A new photo of Soapy Smith's petrified man McGinty.

McGinty
Alaska-Yukon Exhibition?
courtesy of The Circus Blog

ne of the great public releases that came out of my book, Alias Soapy Smith was the story of how Sylvester the petrifid man at Seattle's Ye Olde Curiosity Shop was actually that of McGinty, and had once belonged to Soapy Smith. Alias has the complete and detailed non-fictional account of the petrified man, from its start in 1892 to time Soapy sold and delivered it to Hillyard, Washington in 1895. The history after 1895 is vague but I am always on the lookout for clues. In the history published by the Curiosity Shop, mention is made that McGinty went on display at the 1904 Alaska-Yukon exhibition in Seattle. Although that is very probable, there is no provenance. None-the-less, I have continued to search photographs and records of the midway section of the fair for hints and signage for McGinty.

      I scored a hit when I found a site called The Circus Blog. Under the title, The Mummy, published April 23, 2011, I found a photograph of McGinty post 1895 and possibly previous to its ownership by the proprietors of the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. The following is all the blog had in the way of information but it's more than I had previous to finding it.

This photo came from the Norman Prather collection. It was sent to me along with other pictures by his daughter Norma. It is quite possible that this mummified person is the real thing. Carnival and circus side shows in years past did exhibit animals and humans that were actual mummies. In later years it was outlawed and only a medical institution or museum could place them on exhibition. I do know for a fact that Pete Cortez had two mummies in his ten in one side show. A child from Mongolia and the other a South American Indian was displayed in the very back of show. Even then in the 1950′s, He was very careful where he displayed them. Mr. Cortez would only show them in certain towns where they would not be confiscated and in a private showing only……….. Much like an after show. Of course there was a charge.

      Besides the provenance of how McGinty came to be, and how he ended up, Alias Soapy Smith looks into the possibility of the identity of McGinty. I considered some very interesting circumstantial evidence and I honestly believe my educated guess is correct, but if you want the details you will have to purchase the book. Which reminds me, book sales are up and there are only about 100 copies left. That may sound like a lot but the National Park Service is about to place an order and they may opt to place the book at all their locations on the Klondike gold rush. I would not be shocked if they decided to pick up the remaining copies. Best not gamble, order your copy NOW!

Klondike Research publishing

 










April 7, 2011
March 24, 2013

McGinty: page 82, 235, 237-45, 395-96, 407, 517, 520, 594.

I beg leave to state that I have no gang, and that I have not been ordered out of Skaguay, or any other place, and that I expect to live here as long as I see fit to. I have taken the side of law and order here time and time again, and all reports like the one enclosed are base falsehoods. I helped a lot of citizens stop a murderous mob from hanging a man that no one knew whether guilty or not, and thereby caused the dislike of some of the members of the murderous outfit. I acknowledge I have been in the saloon and gambling business for a number of years, and when all games and saloons were placed under strict police surveillance. And I have never had any trouble in my place of business; was never convicted of any crime in my life, and don’t think that I am being treated right. …

Respectfully yours,
Jeff R. Smith
Called “Soapy”

—–Alias Soapy Smith, p. 491.

FEBRUARY 7

1795: The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified.

1818: Academician begins publication in New York City.

1855: Famed detective Charles Siringo is born.

1861: The Choctaw Indian Nation allies itself with the Confederacy during the Civil War.

1865: Virginia City is named territorial capital in Montana.

1877: The Guernsey Cattle Club is organized in New York City.

1882: The last bareknuckle fight for the heavyweight boxing championship takes place in Mississippi City.

1893: Elisha Gray patents the telautograph. It automatically signs autographs to documents.

Soapy Smith in London play.

Soapy Smith effigy
the rear of Martin Itjen's Skagway Tour bus

(Click image to enlarge)

ooks as though 2014 is showing a great start in regards to Soapy Smith. Sales for my book, Alias Soapy Smith are up, as are hits on the main website (soapysmith.net). These are most likely due to the Discovery Channel's miniseries Klondike. Today I report the opening of In Skagway, a play currently showing in London England. Once again Soapy is a side character.

This came to me today.

Hackney Citizen, 02/06/2014 (London, England).

In search of all that glitters – In Skagway at the Arcola

by Ella Jessel

      Karen Ardiff’s new play highlights plight of Irish migrant women during the Klondike Gold Rush.

