Evening star., 1898-09-03

| wren that sucker goes broke he ii kill you
| tfe thinks you been robbin i'm an if YOU
| haven't you've been crooked with me. an
| in that case the rules O. the house make ii
| my duty to put your light out m'se'f see?''
A few minutes later cigar went burning
| alorg the trail that lay by the banks of the
| Rio Grande
That in substance, was the story told by
| the miner, verified by 'Sapolio'' and printed
| IL the morning Chronicle.
few weeks later Soapy came in one
| AFTERNOON with two revolvers, a rifle and
| a shotgun.
leaning the shotgun against the editors
desk. Il just brought these things along
IN case you all might be shySpn fightin'
| IONS
| How's that?' asked the editor
why, that fellah Streepys druv piiin' in
the riveh. built house on EN- an tuned
| the riveh thu yo lot
| we ell, what can We do about it?'
| DO? why, make the dam houn jump
| out tn windeh an take the house,
| "Streepy'll fight. won't he?"
| oh, yes, he'll fight, but you all must go
heeled or not go at ALL If you want me
III go along just for the excitement"
After consulting Vaughn, the foreman.
| who had lived a great deal in the mines.
| the editor concluded to let the lot go. and
| Soapy, taking up his arsenal. went out.
AT the end Of 1892 the historian added
| another stanZa to the running record CT
| Creede Camp
| The Autumn winds blow bleak and chill
| TIE sighing, quivering aspen waves
| Above the unTecorded graves
When halt, abandoned burros feed
| And Coyotes call-And this is Creede
| Slanting Annie Gambler Joe
| And Bad Bob Ford are sleeping there
| But slippery. sly ''Sapoo'
He seems to shun the golden stair
| Hes turned his time to liveer tricks
| He's doing Denver politics
Strawberries we're 30 cents a box in Den
| Yer. Lafe Pence candidate for C,onyress
| had brought bcx home for his family ANA
| himself. AS the future famous congress-
| man passed into his yard he glanced over
| the low fence and saw his neighbor's boys
sitting on the Scant lawn, each with A noy
| OF berries between his knees When they
| had eaten all they could hold, they played
| lhdian by painting each others faces with
| ripe berries, and gave what was left to the
| poor children who lived in the block
AS the coming congressman stood watch
| ing the boys the gentleman who lived next
door came home to luncheon. The two men
| esehanged good morning" and the pro-
| spectlVe legislator said that he had been
asked to name democrat in his ward for
| Judge of election. If his neighbor would be
good enough to give his name, the candi-
GATE would be pleased to hand it in and he
made ready with pencil and note book
You're democrat, L presume, Mr-Mis-
ter"
20! yes. I'm a democrat all right
S--N'Shi' 9e1id tAiS 4dtilei u the straw perry
boys.
And would you be willing to serve, Mis-
ter"
Smith" said the man smilingly: "Jeffer-
son randolph Smith, jr., called 'Soapy' for
short"
The man dropped his pencil and note
DOCK as So1py went laughing across the
lawn leading his little children by the
hand.
Pence had not dreamed that the notorious
short-card, shell man and all-round smooth
Eph. was the head of the quiet and ap-
parently happy family next door,
Later Soapy went travelling, and favored
the writer with some odd and interesting
letters. The first came from South Amer
lea, nearly two years ago, another from
Havana and still another from Juneau. l
answered that one and asked for the truth
about the Klonoike, for 1 could rely upon
what Soapy said, and he answered from
New Orleans.
A few weeks later he walked into the Of
flee of New York ma gazne in which he
had read many of my stories, introduced
himself and asked for me. The next news
had of him was from Skaguay, inclosing
the following:
TO THE SKAGUAY MILITARY co.
Gents: A meeting was called for the I'D
but has been postponed till Tuesday the
18th of March, 1898. All members will be
notified where to report Respectfully,
JEFF. R. SMITH, Capt
JOHN FOLEY, First Lieut.
1t seemed to me that this thoughtful
ness on the part of man who had once
stood for me at a killing, and offered to
do it again, deserved a reply So 1 wrote
him briefly, concluding:
Write me when there is anything that
VIII make story, and be sure to wire me
when they hang YOU which will doubtless
occur during the coming summer"
This letter probably never reached him
as no wire came back.
On the 7th of June miner lost a bag
of gold in 'Jeff Smiths Parlors," at
Skaguay. The man made noise about
1t, the citizens got together, Soapy got
drunk and went out to fight them all. Ar
irving at the place where indignation
meeting was being held, Soapy found five
men guarding the entrance. He raped
Frank Reid, the city engineer, over the
head with rifle. Reid snapped his pistol
at Soapy, and Soapy shot him in the groin.
Standing on one foot Reid put three bull
lets into Soapy, killing him instantly.
Soapy must have lived altogether about
forty years. He had made mary friends
and about as many enemies He got his
name, Sospy, because of quiet little busi-
ness he used to drive in Denver. He would
take number of square bits of SOAP wrap
them In soft paper, inclosing in some Cbut
not in alD five, ten. twenty and fifty dollar
blils, then for sum of money, fixed by
himself, he would allow any man in the
audience to guess which of the little pack
ages had money. very often the thing was
blank, but the manipulator always allowed
the stranger to keep the soap. Hundreds
of others have done the same thing but
no man ever did it as smoothly as the
original Soapy.
He had won many a fortune, and. like
most gamblers, probably died poor So far
as the knowledge of the writer extends
he never killed man, but, like all men
who are inclined to be gunny and bad. he
died suddenly, awfully and with his boots
on.
One ON the BoOkkeeper.