Soapy Smith 



the way, the boy did not turn up. It was all 

 so natural that during the wait we should talk, 



and Well, they did me down too, and I 



am not ashamed to own it. I think it was five 

 dollars well spent, for I learnt the depth of that 

 particular game and the " trimmings " that 

 attended it. The moral of the story is this : 

 Soapy and his gang supposed that my friend 

 and I were leaving the steamer at Skagway, that 

 we should, according to the custom of the 

 country, carry the greater part of our worldly 

 goods on our persons, and that they would be 

 able to make a rich haul. That they would, had 

 it suited their book, have shot one or both of us 

 goes without saying, and that we were covered 

 by a " gun " during the time we were in that 

 house is also a fair certainty. On my arrival on 

 board the steamer I took pains to discover the 

 status of my tall companion who shared my 

 experience. For I thought he might have been 

 " in the crowd." I quite satisfied myself that 

 he was a most estimable gentleman, and very 

 well known in Seattle : but one never knows ! 



Whilst on the subject of Soapy Smith, I may 

 as well relate a few true stories concerning the 

 man and his end, which for calm cheek and daring 

 are hard to beat. An embryo prospector, with 

 his wife and child of ten years old, landed at Skag- 

 way on the way to Dawson. The man got into 

 the clutches of the band, who, by means of tricks 



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