      Lured by glittering promises of fame and fortune during the turn of nineteenth century America, thousands of hopeful men boarded steamers bound for the Alaskan Panhandle to prospect for gold.

      But Karen Ardiff’s play In Skagway, which sees its British premiere at the Arcola Theatre this month, tells the oft-neglected story of the women caught up in the ruddy glamour of the Klondike Gold Rush.

      Directed by Russell Bolam, this ‘all-female Irish Western’ follows the story of actress Francis ‘Frankie’, her dresser May and May’s daughter T-belle as they escape starvation in Ireland and set out in search of a better life in America.

Fading prospects: In Skagway
sees actress ‘Frankie’ face hard times in Alaska

      Frankie enjoys her fifteen minutes of fame in New York but as they travel from state to state her fading talents and penchant for drink means that the trio pitches up broke in Skagway – a town ‘on the edge of the world’ – where the play begins.

      Geraldine Alexander who will play the part of May and is currently enjoying the “soupy stage” of rehearsals at the Arcola explains it was the compelling narrative that drew her to the script.

      “It’s all disastrous but its great fun and is told with great humour. Karen [Ardiff] has that Irish quality of storytelling where everything becomes a yarn. It’s very funny, but it’s also horribly sad,” she says.

      Frankie, May and T-belle’s hopes of making money out of Skagway’s booming population of workmen are dashed as they fall prey to local swindlers such as prostitute Nelly ‘the pig’ and conman ‘Soapy Smith’, and are then overcome by illness and poverty.

      Alexander explains that Ardiff’s characters were inspired by real historical figures.

      “It’s really refreshing to look back in history and see that there were strong women, because we don’t hear about them historically. All we hear about are the men who went to the Klondike but a lot of the women were amazing and independent strong business-women who lived among these men in appalling conditions,” she says.

      Stories of gutsy, pioneering pre-Victorian women are a rarity. Karen Ardiff’s tale of four Irish immigrants attempting to make ends meet looks set to provide a refreshing take on the old yarns as Dalston is transported to the wild and lonely vistas of Alaska.

      In Skagway is at the Arcola, 24 Ashwin St, E8 3DL until 1 March.

I will surely let you in on everything I hear.

 

It should be required classroom reading in history class.

—Donna Clayson
(regarding Alias Soapy Smith)

FEBRUARY 6

1778: The U.S. gains official recognition from France with the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris.

1788: Massachusetts becomes the sixth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1815: The state of New Jersey issues the first railroad charter to John Stevens.

1843: The Virginia Minstrels opens at the Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City. It is the first minstrel show in the U.S.

1891: The outlaw Dalton Gang commit their first crime, the robbery of the Southern Pacific #17 train in Alila, California. Engineer George Radcliff is shot dead as he tries to escape from opening the express car safe. The Dalton’s flee after unsuccessfully trying to open the safe. Family genealogy states that Soapy Smith's wife is a cousin of the outlaw gang.

1892: Electric lights are turned on in lower Creede, Colorado. Soapy Smith’s gaming house, the Orleans Club, is one of the buildings supplied.

1897: A Texas posse captures the remaining members of the outlaw Dalton Gang, killing two and capturing one. Family genealogy states that Soapy Smith's wife is a cousin of the outlaw gang.

1899: The Spanish-American War ends with the ratification of a peace treaty between the U.S. and Spain.

1900: President McKinley appoints W. H. Taft as commissioner to report on the Philippines.

When "based on true story" films wander too far from the true story

Soapy gets his throat cut
Screen shot taken by Jeff Smith
Scene from Klondike miniseries
courtesy of Scott Free Productions

(Click image to enlarge)

  can remember the day I saw information regarding Klondike, a Discovery Channel miniseries on the Klondike gold rush. I wondered and asked every where I could think of, to find out if Soapy Smith would be portrayed. The minute I heard Soapy would be seen, Eric James' old warning came to the foreground of my memory, "be careful what you wish for." Eric James, a Jesse James outlaw descendant, knows well of the disappointments Hollywood can being a family member or hardcore historian. Now that the miniseries has aired, there are viewers who accept what they saw on the screen as very close to the truth, and then there are the viewers who want to know more, to seek out the rest of the story along with the truth. Enough of the latter have seen my website and ordered my book as both have shown increases so I can see positives for what the producers created. I can easily disprove that Soapy died in a gunfight, rather than from the knife of an Tlinglit Indian, but some of the untruths told in the miniseries cut deeply, not so much in myself as those who actually live in Dawson, the Klondike, and even Alaska.  
      After the airing on Discovery Channel, January 20-22, 2014 I began to receive comments regarding the historical mistakes. One female historian wrote to me about what she noted. Her email follows but her name is being withheld per her request.

