Yesterday I made mention of legendary Denver crime boss and bunko artist Soapy Smith when posting a picture of The City Hall War, and none other than Soapy Smith’s grandson was kind enough to leave the following in the comments:
The Denver Times reported how at one point that Soapy Smith leaned out, apparently with dynamite in hand, and called down to soldiers near the city hall perimeter.
“Say, you guys had better make a sneak. I’ve got enough of the stuff to send us all to hell, and as I am nearer to heaven than any of you, I’ll not be the first to die.”
My great-grandfather is/was Soapy Smith. If any of you are interested I just wrote his biography, Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, which covers the City Hall War in great detail. I am more than happy to answer any questions you might entertain…
Jeff Smith
A couple of years ago I read everything I could find in the local libraries about Denver in the 1880s and 1890s, including a couple of out-of-print Soapy Smith biographies. I also, as I recall, spent a good amount of time trolling Jeff’s Soap Smith website. I don’t think Jeff’s book, Alias Soapy Smith, was out at the time, but if it’s half as much fun as the site, it’ll be a hell of a read. I’ll be tracking down a copy shortly.
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Say, Benjamin, This was a nice post you left for Jeff Smith and the biography of his great-grandfather. I am Jeff’s associate researcher and publisher of his big biography, and I’d be glad to furnish you with a copy at a good price. In addition to interesting, extensive sections about Soapy in Colorado, particularly Denver, Leadville, Creede, Colorado Springs, and Cripple Creek (not to mention half a dozen other states and Alaska), there’s a nice treatment of the death of Bob Ford and whether Soapy was involved (which he probably was not). Yours sincerely from Juneau, Alaska.