Jefferson Randolph, who was commonly known as “Soapy Smith,” was born in November 1860 into an educated and wealthy family. He was born in Georgia to a lawyer, and his grandfather was a senator at the time.
Bad luck befell the Smith family, and their estate was destroyed at the end of the American Civil War. Life was not good for Jefferson for a while, and he had to leave his new home soon after his mother’s death in the late 1970s.
He then organized a group of scammers and scammers and began the era of one of the best “confidence men” of his time. His “career” took him all over the United States, but most of his time was spent in the Western states. He also operated gambling halls, saloons, auction houses and cigar shops. He hung around many of the early gold mines throughout the West and was one of the true “figures” of the early West.
Soapy Smith’s time in Denver
Jefferson had an infamous beginning in Denver. He opened this shop in a small market where he played the shell game from a suitcase. This scam is famous as “soap racket with prizes”. He would sell soap bars wrapped in paper, placing dollar bills inside some of the wrappers, showing that one lucky person could pick the right bar of soap and possibly win a lot of money.
He would have some scammers in the crowd pretend to win the money and show it to the crowd to make it look real. This was his most notorious scam and for the same reason he was given the name “Soapy Smith”.
He opened the Tivoli club in Denver due to his growing power and influence as he was able to successfully establish a gang in Denver in a short period of time. Tivoli Club was opened in 1888.
After a while, he sold Tivoli and decided to move to Creede, Colorado, where he organized another gang of shills to carry out his cons and other nefarious activities. Creede was a booming mining town at the time. There were many silver strikes in the area in the late 19th century.
It was at this time that he acquired land from the owners as well as other properties and wealth through his conmen and gangs. He then announced another empire and the “Orleans Club” was founded.
Soapy Smith and the Klondike Gold Rush
The late 19th century saw one of the largest gold rushes in North America. From 1896 to 1899, it is said that more than a hundred thousand prospectors flocked to the Klondike to try their luck and seek fortune. These men came to make money in what would become the last great gold rush on Earth.
Is there a better place for a scammer like Soapy? Thousands of new people came to town with dreams of getting rich.
Jefferson Smith began to deceive these prospectors in the most suitable ways. He was able to build an empire in Skagway just like he did in Colorado. He puts the city collector and law and order men on his payroll and becomes the gang’s boss.
One of the most famous scams he played during the Klondike gold rush was a fake telegraph office. He used this telegraph office for new prospectors, who used to send their messages to family and business associates. The Soap Gang would steal valuable information that men sent to their families. The telegraph office had lines that never even left or entered Skagway!
Another way Soapy Smith gets gold from the miners in town is through his taverns and card games. He used to install fake games to scam gold from miners who played them. If there’s an opportunity to trick or steal someone’s money, it seems Soapy Smith will find a way to do it.