      The whole story takes place a year before actual events, such as the actual killer snowslide on the Chilkoot, which occurred in April, not June as portrayed. Of course Soapy never "operated" in Dawson and almost certainly never even went there (600 miles overland from Skagway). Of course the Tlingit never waged an attack on the Mountie Jail in Dawson. And there never ever was an old man and a child held there for murder. There were, though, 4 Tagish young men held there for the bushwhacking murder of a Klondiker. The only First Nation people ever hanged in Dawson were two of the Nantuck brothers, for killing for that 1898 killing (see p. 161 GOLD FEVER for a photo of them in chains). They were sentenced to hang, but two died of TB before the hangman's noose could be cinched around their necks. These were Tagish, not Tlingit. (BTW, their bodies were unearthed in Dawson by accident in 2010 while digging to prepare for a new Dawson sewage plant; the bodies were reburied in Tagish in 2011). What a strange mess in KLONDIKE, which could have had some dignity had the the writers applied "historical reason" (as you put it) instead of hog wild abandon. Fiction can be truer than true (in that it has the power to convey human truth), but this production gives fiction a bad name. Even worse was the representation of Soapy as a whiny nincompoop. The man had the manners of a gentleman, not the demeanor of rodent. The person portraying Soapy should have been Tim Roth; he has the gravitas and range to catch Soapy's elusive, mercurial nature. ... Anyway, I agree with you that KLONDIKE is a "piece of crap." The sets were pretty good, looking like a street in Dawson, and the diggings looked good, too. But they can't compensate for the bad history. That was fatal.

I also had some very interesting views from historian Brenda wilbee.

1) The Tlingit are American Natives who lived in Dyea and Haines area of SW Alaska. They never, as a group, went to Dawson City. That would be the Throndike Whech'in who lived in Dawson. They were not a violent people, but retreated under the onslaught of whites to Moosehide, just south of town, down river. They never went after the Mounties; the Mounties never went after them. They are now a vital part of the Dawson Dity community; their reserve is just north of town, where they are able to enjoy home ownership, thanks to the Yukon government and unlike so many of other First Nations people.

2) The Mounties were sent up in 1895, a full year before the gold rush, under Insp. Constantine, and stationed in Forty Mile, down river a few miles and Yukon government seat at the time. They did not arrive after the fact. Sam Steele was sent up at the onset of the gold run in 1897, where after firmly establishing law at the passes into the Yukon, taking away guns and requiring everyone to have a full year's supply of goods and gear, he took over Constantine's new posting at Dawson City.

3) The Mounties were not violent. They upheld the law with little more than sheer guts, heroism, and Canadian authority. You'll not find a single journal of anyone disparaging the Mounties. They certainly did not hold a gun to an old man's head, let alone a child's, behaving like terrorist thugs.

4) William Ogilvy, Minister of the Interior, went up in 1886, as a surveyor a full decade before the gold rush, in anticipation of lawless Americans surging over the border. His job was to define the American/Canadian boundary. At the onset of the gold rush, he was asked to survey Dawson City, and as the rush came on, he was asked by the miners to resurvey their claims to avoid errors, claim jumping, and violence. He did this willingly and without pay, and you'll not find a single miner denigrating Ogilvy. He was, and still is, regarded (along with Sam Steele) a real hero--a man of integrity and utmost honesty. He (nor Steele) ever made a dime off the millions of dollars of gold floating around. Ogilvy certainly did not dictate orders to the Mounties, and he certainly did not luxuriate in hot baths while threatening Sam Steele.

5) The Canadian Mounties were formulated under the model of the Irish Constabulary; meaning they made their own laws as they sat fit, carried them out, and executed the punishments. The most common form of punishment was for drunkenness, and that was assignment to the woodshed. More serious issues involved a pink slip--a one-way invitation to leave town. This pretty much kept people on the up and up.

