Outlaw Tales of Colorado by Jan Murphy

Author:Jan Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780762789344
Publisher: TwoDot

“Soapy” Smith

Con Man

Use this soap and wash your sins away! Cleanliness is next to godliness, but the feel of good crisp greenbacks in the pocket is paradise itself. Step right up friends, and watch me closely.

With these words, “Soapy” Smith drew a crowd along a busy Denver street in 1888. Onlookers witnessed as he held up a one hundred dollar bill, placed it around a small bar of soap, wrapped them together in colorful paper, and tossed the package into a pile in front of him. Next, he enclosed a fifty dollar bill with another bar, wrapped it, and added it to the pile. He repeated this again and again, placing large bills in each package until the pile grew large. Sometimes Smith made it very obvious when he didn’t place any money in with a bar or two, and most people watching thought they knew for sure which packages contained the big bills.

“Soapy” offered his audience a chance to buy the wrapped soaps for only five dollars each. He admitted this was a “ridiculous price if you only got a 5-cent bar of soap,” but he reminded his viewers, “you have to take a chance if you want to win big!”

The crowd was reluctant, but one man eagerly stepped up, put his five dollars on the table, and chose from the pile. When he opened the wrapper he found a one hundred dollar bill folded inside with the soap. Everyone saw his joyful reaction as he jumped up and down holding up his newly won prize. Others immediately crowded forward to pay their five dollars, expecting to win too. This time, however, the players opened the wrappers and found only soap.

In actuality, the first “winner” was an employee of Soapy’s and knew which bar of soap held the prize. Smith’s experienced sleight of hand made it appear that money had been placed in nearly all the other soap packages, when in reality, he had palmed the large bills so none were included. Soapy Smith had, once again, tricked his audience and swindled a few more poor suckers in early Denver.

Born in 1860 to a family in Noonan, Georgia, Jefferson Randolph Smith had an early life that could not have predicted his future “career” as a con man. His father and uncles were all well-educated aristocrats, and he was raised in the lifestyle of Southern landowners. Following the Civil War the family moved to Texas. There, Smith became a cowhand as a young man while he pondered his future. His parents hoped he would choose law or the ministry.

The rough life of the range didn’t appeal to Smith, but it did bring him into contact with the local gambling halls of San Antonio. His sharp mind easily grasped the finesse required to do well at the poker tables, and he discovered the excitement of winning by his wits.

When the circus came to town, young Smith found something even more exciting than poker. A man named Clubfoot Hall was operating his shell game outside the big tent.

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