Alias Soapy Smith
Recently, I was contacted by Jeff Smith, the descendant of a well-known colorful Western pioneer, who went by the name of “Soapy Smith”. In plain terms, Soapy was a con-artist who found creative ways to secure an income while dodging the law in the Western United States and Alaska. His name evolved from a scheme in which currency was hidden in cakes of soap and sold to gullible customers willing to gamble on its placement.…