CAMP FIRES IN THE YUKON 19 



Soapy was not only a very live person while he 

 breathed the air of this planet, but in Skagway he 

 became an institution, and being an institution his 

 memory is still green, even as the grass that grows 

 over his upturned toes. 



In the glory days of Skagway the boat discharg- 

 ing its varied and motley human cargo that goes to 

 make up the gaiety of nations, landed on the dock 

 a hitherto mild and harmless Western gambler 

 named Soapy Smith, who in the favorable climate 

 of Skagway developed talents of organization, until 

 within a short time he found himself at the head of 

 a gang of outlaws. Soapy became obsessed with 

 the delusion that his mission in life was to relieve 

 all incoming gold seekers of their often too meager 

 grubstakes and all the outgoing miners of the re- 

 sponsibilities of wealth which they had accumulated 

 in the form of gold dust and nuggets, and for a time 

 he plied this form of relief work vigorously and 

 successfully and usually by the painless method, as 

 few of his victims were subjected to any personal 

 violence. 



He was a man of resource, and his methods were 

 as varied as Joseph's famous coat. It is related 

 that a missionary en route to the North to labor 

 among the ungodly stopped in Skagway, and one 

 evening addressed the crowd and sought contribu- 

 tions for missionary work. Soapy, hovering on the 

 outskirts of the curious but none too responsive 



