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promptly sailed for Skagway, saw the
situation was to his liking, and made
plans to gather his mob around him.
Ere long there disembarked on the
waterfront of Skagway key members
of the nefarious gang that had fleeced
the gold-camps of the West.

First to step ashore was the un-
savory “Bishop” Bowers, an oily and
personable rascal whose forte was to
assume the guise of a God-fearing man
and steer those worth robbing into
the clutches of the others. Then fol-
lowed Slim Jim Foster; grey-haired
and benign Tripp, a venerable repro-
bate who had long since demonstrated
his immense capacity for evil; George
Wilder, Jackson and others—all broke
but supremely hopeful that lawless
Skagway would prove to be their
Eldorado.

Though but 37 years of age,
“Soapy” had already acquired a
colorful, if unscrupulous, back-
ground. Born in 1870 of a prom-
inent and highly respected
Southern family that had fallen
on evil days since the Civil War,
young Randolph had gravitated
to the West, become a_ cow-
puncher, ridden the historic
Chisholm Trail im leathern
chapps and ten-gallon hat,
mingled with Indian fighters,
buffalo hunters and quickly
learned to hold his own with the

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two-gun men and desperadoes

who still infested the western

frontier.

With his genteel appearance, well-
modulated voice, and dark, hypnotic
eyes, he soon discovered his ability to

Philip H. Godsell

Editor’s Note: A veteran Northerner, Mr.
Godsell, obtained the information in the fore-
going story from oldtimers who knew “Soapy”
well and other reliable sources. No pains
have been spared to make it strictly correct.
The original manuscript was submitted to
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for ex-
amination prior to publication. Mr. Godsell’s
recent book on the pioneer bush pilots of the
Far North, Pilots of the Purple Twilight, has
received wide acclaim, a copy being graciously
accepted by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth.

KITIMAT HOTEL LTD.

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inspire respect and liking in those he
wished to sway, and though his name
had been linked with more than one
shooting scrape, his winning ways and
ingenious brain usually succeeded in
keeping him out of trouble.

From the arduous life of a cow-
puncher he graduated to the easier
money of marked cards and the gamb-
ling tables until, at last, he wandered
into Denver, and on the windy corner
of Seventeenth Street, earned the
sobriquet that was destined to ring
down the ages.

This consisted of selling cakes
of soap wrapped in a_ twenty-
dollar bill to credulous onlookers
at 10 cents apiece. But only
Soapy’s gang actually “bought”
the green-back wrapped  soap-
cakes, since sleight of hand de-
nuded them of their monetary
wrappings ere they reached the
hands of others!

Within 24 hours of his arrival in
Skagway the ubiquitous and resource-
ful “Soapy” had already become well
and favorably known to the leaders
of the local underworld, and by the
time his gang arrived was only await-
ing the opportunity to dominate the
scene.

The opportunity wasn’t long in
coming. As he entertained the passing
tide of mackinaw-clad humanity with

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THE SHOULDER STRAP