detail about Soapy being grand marshal at the 4th of July parade? Maybe he saw the days of 98 show too much... ;)

Unfortunately I don't have the official date of this particular article. It was in the sixth installment of Moore's history of the AB in Alaska Weekly magazine; the first installment was in December 1931 so this would have been likely published at some point in '32.

Hope this is a good addition to all the rest of your sources! I read your book-- it seems as though you have a LOT. keep up the good work :)

--Ashley

P.S.
I felt it worth mentioning... that in all of my research of the Arctic Brotherhood I keep hoping that at some point I'll find some link between an AB member and the soap gang... yet to be uncovered but I REALLY want it to be there!



My thoughts [Jeff Smith]

Ashley, I sincerely thank you for this wonderful new addition to the families collection of published articles pertaining to Soapy. This is the first I have seen this piece and I'm guessing others in my family will concur. It simply amazes me how much I still don’t have after 25-plus years of searching! I enjoyed and wholly agree with your comments that there is a lot of fiction in Moore’s account and possibly his memory. It suspiciously appears that much of what Moore writes was taken from the newspapers; for instance, the part about a brother being a prominent journalist back east. In actuallity, it was not a brother, but cousin, Edwin Bobo Smith.

I love the part in which Moore claims to have held Soapy’s head as he passed away.

As for being a grand marshal of the parade, Soapy was the marshal of the fourth division, yet so many remember him as the grand marshal, why? Some claim he moved his way up to the front. I have some ideas on that, which will be posted in an article on the July 4 parade along with a newly discovered photograph of Soapy…soon.

 

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Pic of the day: Juneau wharf

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(Click image to enlarge)

 

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