Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II was an American con artist and gangster in the American frontier.
Smith at bar in Skagway, Alaska, 1898
1898, Soap Gang pictured
2009, before restoration
Newspaper headline about the fight
The District of Alaska was the federal government’s designation for Alaska from May 17, 1884, to August 24, 1912, when it became Alaska Territory. Previously (1867–1884) it had been known as the Department of Alaska, a military designation.
Miners and prospectors climb the Chilkoot Trail during the Klondike Gold Rush
Alaskan fishing boat with a catch of cod and halibut, c. 1900