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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 34 |
| 1889 | 65 |
| 1891 | 31 |
| 1892 | 246 |
| 1893 | 259 |
| 1894 | 239 |
| 1895 | 182 |
1,056 stories
- Passenger Train Ambushed Near Puyallup
A passenger train traveling through the Puyallup Indian reservation is targeted by gunfire, narrowly missing a non-union engineer.
- The Secretary Asks the Puyallups Whether They Are Fit to Hold Their Own Land
Interior Secretary John W. Noble met 200 Puyallup people on the reservation and promised to carry their wish to sell to President Harrison — after satisfying himself that they could be trusted with the money.
- Judge Hanford Rules on Native Rights to Personal Autonomy
A landmark federal court decision affirms that Indigenous citizens holding land in severalty are not subject to the same liquor restrictions as those on reservations.
- The Steamer Victoria Arrives with 400 Chinese Passengers
Federal authorities prepare to investigate claims of forged entry certificates amid the looming deadline of the Geary Exclusion Act.
- Judge Hanford Lets Railroad Cross Puyallup Reservation
A federal judge rules in favor of a railroad contractor over U.S. Army soldiers stationed on Indigenous lands.
- Indigenous Opposition to the Squire Bill
Jonas Stannup warns against the theft of tribal land by government commissioners, citing the suspicious nature of the 'Squire bill'.
- The Judge Who Cleared the Way to Sell Puyallup Reservation Land
In April 1895, a federal court refused to block the sale of Puyallup Indian Reservation lands, ending an injunction and setting the stage for dispossession.
- The Unhallowed Site of a Parsonage
A dispute over a church building on the Puyallup reservation cemetery reveals the discovery of Indigenous burials beneath the structure.
- The Million-Dollar Water Loot
A lucrative deal involving city water bonds sparks outrage over embezzlement and public debt.
- Tension Rises on the Puyallup Reservation
A federal commission attempts to settle land disputes while facing intense resistance from the Puyallup people, who reject the government's authority to dismantle their land holdings.
- The Dynamite Murder of Tacoma: A Mob’s Verdict
In the early hours of January 1890, a Tacoma man was dragged from jail and hanged by a vigilante mob for blowing up a house and killing a sleeping family. The Seattle press offers a chilling reflection on whether such 'swift justice' is ever truly justified.
- The Judge Who Wanted to Join the Salvation Army
Probate Judge Wickersham faces seduction charges in Tacoma; his defense seeks a venue change as he jokes about his future with the Salvation Army.
- The Wickersham Scandal: A Judge’s Honor on Trial
In a Tacoma courtroom that captivated the Pacific Northwest, Miss Brantner takes the stand for days, detailing alleged improprieties with Probate Judge Wickersham. The trial exposes a web of land fraud, cocaine use, and social climbing, culminating in a judge’s furious rebuke of a laughing crowd.
- The Trial of Judge Wickersham: A Tacoma Scandal Over Land, Lies, and 'Delirium'
In February 1889, the trial of a powerful federal judge in Tacoma exposed a web of political corruption, land fraud, and sexual scandal involving a young woman named Sadie Brantner.
- The Wig and the Wire: How a Tacoma Newspaper Owner Tried to Destroy a Judge
In the sensational Wickersham trial of 1889, prosecutor R.P. Radebaugh’s own past and his alleged conspiracy to frame Judge Wickersham for 'immorality' were laid bare in court.
- The Railway Bribe on the Reservation
A railroad company agent admits to a systematic scheme of paying Puyallup men to secure a right-of-way through their land.
- The Day the Wind Took Down Tacoma’s New Buildings
A fierce storm topples a nearly finished commercial building, claiming the life of a prominent contractor and leaving a city in shock.
- The Forgotten Prisoners of McNeil Island
Thirteen men held in limbo for years, caught between a nation that didn't want them and a border that refused their return.
- The Mystery of the Murdered Man's Two Wives
A shocking revelation in the case of C. C. Grant suggests the victim may have been a bigamist, or perhaps the victim of a clever fraud.
- The Railroad’s Big Heist: Northern Pacific Claims Indian Land It Doesn’t Own
As the Puyallup Reservation faces a legal siege from the Northern Pacific Railway, federal officials warn that a treaty-protected land grab could strip thousands of acres from Native families for pennies on the dollar.
- The Six Who Vanished: Tacoma’s Senatorial Scandal and the Art of Political Silence
In the wake of a bitter Washington State Senate race, the six key allies of defeated candidate Judge Calkins have disappeared from public view, leaving behind a trail of bribery allegations and a furious debate over whether the election was stolen or won by superior strategy.
- Eviction Threatens Historical Black Settlement in Tacoma
A US Marshal is ordered to collect rent from 450 squatters living on a 163-acre tract established by early Black settlers.
- The Shackled Sailors of the Karoo
A federal judge in Tacoma intervenes to protect a crew 'inveigled' onto a British ship, exposing a brutal system of forced labor and maritime exploitation.
- The Puyallup Land Dispute: A Forgotten Fight for City Growth
In 1892, Representative John L. Wilson proposed liquidating the Puyallup Indian Reservation to spur the growth of Tacoma, highlighting the long-standing tension between tribal sovereignty and urban expansion.
- The Horror in the Cabin: A Tacoma Tragedy
A brutal murder of a fruit dealer in his sleep reveals the violent shadow of immigrant debt and desperation in 1892 Tacoma.