The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-16
SOAP SELLER AND OUTLAW.
PASSING OF A NOTED WESTERN
GAMBLER AND ADVENTURER.

the Needy and FOstered the
Churches.
From the Milwaukee Sentinel
II saw by the Sentinel the other day."
said confidential man OF west side
wholesale house, that John Kalam, who
was IN at the death of Soapy Smith, is in
Milwaukee having his eyes treated.
should like to see The man who would dare
have called him 'soapy' Smith to his face"
continued the west slider, with a merry
twinkle in his eyes.
did you know him?" inquired by
stander
Did l know him! Wen, I rather guess.
yes. l was in the book business in Den
yer back in the SOS, and 'Soapy' had his
fleeing apartments right alongside of
my store, and let me tell you he was one
of the best of neighbors. His name vas
jefferson Smith, and people had to call
him Jeff to avoid trouble.
Smith was an inveterate gambler, and
before he opened his rooms he used 10 play
his soap game on the street corners. You
could always tel when he was broke. He
would appear on the street with a grin
sack thai opened out fiat on both SIDES,
one of those two box on hinges sort OF af-
fairs and in this he would have his soap,
httle cylinders about an inch long and
hundreds of them, in the grip. He would
pick up one of the pieces of soap, remove
the wrapper place a IS or $40 bin next to
the soap replace the wrapper throw It
back in the pile, give IL a single stir up
by running his hands through the pile and
giving them a turn over. Then he would
sing out:
Suckers Bit GreediIy.
Who will give me a dollar for
pick?
The dollars would be thrust at him
from every direction and he would take
them in and the people, who had been
watching the operation and thought they
had a dead sure thing would make their
selections, missing the prize, of course.
Then Soapy' would say:
Gentlemen, you should have taken this
one and, picking up a little cube from
the top, he would unroll the wrapper, and
there would be the $40 bin. As his finances
recuperated he would increase the prize TO
a $50 or a 500 bill, scatter 81 bills through
the heap and raise his price to $40 a draw.
Some days he would take in thousands OF
dollars at this game. Old, gray-haired
business men and young fellows and all
sorts of people would gather about, watch
him closely think they had a sure thing
and take a chance. l tried myself, but
never caught him. nor did any one else.
1t was the slickest game l ever went up
against.
after 'Soapy' had staked himself with
this game he would disappear from the
streets for months at time He would
sit at a game of faro which was his ia
vorite, and if things came his way ne
would stay right there until the sign,
This Bank Has Suspended was put up.
1.-THE soap game finally proved too small
for Smiths fertile brain, and associating
himself with a man named Charles Burke
they concocted one of the cleverest swim
dies ever attempted in this country and
had the protection of the authorities, who
were their innocent victims as well as the
public, in carrying it through.
His Airship scheme.
"They leased a large park few miles
ont from Denver, advertised that an air
shin would start from the park for chi
cago with a bridal pair on board on
certain day in 1889. The billboards were
covered with pictures of the airship; an
advertisement was inserted in the papers
offering a reward of 500 for pair who
would be married in the park and then
take the trip. A prospective bride ana
groom answered, and their pictures went
on 10 the dead walls Store windows were
filled with articles 10 be presented TO
them on their return from the trip, ana
the city went wild over the prospective
event.
"The eventful day came. The railroad
was fairly blocked with special trains
from all directions to the park. and 1t IS
estimated that 25, 600 people passed through
the single gate at 81 a head TO see the
show.
I'm the center of the park was a large
wooden building, a temporary structure
ain wa gtInDOsQ6 he
ready to make the trip. One of the oldest
justices of the peace in Denver was on
hand TO perform the ceremony, with a S25
fee i'm his pocket. The bridegroom and his
bride stood ready for the ceremony, ana
the former had a check for 800 in his
wallet. Around the building was row
of barrels connected with hose. and
Gordon of deputy sherffs stood guard
around the whole affair, the report hav-
ing been given out that a spark of fire
might cause an explosion
Made on with the Money.
,eNhIle the crowd was still streaming
into the park and the band was playing "A
most stirring air 'Soapy' and his partner
went TO the ticket office. hurriedly gather
ed up all the money that had been taken
in, swept it into two gripsacks, made
beeline for the fence behind the place
where the music was stationed, mounted
Try. They had timed the affair so that
they arrived at a little way station JUST
in time to stop an express train bound for
the Pacific coast which they boarded and
made their escape.
THE affair caused great stir for a few
weeks and then cooled off. There was no
concert of action among the people who
had paid their admission fee and in few
months Smith returned to Denver ana
opened up a gambling room on his own
account. He had his steerers out TO meet
an newcomers One of the latter was an
old soldier, with an abundance of gray
whlskers on his chin. He always wore his
trousers stuffed in the tops Of his boots,
met people at the trains or at the hotels,
engaged them IN conversation, volunteered
to show them the mint and other points
Of interest. including the gambling houses,
and invariably brought them up at
'soapy's' establishment, where the fleeing
was done in the most approved fashion.
There were six or seven other steerers
connected with the establishment, but the
old solder was the slickest Of them all. one
young fellow got into the habit of accost-
Ing people that stopped to look a the
Goods on display in my windows and final