6) There was, however, political corruption under first Yukon Commissioner. This was remedied under William Ogilvy when he was elected to the position at the height of the gold rush in 1898. He eliminated nepotism, graft, and British aristocracy. None of which was mentioned in the film.

 

January 17, 2014

I haven't begun to read it yet, but leafing through it I can tell you this: It's probably the most thoroughly documented biography or non-fiction book I've ever seen. I saw enough to know that it's filled with drama and adventure not commonly found in biographies ...

— James David Ellen, speaking of Alias Soapy Smith

FEBRUARY 5

1783: Sweden recognizes the independence of the U.S.

1846: The Oregon Spectator (Oregon City, Oregon) is the first newspaper published on the Pacific coast.

1848: Female outlaw Myra Belle “the Bandit Queen” Shirley, alias Belle Starr, is born in Arkansas. She married outlaw James Reed and joined the outlaw Tom Starr Gang.

1861: Samuel Goodale patents the moving picture “peep show” machine.

1881: Phoenix, Arizona is incorporated.

1897: Sylvester Scovel (Friend of Soapy Smith), a U.S. war correspondent for the New York World is arrested and jailed in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba. He is held on four counts, including communicating with the Cuban insurgents and traveling with forged papers. The World declares Scovel to be “in imminent danger of butchery.”

Is this Soapy Smith's roulette wheel?

Soapy Smith's roulette wheel?
As it currently appears on display
Courtesy of MOHAI

(Click image to enlarge)

s one of Soapy Smith's roulette wheels on display in the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle, Washington?

"We do have Soapy Smith's roulette wheel on display in our permanent exhibit, True Northwest: The Seattle Journey."

      A friend on Facebook contacted me with the news that she had seen a Soapy Smith wheel. After a little digging I was able find the wheel and receive the museums information and photographs of the artifact.

• SLU exhibit label: Jefferson “Soapy” Smith rigged his roulette wheel, marked his cards and ran a Skagway gang, making his reputation as “king of the frontier con men”—until a fatal shootout in 1898. The wheel is said to have come from his saloon in Skagway, Alaska.

• Artifact item # 1955.970.236

• Donated by: Horace W. McCurdy.

• Measurements: 6" Hight x 16.25" Diameter.

      According to the museum record, Mr. McCurdy donated the wheel to the museum in 1955. How McCurdy, a local businessman and maritime enthusiast, obtained the wheel is not known. The wheel was on display in 1983 as part of a "timeline" exhibit. It was removed from public display in February 1992 and placed in storage. In 2012 the wheel was cleaned and placed on public view once again, and currently resides on permanent exhibit, True Northwest: The Seattle Journey.

Another view
Courtesy of MOHAI

      Take note that most of the numbers are missing. This appears to be a standard American wheel (Only American roulette had "00" [double zero] as a bet). At one point in time this wheel was altered, with only a few of the numbers remaining.

DID THIS WHEEL ONCE BELONG TO SOAPY SMITH?

      The problem is that there is no provenance for this wheel. There is another wheel and table that is said to be Soapy's. It was sold to my father in 1973 at the Harriet Pullen auction. There is circumstantial evidence for that particular wheel, but the provenance on the wheel pictured above is based solely on the word of the man who donated it.
      It is known that Soapy had interest in at least 3 saloons and gaming houses in Skagway, Alaska so there is no reason to believe that Soapy only had one wheel. Interesting to note that the wheel and table my father purchased, cost Soapy $1,000 to ship to Skagway! They knew he would make back that money within a couple of days. That shipping was just for the wheel, the layout, and the equipment, NOT the table, which was made in Skagway. He purchased it from George Mason and Company in Denver, which makes sense as their office was within one block of Soapy's saloon in Denver.

 

"History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon."

— Napoleon Bonaparte

JANUARY 20

1801: John Marshall is appointed chief justice of the U.S.

1884: the Wickenburg stage is robbed near Prescott, Arizona Territory.

1885: L. A. Thompson receives the patent for the roller coaster.

1887: The U.S. Senate approves the agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii territory as a naval base.

1890: Train robbers, believed to be John Sontag and Chris Evans, hold up passenger train No. 19 on the Southern Pacific line in Goshen, California, about 40 miles south of Fresno. The bandits take about $20,000.

1891: James Hogg, the first native-born governor of Texas, takes office.

