How a con man turned a prehistoric statue into a gold mine

History · Published 8 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Jefferson "Soapy" Smith was a master of the confidence game. From burying fake artifacts to running criminal empires in the Alaskan gold rush, his ability to fleece gullible travelers made him one of the most notorious figures of the American West.

Born in Georgia in 1860, Jefferson Randolph Smith began his career as a Texas cowboy. However, he soon found that the low wages of ranch work were no match for the lucrative potential of deception. He transitioned into a life of crime, becoming a highly skilled con man who specialized in convincing unsuspecting westerners to hand over their cash through clever schemes.

One of his most audacious early swindles involved a ten-foot statue of a primitive human. Smith secretly buried the object near Creede, Colorado, only to later "discover" it amidst great fanfare. By charging exorbitant fees to view the supposed prehistoric man, he turned a buried relic into a massive source of revenue before fleeing the town to avoid suspicion.

By 1897, Smith had moved to the frontier town of Skagway, Alaska, during the gold rush. In this lawless environment, he established himself as the leader of an ambitious criminal underworld, fleecing thousands of miners. His influence grew so significant that he formed a "Committee of 303" to counter a local vigilante group known as the "Committee of 101."

The rivalry ended in violence on July 8, 1898. During a confrontation at the Skagway wharf, Smith attempted to disrupt a vigilante meeting. He was met by Frank Reid, a city engineer. A shootout ensued; Smith was killed on the spot, while Reid succumbed to his wounds twelve days later.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• The con man who turned a humble bar of soap into an empire
• The Outlaw Who Couldn't Ride and the Deception of Soapy Smith
• The 1849 arrest that gave us the term confidence man
• How a gold rush merchant built a transcontinental empire through backroom political maneuvering.
• How a nineteenth-century speculator built a massive railroad empire through ruthless financial manipulation
• Did ancient Egyptian voices echo through the streets of classical Athens?
• How the First World War transformed marksmen into the modern sniper
• Connecting personal identity to the artifacts of Punjab
• Why Superior Militaries Often Fail Against Underdogs Using Unconventional Warfare Tactics
• Forgotten Heroism: The Lesser-Known Fronts of the First World War
• The 1908 New York ban that policed women's public behavior
• How Daniel K. Inouye earned the Medal of Honor through extraordinary battlefield bravery

More in History · Latest · A–Z · All topics