Soapy Smith

(b. Georgia 1860-d. Skagway, AK, 1898)

Jefferson Randolph Smith earned the title "King of the Western Con Men," outdoing both Texans and Californians. He gained the nickname "Soapy" for his soap sales on Larimer Street. Smith brought out a display of soap—not just ordinary soap, he assured the crowd that gathered. They watched as he appeared to insert folded dollar bills underneath the wrappers of random bars of soap and began a sales pitch that went something like: "Step right up, pards, and flirt with lady luck…You can’t lose with soap…Cleanliness is next to godliness…and the feel of a crisp, new greenback is heaven itself!"

Soapy never missed a scam, be it gambling, selling soap or phony mining stock. Ultimately he graduated to the biggest scam of all politics. After he was caught rigging Denver elections, Soapy was chased out of town. He wound up in Skagway, Alaska, where a public-minded citizen shot and killed him.

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