1892: The first official basketball game is played by students at the Springfield, Massachusetts Y.M.C.A. Training School. 

KLONDIKE, with Soapy Smith, Discovery Channel miniseries.

Discovery Channel miniseries

(Click image to enlarge)

londike, the 3-part, 3-night epic miniseries on Discovery Channel begins January 20, 2014, 9/8c. DON'T MISS IT, IT'S GOOD! How do I know? Because I've already seen part 1. When the series was "in the can," they sent out a press-kit, complete with a nice book about the miniseries, as well as two DVDs containing the entire 3 episodes. Someone put one of them up for sale on eBay and I was the lucky winning bidder!

      Based on Charlotte Gray's novel Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike, the miniseries stars, Sam Shephard, Richard Madden, Augustus Prew, Abbie Cornish, Ian Hart, Johnny Simmons, Conor Leslie, Tim Roth and Tim Blake Nelson. It was written by Paul Scheuring, Josh Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz, and directed by Simon Cellan Jones. It tells the story of six strangers fighting for survival (and riches) during the 1890s gold rush. One of those characters is Soapy Smith, played by actor Ian Hart. Although based on true events and historical characters, this is historical fiction. Fro example, the bulk of the story takes place in Dawson, Canada (the Klondike) and Soapy is there in the story, however, historical research indicates Soapy never went to Dawson. Artifact #44 in my personal collection is a letter Soapy wrote to his wife. In it he writes about possibly going to Dawson, if he doesn't go off to war with his all-voluntary militia, the Skaguay Military Company, during the Spanish-American war. You can see the letter and read the story on the Soapy Smith soap box blog.

Artifact #44
April 4, 1898
Jeff Smith collection

Although the story is historical fiction, it beautifully tells the history of the Klondike gold rush through the sets and costuming. Yes, there are a few gaffs in costuming, and except for the obvious country-western "cowboy" boots worn by one character, most of the mistakes are hard to notice unless you go looking for them. Normally, programs of historical fiction are historically correct on the background people, and then go overboard with the costumes worn by the stars. This does not seem to be the case with Klondike, which is such a pleasant difference.

Ian Hart as Soapy Smith

The City of Dawson set

The official website for Klondike is filled with photos and information on the miniseries, as well as the history of the actual event.




 

Dawson: page 432, 441, 449, 451, 456, 466, 472-73, 479, 483, 493, 495, 498, 508, 512-13, 524, 552, 583-84, 586-87, 590-91.

"The greater the hero needs to be, the worse the villain becomes."

— unknown

JANUARY 17

1806: James Madison Randolph, grandson of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, is the first child born in the White House.

1836: Sam Houston, commander of the revolutionary troops, sends Colonel Jim Bowie and 25 men to San Antonio, Texas with orders to destroy the Alamo fortifications and retire eastward with the artillery. Bowie believes that it would be impossible to remove the 24 cannons without oxen, mules or horses, and deems it foolhardy to abandon that much firepower concentrated at one location during the Texas Revolution. Instead, Bowie sets about reinforcing the Alamo.

1867: The Northwestern Railroad is the first to reach Council Bluffs, Iowa.

1871: Andrew S. Hallidie receives a patent for a cable car system.

1872: Russian Grand Duke Alexis arrives in Denver, Colorado Territory.

1873: Fifty Modoc Indians under Captain Jack repel more than 300 soldiers in the Lost River Oregon area. President Ulysses S. Grant orders a truce and a peace settlement.

1874: Armed Democrats seize the Texas government ending Reconstruction.

1877: Nez Perce Indians battle the 1st Cavalry at White Bird Canyon, Idaho Territory. Lieutenant Theller and 33 enlisted men are killed.

1882: Thomas Edison's exhibit opens the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London.

1885: William F. Cody's business partner, Dr. W. F. Carver, begins a six-day exhibition in New Haven, Connecticut where he will shoot 60,016 out of 64,881 wooden blocks tossed into the air.

1887: Eighteen-year-old outlaw Seaborn Kalijah murders 3 deputy marshals, Henry Smith, Mark Kuykendall, and William Kelly, with a camp axe, after being arrested for selling whiskey to Creek Indians in defiance of the law. He put the bodies of Smith and Kuykendall in the campfire to burn. Kelly had been shot in the back. Marshals tracked down and captured Kalijah and he was convicted and hung on October 7, 1887.

