 He later returned to Cuba, at the outbreak of the Spanish–American War (1898), reporting for the "New York Journal".According to Brown,

In October 1897 Smith, along with fellow sports reporter Danny Smith, was sent by the "New York Herald" to Carson City, Nevada, where he covered the boxing match between James J. Corbett and English boxer Bob Fitzsimmons.Smith continued reporting for William Randolph Hearst's "Journal" after the war.