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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 330 |
| 1889 | 821 |
| 1891 | 345 |
| 1892 | 1,428 |
| 1893 | 1,737 |
| 1894 | 1,323 |
| 1895 | 1,115 |
7,099 stories
- Seattle Offers a Bluff to Win the Army's Guns
Gen. Otis wants a garrison on Magnolia Bluff to guard Puget Sound — but the land the government thought it already owned has been quietly claimed out from under it, and Fort Townsend is running dry.
- A Wooden Pistol Emptied the King County Jail
Thomas Blanck, awaiting appeal for murder, locked the night jailer in a cell and walked out with eight other prisoners—armed with a black wooden fake.
- The Wooden Revolver That Freed Ten Prisoners
Thomas Blanck held a jailer hostage with a carved fake gun, emptied the King County jail, and vanished into Seattle's streets.
- The Wooden Revolver That Sprung Tom Blanck
A murderer awaiting appeal in the King County jail used a hand-carved fake gun to force his way past the night jailer, then vanished into the Black River woods as a sheriff's posse rushed south by special train.
- Debs Comes to Seattle, Fresh From Jail, and Tells the Crowd How He Got Six Months
A thousand workingmen meet the Pullman strike leader at the boat landing, march him through town, and pack the Seattle theater to hear him name the real conspirators.
- Katie Hackworth Vanished From School. Her Parents Say a Procuress Took Her.
A habeas corpus petition accuses Mrs. Ollie Ryther of luring 14-year-old Katie from the Pacific school with presents and money and holding her for 'purposes of vice.'
- A Clerk’s Error Won Seattle an Army Post
A mix-up in the civil appropriation bill let the Secretary of War skip a site board and choose Magnolia Bluffs—giving Seattle a federal payroll and a decisive win over Tacoma.
- A Dog Led Seattle to a Dead Newborn—and a Woman in Black
A sugar-sack bundle hidden at Squire Avenue and Barclay Street held a newborn with a crushed skull; the mother vanished into the night.
- The Woman in Black and the Newborn Left for Dead
A Seattle coroner concludes that an infant found at a street corner was killed at birth by a blow to the skull. Detectives have no suspect, only a frustrated clue about a woman in black.
- A Medicine Man's Death, and a Debt Demanded in Blood
A Nisqually medicine man was killed after failing to cure children. Now his cousin says forty tribesmen will march on the Muckleshoot reservation for customary indemnity — or the killer and his kin may be killed.
- The Shipworm Eating Seattle’s Waterfront
Wharf owners were spending a fortune fighting a saltwater pest. The fix: fill the tide flats, cut freshwater waterways, and make the harbor safe for pilings—and insurance.
- Four Shots at a Seattle Policeman—and a Potato in the Revolver
Harry C. Good, a popular young salesman, is held on $10,000 bail after wounding Officer J. W. Glasscock at Third and Marion, while old friends recall the time they replaced his pistol cylinder with a potato.
- The Streets Seattle Was About to Give Away
A city council committee votes to vacate waterfront streets south of Charles Street, and the city engineer warns that private tide-land leases could cut Seattle off from deep water.
- High Stakes and High Caliber
A casual card game at the Northern Hotel ends in a shooting, leaving a stranger in custody and a victim fighting for his life.
- The Widow, the Prisoner, and a Near-Miss on Yesler Hill
Mrs. Harry L. Fraser demanded to face Paul Page, the man accused of killing her husband in a Northern Hotel barroom—while Page was being arraigned a few blocks away.
- A Mayor Suspends His Fire Commissioner—and a Firehouse Scandal Erupts
Mayor Phelps removed Commissioner George T. Masel amid a fight over Chief Allen and a teenage girl's allegation against a fireman at department headquarters.
- The Verdict Was Thrown Out. Now Wilcox Faces a Second Fight for His Life.
William A. Wilcox, once convicted of manslaughter in the 1893 slaying of Charlotte Fetting, will be retried in Seattle. Both prosecution and defense claim new evidence — and the defense says the real killers are still at large.
- Thirty Grains of Morphine and a Baker’s Plea to Be Let Go
Christian F. Gutheil, a Seattle bakery owner, survived an overdose after a long spree—then told a reporter he wished the doctors had not interfered.
- The Schoolyard War Over Scarlet Fever
Seattle's health board tried to close two schools. Principals resisted, police made arrests, and pupils turned a fire hose on the law.
- City Council Wrestles a 50-Year Streetcar Franchise Into Shape
A committee debate over percentages of gross earnings reveals how Seattle gave away its transit future one clause at a time.
- The Dredgers Are Coming: Seattle's Canal Project Finally Starts Moving
After years of financing delays, engineers promised to begin bulkheads and surveys on the south canal—and to haul giant hydraulic dredgers north to reshape the tide flats.
- A City Turns Out for Its Dead: Seattle's Memorial Day, 1895
Three hundred and five veterans, three militia companies, high-school cadets and a twelve-foot column of flowers marched Front Street and filled the Seattle Theater — while the Board of Health kept the schoolchildren from singing.
- Church Pastor Forced Out Amidst Financial Dispute
The pastor of the Jones Street A.M.E. Church has resigned following a public notice from the trustees declaring he was no longer authorized to collect funds.
- The West Seattle Intruder
A night watchman’s wife attempts suicide after a violent confrontation with a ship's officer in their home.
- A Two-Dollar Chip, a Drawn Revolver, and a Death in the Hotel Barroom
A gambler named Page goes on trial for shooting Harry Fraser dead in the barroom of Seattle's Northern Hotel — a killing that began over the change from a $20 bill.