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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 6 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 7 |
| 1885 | 7 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 20 |
| 1893 | 11 |
| 1894 | 9 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
18 stories matching harsh
- An Abandoned Household: A Public Denunciation in 1876
A rare glimpse into the harsh realities of Victorian domestic life in pioneer Seattle, where a husband took to the local press to publicly cut ties with his wife.
- Walla Walla Man Attempts Suicide; Gamblers Cheat Visitors
A tragic attempt at suicide in Walla Walla sheds light on the toll of addiction and the harsh realities of frontier life.
- The Ghost in the Phonograph
A bachelor’s secret engagement is exposed by a misplaced recording, setting off a chain reaction of social scandal and technological wonder in a turn-of-the-century mansion.
- Divorce and Duty in 1877 Seattle
A legal notice exposes the harsh realities of matrimonial dissolution and property disputes in late 19th-century Washington Territory.
- The Capsized Boat and the 'Male Kind' Rescue
A trio of young men testing their luck on Lake Union learn a harsh lesson in buoyancy, social embarrassment, and the precariousness of Victorian masculinity.
- The Price of Staying Fed: A Frontier Eviction Debt
A legal summons from 1878 captures the harsh reality of pioneer life, where unpaid boarding bills for food and lodging resulted in formal court action.
- The Tragedy of a Lonely Life in Seattle
A man's desperate act of suicide on Commercial Street illuminates the harsh isolation and economic despair of Seattle’s early frontier days.
- A Sudden Loss in the Snohomish Valley
A quiet, tragic passing of a local woman highlights the intimacy and harsh realities of 19th-century pioneer life.
- The Price of a Scandal in 1877 Seattle
A public notice in the territorial court reveals the harsh, legal reality of a divorce filing on the grounds of 'frequent adultery' in late-19th-century Seattle.
- The Price of Separation in 1878
A legal summons published in the Puget Sound Dispatch highlights the harsh reality of divorce proceedings in territorial Seattle.
- The Tramp Economy of Early Seattle
A reporter encounters a 'bummer' among the weeds of Mission Bay, revealing the harsh, transient reality of laborers who roamed the Pacific Coast in the 1870s.
- The Sheriff’s Auction: Losing the Land in Snohomish
A legal notice from 1878 reveals the harsh reality of frontier debt, as a local resident faces the forced sale of his 120-acre homestead to satisfy a court judgment.
- A Seattle Pastor on Trial: 'Attentions' to Another Woman, Harsh Words at Home, and a Public Rebuke
In 1877, the Presbytery of Puget Sound spent six days in Seattle deciding whether Rev. E. P. Dunning had crossed the line with another woman and mistreated his wife — then publicly reproved him and urged him to guard his conduct.
- The Sheriff’s Gavel: Seattle Land Auctioned to Pay a Debt
In October 1876, King County Sheriff L.V. Wyckoff prepared to sell 160 acres of land in front of the courthouse to satisfy a judgment against Duncan Dewar, illustrating the harsh realities of property law in early Seattle.
- The Cannery Boom: Salmon, Chinamen, and the Gold Rush of the Columbia
A detailed look at the massive industrial scale of the Pacific Northwest's salmon industry in 1877, revealing the harsh labor conditions and the central role of Chinese workers.
- The Presbytery’s Verdict: A Minister’s Scandal and the Price of Repentance
In a trial that captivated Snohomish County, Reverend H.P. Dunning faced charges of domestic abuse and neglect. The court’s nuanced ruling offers a rare glimpse into the moral policing of 19th-century clergy.
- The Engineer’s Ash-Box Ghost: A Tale of New Year’s Eve Peril
In a column dated October 1870, the Seattle Daily Intelligencer reprints a harrowing tale from an old engineer about surviving a wreck by hiding under his locomotive's ash pan during a blizzard.
- The Moss-Cloaked Giants of Bay Center
A teacher’s letter from the Pacific Northwest frontier describes a landscape of colossal trees and lush undergrowth, challenging the myth of the harsh pioneer struggle.