1893: Hawaii's monarchy is overthrown when a group of businessmen and sugar planters force Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate.

1900: The U.S. takes Wake Island as a possession due to there being important cable links between Hawaii and Manila.

1900: Yaqui Indians in Texas proclaimed their independence from Mexico.

1900: Mormon Brigham Roberts is denied a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for his practice of polygamy.

1905: Gambling punchboards are patented by a manufacturing firm in Chicago, Illinois.

Soapy Smith's Tivoli Club match safe

Match safe (front)

(Click image to enlarge)

atch safes are the equivalent of today's standard Bic lighter you can purchase in most stores and gas stations, at least here in California. The old nineteenth century match safes were little pocket cases that held matches. Prices and quality varied. Some were tin and very cheap, while a few were made from gold and very costly. Like today's lighters, there were many variations. So many in fact, that you can search match safes on eBay all day long and you will have found only a few identical examples. Enterprising manufacturing firms sent their salesmen traveling around the country with samples for cigar stores and saloons to purchase, to hand out to their favorite customers as tokens of their appreciation. Often times the safes were printed or engraved with advertisements of the business. The safe shown above is one such advertising item, for Soapy Smith's Tivoli Club in Denver, Colorado, which dates it between 1888-1894.
     In my collection I possess Soapy's personal match safe that he carried on his person. It is not similar to the above advertising safe shown above.

How I Found It.

     As a reenactor I portray Soapy at old west events, and for a number of months I have been searching eBay for another copy of the one Soapy personally carried around. For obvious reason I don't carry the original around. Everyday I receive an email from eBay regarding that days auction listings for match safes, and so far I have not come across another one like Soapy's personal safe. Until now, I have not told anyone that I was searching for a duplicate safe. One morning while I was looking through the email, I came across the auction for the safe advertising the Tivoli Club. Apparently the seller (thankfully) made no attempt to Google "Tivoli Club," as there was no mention of Soapy Smith or the history of the saloon/gambling house. Had the seller found anything of historical significance he surely would have added it to the auction description. Had he put forth the least amount of effort he surely would have found my website page that describes the history of the Tivoli. I still ended up paying a hefty price for the safe, as I believe at least one bidder made the effort to look it up. It could have gone for considerably more had it been discovered that the Tivoli Club belonged to one of the greatest confidence men of the nineteenth century. It didn't go beyond my wallet range and I won it, though I will be eating piss-poorly for the next month or two.

Match safe (rear)

(Click image to enlarge)

     The rear of the safe has an embossed picture of lady liberty, which leads me to believe Soapy had a choice of styles to choose from. Soapy, being a huge fan of patriotism, certainly picked it out himself.

 

 

I don’t mind a man cheatin' at poker as long as he ain't cheatin' me.

— Unknown

JANUARY 14, 2014

1639: Connecticut's first constitution, the "Fundamental Orders," is adopted.

1784: The U.S. ratifies a peace treaty with England ending the Revolutionary War.

1873: John Hyatt's 1869 invention of ‘Celluloid’ is registered as a trademark.

1864: Vigilantes lynch five outlaw members of the “Innocents” in Virginia City, Montana Territory. One of those hung was Jack Gallagher, whose last words were “I hope forked lightening will strike every strangling…of you.”

1872: Russian Grand Duke Alexis celebrates his 21st birthday and the killing of his first buffalo in Nebraska. The duke missed with his first six shots before Buffalo Bill hands him his .50 caliber rifle. The Duke gets within 10 feet of his prey and shoots, killing the buffalo.

1878: Slabtown changes its name to Leadville, Colorado Territory.

1878: Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates the telephone for Britain's Queen Victoria.

1881: Gambler Johnny O'Rourke, alias “Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce,” shoots and kills a mining engineer following an argument in Charleston, Arizona Territory. He rides to Tombstone where he is protected from a lynch mob by Virgil Earp, Marshal Ben Sippy, and Sheriff John Behan.

1882: The Myopia Hunt Club, in Winchester, Massachusetts is the first country club in the U.S.

1886: Indians appear on doorsteps of many homes in Wichita, Kansas begging to be let in from the cold.

1887: Bad men James Lamb and Albert O'Dell are hung in Fort Smith, Arkansas for the 1886 murder of a farmer who had hired them to do some work.

