Soapy Smith.
The Committee of 101 was a vigilante group that operated in Skagway, Alaska, in 1898.
In 1897, Jefferson “Soapy” Smith arrived in Skagway, Alaska. Known in former mining camps throughout the American West as the “King of the Frontier Con Men,” Soapy’s reputation for running his illegal rackets and taking over a town was well known.
After being run out of Denver, Colorado, Soapy saw an opportunity in the Klondike Gold Rush and, bringing in his gang of rogues and thieves, set about repeating the process in Skagway. Setting up “shop” in his new saloon, Jeff Smith’s Parlor, Soapy’s cons began in earnest. His saloon became known as the “real city hall,” even though Skagway already had an official one. But some of the Skagway citizens were not so impressed with Soapy, whose heavy drinking and black temper had begun to get entirely out of hand.
After about nine months of dominating and fleecing the town, several Skagway citizens had had enough of the man, and a vigilante group that called itself the “Committee of 101” threatened to drive Smith and his gang out of town.
Jeff Smith’s Parlor, Skagway, Alaska, 1898.
However, Soapy retaliated by forming his own group, which he called the “Committee of 303,” to intimidate the first group. Soapy alleged that his group had more than 300 members, hoping to force the vigilantes into submission. It worked.
However, when Soapy’s gang took $2,600 in gold from a Klondike miner in an illegal Three-card Monte game, the vigilantes re-emerged and demanded that Soapy return the gold. Soapy, of course, refused, claiming that the miner had lost the gold “fairly” in a sporting game. The next night, on July 8, 1898, the vigilantes met in Juneau, Alaska. Hearing of the meeting, Soapy decided to attend, arriving with a Winchester rifle draped over his shoulder. When they barred him from entering, he argued with one of four guards, a man named Frank Reid, who was blocking his way. Before long, a gunfight erupted, and when the smoke cleared, both men lay dead.
© Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.
Also See:
Soapy Smith – Bunko Man of the Old West
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