34 Facts About Soapy Smith

Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II was an American con artist and gangster in the American frontier.

Soapy Smith gained notoriety through his "prize soap racket," in which he would sell bars of soap with prize money hidden in some of the bars' packaging in order to increase sales.

Soapy Smith was killed in the shootout on Juneau Wharf in Skagway, on July 8,1898.

Jefferson Soapy Smith was born on November 2,1860, in Coweta County, Georgia, to a wealthy family.

Soapy Smith's grandfather was a plantation owner and Georgia legislator, while his father was an attorney.

However, the Soapy Smith family was met with financial ruin at the close of the American Civil War and in 1876, they moved to Round Rock, Texas, to start anew.

Soapy Smith moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he formed a close-knit, disciplined gang of shills and thieves to work for him.

Soapy Smith then wrapped plain paper around all the bars so that the money was hidden.

Soapy Smith then made the appearance of mixing the money-wrapped "prize soap" in with the regular soap and sold the soap to the crowd for one dollar per bar.

Midway through the sale, Soapy Smith would announce that the hundred-dollar bill still remained in the pile.

On one occasion, Soapy Smith was arrested by policeman John Holland for running his prize soap racket.

In 1879, Soapy Smith arrived in Denver for the first time and, by 1882, he had successfully built the first of his three empires.

Soapy Smith opened an office in the prominent Cheever block from which he ran his many operations.

Soapy Smith was not without enemies and rivals for his position as underworld boss.

Soapy Smith faced several attempts on his life and shot several of his assailants.

Soapy Smith became known increasingly for his gambling and bad temper.

In 1892, with Denver in the midst of anti-gambling and saloon reforms, Soapy Smith sold the Tivoli and moved to Creede, Colorado, a mining boomtown that sprang up on the site of a major silver strike.

Soapy Smith purchased and briefly exhibited a petrified man nicknamed "McGinty" for an admission of 10 cents.

Soapy Smith provided an order of sorts, protecting his friends and associates from the town's council and expelling violent troublemakers.

Soapy Smith grew rich in the process but was known to give money away freely, using it to build churches, help the poor, and to bury unfortunate prostitutes.

Soapy Smith left at the right time, as Creede soon lost most of its business district in a huge fire on 5 June 1892.

Soapy Smith joined the corrupt officeholders and police at City Hall and was commissioned a deputy sheriff.

However, Governor Waite eventually decided to withdraw the militia and the battle was instead fought in the courts, in which Soapy Smith was an important witness.

Soapy Smith exploited the situation, using his new title of deputy sheriff to make fake arrests in his own gambling houses by apprehending patrons who had lost large sums in rigged poker games.

Soapy Smith became known as Colonel Soapy Smith, and managed to organize a recruiting office before the deal failed.

Soapy Smith traveled to St Louis and Washington, DC, and did not return to Skagway until late January 1898.

Soapy Smith set up his third empire much the same way as he had in Denver and Creede.

Soapy Smith put the town's deputy US marshal on his payroll and began collecting allies for a takeover.

Soapy Smith opened a fake telegraph office in which the wires went only as far as the wall.

Soapy Smith's men played a variety of roles, such as newspaper reporter or clergyman, with the intention of befriending a new arrival and determining the best way to rid him of his money.

Soapy Smith wrote to President William McKinley and gained official recognition for his company, which he used to strengthen his control of the town.

On July 4,1898, Soapy Smith rode as marshal of the Fourth Division of the parade leading his army on his gray horse.

Soapy Smith received a bullet in his left leg and a severe wound on the left arm by the elbow.

Soapy Smith was buried several yards outside the city cemetery.