1891: General Nelson Miles reports that the Sioux Indians are returning to their Dakota reservations.

Soap with a valuable ring inside: A modern swindle of Soapy Smith proportions.

Soap with a prize inside!

ings worth $10 to $7500 with each bar of soap!


My good friend, Leah, up in Seattle, Washington clued me in on a soap ring. No not the bath tub variety, but actual soap, with a diamond ring prize inside. It has to be real because they are giving each buyer 10% off their first order (sarcasm).

The firm is called Jewelscent. For $15.00 a bar you can get a $10 ring (their appraisal). Once you have your soap "enjoy the luxurious lather of your Moroccan oil soap. As the soap wears down, your surprise jewel will be contained in a plastic pouch. Simply pull it out, dry, and remove the jewel from the pouch. Enjoy the rest of your soap and your dazzling new jewel!"

On their FAQ (frequently asked questions) page they state.

All of the rings we include in our products are worth anywhere from $10 to $100. If it’s valued more than that and up to $7,500, you will find a golden token with a claim number. Contact us, and we’ll ship out your prize in a separate package with a certificate of value.

      Could it be this easy? What a perfect time to swindle the victim a second time. I'm pretty certain there is no $7,000 ring to be had, but I bet anyone that gets that "golden token" (if there is one) will get a very confusing document that requires more money and a legal loophole (an 'out') so that no big prize is ever won, or received.

What, me worry?

      Although the site is "safe" and "inspected and monitored" (by whom) I recommend using Soapy's old message in Latin that hung on the entrance to the Tivoli Club in Denver, "Caveat Emptor," in purchasing this product. They do make a great souvenir example of a swindle game that is very related to the prize package soap sell racket performed by Soapy Smith.

 








Prize package racket

Prize package soap sell racket: pages 8, 15, 37-39, 41, 43, 45-56, 58, 75, 95-97, 106, 119-20, 149, 159, 163, 410, 464, 485.

"Dear Mr. con man
you wicked old sinner now
ain't you ashamed your con-
duct is simply a fright
With your jackpot to sweeten
And straights to be beaten
And chips that pass in the night"

— L.R.P. 1909

OCTOBER 30

1735: John Adams, the future second president of the U.S., is born in Braintree, Massachusetts. His son, John Quincy Adams, will become the sixth president.

1831: Escaped black slave Nathaniel "Nat" Turner is apprehended in Southampton County, Virginia, several weeks after leading the bloodiest slave uprising (August 21, 1831) in American history, resulting in 60 white deaths and at least 200 black deaths. Turner is convicted, sentenced to death, and hanged on November 11, 1831.

1857: Soldiers from Fort McIntosh, Texas pursue and attack a band of Comanche Indians who had been raiding Laredo, Texas.

1864: Last Chance Gulch, in Montana Territory, is renamed Helena. Helena becomes a gold rush, the second biggest placer gold deposit in Montana, producing about $19 million in gold in just four years. In 1875, the city becomes the capital of Montana Territory, and in 1894, the capital of the new state of Montana.

1866: The outlaw James-Younger gang robs the Alexander and Company Bank in Lexington, Missouri of $2,011.50.

1868: Construction begins on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad in Topeka, Kansas.

1875: The Reverend O. P. Mains persuades bad man Clay Allison to beat a confession out of Cruz Vega, in a New Mexico Territory jail. Vega is suspected of assisting in the murder of Reverend F. J. Tolby. Vega implicated Manuel Cardenas as the murderer, and then vigilantes hung Vega from a pole. Vega was suffering so Allison shot the man dead. The body was taken down and dragged through the streets, and then left in the desert without a burial. On November 10th vigilantes stormed a jail and shot Cardenas to death.

1875: The constitution of Missouri is ratified by popular vote.

1882: George Ruby, a black Reconstruction politician, dies of malaria in New Orleans, Louisiana. Born and educated in the North, Ruby served with the Freedmen's Bureau, and was elected to the Texas State Senate in 1869. At the end of Reconstruction he retired and moved to Louisiana.

1893: The U.S. Senate gives final approval to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. This act destroyed the silver boom towns, such as Creede, Colorado, where Soapy Smith ruled as underworld boss. It is also partly at fault for the Panic of 1893.

1894: The time clock is patented by Daniel Cooper of Rochester, New York.

Did Frank Reid (shot Soapy Smith) build this house in Bellingham, Washington?

Frank Reid house?

(Click image to enlarge)

id Frank Reid, one of the men who shot and mortally wounded Soapy Smith, build the home pictured above? Robby Albrecht is hoping we can help him answer that question.

Hi Jeff,

      The house is located at 1576 Lake Whatcom Blvd. in Bellingham, WA. It's on Lake Whatcom. The driveway was originally named Clara Place if that helps anyone. I don't know why it was named that.

      Apparently the house was built on Reed Lake (near Cain Lake) and moved here in pieces after a few years. The original editor of the Bellingham Herald owned it (I don't know if this was Frank) and used it as a gentleman's club. He had friends bring him rocks from all over the world and those were used to finish the fireplace.

      In the 1970s a friend of mine says his brother came here and found an envelope in the dilapidated house with a man from Seattle's address on it. They wrote him and asked if they could camp on the property. It then became a big hippy party spot through the '70s named Rock Meadow.

Original interior walls exposed

 
(Click image to enlarge)

      My sister bought the property in 1985. I bought it from her in 2003. My sister bought it from a group of Canadians who had camper trailers on the property. She fixed up the house, moved her family in, and built another large log home on the property. That place is for sale now ( http://www.windermere.com/listing/WA/Bellingham/1578-Lake-Whatcom-Blvd-98229/14947240). I raised my family there and am downsizing and have moved into the original house. Before I moved in here, I brought all the interior walls back to their original state, refinished the fireplace and the wood floors upstairs. It was all covered up. You can see the axe marks. It is beautiful. As I said, I am trying to put together a history on the house and property. Any information your blog might drum up would be very helpful.

Robby Albrecht

      I know that Frank Reid lived in Oregon, but I have nothing on him living in Washington. If anyone can assist in adding information about this story, please contact Jeff Smith here on this blog.

 









Frank Reid

Frank Reid: pages 10, 439-41, 447, 477, 529-42, 544, 547-53, 555, 574, 576-77, 579, 585.

"Murder may pass unpunish'd for a time,
But tardy justice will o'ertake the crime."

—John Dryden

OCTOBER 25

1812: The U.S. frigate United States captures the British vessel Macedonian during the War of 1812.

1853: Paiute Indians attack and kill U.S. Army Captain John W. Gunnison and 7 other men in Utah, Territory. The men and 37 soldiers were a part of a transcontinental railroad survey near Sevier Lake, Utah.

1860: Adventurer Frank “Pistol Pete” Eaton is born in Hartford, Connecticut.

1864: The Battle at Mine Creek takes place. The only major battle fought in Kansas occurs at Mine Creek in Linn County, Kansas. The Union Army defeats the Confederate Army, ending the threat of a Confederate takeover in Kansas.

1870: The first U.S. trademark is given. The recipient is the Averill Chemical Paint Company of New York City.

1873: A detachment of Sixth Cavalry from the Indian Territory attack a party of Indian raiders near Little Cabin Creek, Texas, recovering 70 stolen horses and 200 heads of cattle.

1877: Famed Lincoln County War combatant, Dick Brewer, and posse, catch up with Tunstall's stolen cattle in New Mexico Territory, 10 miles from the Texas border.

1878: Cheyenne Indian Chief Dull Knife and 150 of his tribe reach Fort Robinson accompanied by 75 soldiers. The soldiers provide the Indians food, medicine, and blankets.

1881: In the early morning hours, Tombstone, Arizona Territory residents John “Doc” Holliday and Ike Clanton spew threats at one another while in the Alhambra saloon. The following day both face one another in the famed gunfight behind the OK Corral.

1886: the Texas State Fair opens on a section of John Cole's farm in north Dallas. A rival organization, the Dallas Exposition, opens its first fair the following day. Both fairs are successful and eventually merge to form the Texas State Fair and Dallas Exposition, which eventually becomes the State Fair of Texas.

1891: Jacob Walzer, of the "Lost Dutchman Mine" dies without revealing the secret location. People have been hunting for the mine ever since.

1921: Bat Masterson, famed lawman and gambling figure, dies at his desk while writing a column for the Morning Telegraph where he was sports editor in New York City, New York. Masterson was a good friend of Soapy Smith.