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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 3 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 32 |
| 1877 | 17 |
| 1878 | 8 |
| 1880 | 5 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 36 |
| 1884 | 11 |
| 1885 | 27 |
| 1886 | 13 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 7 |
| 1889 | 32 |
| 1890 | 13 |
| 1891 | 29 |
| 1892 | 100 |
| 1893 | 76 |
| 1894 | 55 |
| 1895 | 61 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 6 |
| 1899 | 23 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 8 |
| 1904 | 44 |
| 1905 | 3 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1908 | 24 |
| 1909 | 53 |
| 1910 | 11 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 12 |
| 1917 | 6 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
| 1925 | 1 |
| 1929 | 2 |
60 stories matching passeng
- Terrified Passengers Flee as Steamship Hits Snag on Snohomish River
A routine trip turns into a frantic scene of life-preserver panic when the steamboat Fanny Lake hits an underwater obstacle just a mile from city docks.
- The Midnight Thief on the Steamer Isabel
A passenger loses her entire fortune while dining, sparking a tense confrontation and a failed pursuit of justice on the Sound.
- Stagecoach Chaos on Mill Street
A frightened team of horses sparks a wild ride through downtown Seattle, leaving a lone passenger clinging on for dear life.
- The Unheard-of Honesty of Captain Starr
In an era of public distrust, a Seattle steamer captain surprises the city by compensating a passenger for a stolen trunk without the threat of a lawsuit.
- The Steamer's Narrow Escape
A brush with disaster on the Snohomish River turns into a local scandal involving the engine room and a bottle of spirits.
- The Funeral Boat on the Black River
A funeral party's journey home from Renton to Seattle is upended when their steamer breaks down, forcing a mud-caked, cross-country trek by wagon.
- The Night Watchman's Dilemma: A Call for Safety on Seattle’s Dark Wharves
In September 1876, the Seattle City Council was urged to intervene after late-night passengers were forced to navigate dangerous docks alone, highlighting the precarious nature of early urban infrastructure.
- The Perilous Crossing of the Sound
A young man attempted a midnight sailboat trip from Port Blakely to Seattle during a gale; now, only his empty boat remains.
- The Child Who Vanished: A Tragedy on the Columbia Bar
A two-year-old girl was swept overboard from a steam tug in the Pacific Northwest, becoming one of the many unnamed victims of the region's treacherous waters.
- A Perilous Plunge Aboard the City of Panama
An elderly passenger’s fall through an unsecured hatchway exposes the dangerous negligence of a bustling Seattle steamship.
- The Pacific’s Lesson: Floating Decks and Real Sailors
A correspondent proposes turning steamer decks into life-rafts—and blames the wreck of the Pacific on owners who replaced seamen with freight handlers.
- The Great Quarantine: Port Ludlow’s Armed Stand Against 'Commercial Agents'
In a rare display of local vigilante health policy, armed residents of Port Ludlow blocked a boat from Victoria, British Columbia, forcing it away after learning the passengers had smallpox.
- The Steamboat Duel: Annie Stewart vs. The Messenger
In a race for passengers and profit on Puget Sound, two steamers engaged in a high-speed chase that ended with the Annie Stewart arriving five minutes ahead of her rival.
- The Iron Wreck: A Train’s Deadly Plunge Near Tacoma
Conductor Stroud and passengers suffer grave injuries when a tender axle fails at 25 mph, sending cars tumbling down an embankment in one of the region's most serious rail accidents to date.
- The Great Snohomish Jailbreak: A Bank Robber’s Midnight Escape
While the town slept, a prisoner charged with robbing an Olympia bank picked his way out of the Snohomish jail. He is still at large.
- The High Stakes of 1878: A Seattle Sunday Outing
Before the city’s rapid industrialization, residents looked to the local race track for leisure, with the railroad offering half-fare tickets to draw crowds to the spectacle.
- The Saturday Spectacle at the Seattle Race Track
A century and a half ago, the promise of a purse, a ball game, and a rail excursion beckoned Seattleites to the outskirts of town for a weekend of high-stakes play.
- The Ghost of a Train Passenger
A traveler on an express train encounters a sweet, golden-haired girl in a shawl, only to discover she was a desperate murderess fleeing toward the Canadian border.
- The Drunken Gentleman of Commercial Street
A tipsy passenger’s chaotic attempt to board a streetcar and his subsequent social performance in 1877 Seattle.
- The Stranger at the Clarendon Hotel
A young man arrives in Seattle, keeps to himself, and ends his life in a locked hotel room, leaving behind only a name that may not be his own.
- A Ferry Before the Ferry: The Fight to Replace Open Boats on Admiralty Inlet
Whidbey Islanders were crossing to Port Townsend in open rowboats through tide rips and chopping seas. Local merchants and an island resident with $4,000 wanted piers, a steamer and a regular route.
- Snowed In: The California Mail Famine of 1872
For thirteen days, the telegraph was the only connection to the outside world, leaving businesses and citizens reeling from the silence of the snow-blocked passes.
- The Steamer Yakima’s Narrow Escape on the Snohomish River
A dangerous excursion up the river tests the limits of steamboat navigation through uncharted waters and shifting logjams.
- The Opium Steward of the Dakota
A routine baggage check on the steamship Dakota reveals a massive illicit cargo, sparking a criminal case that hints at a long-running smuggling operation on Puget Sound.
- The Dog Who Defied Gravity (and the Mayor)
A canine visitor to Seattle’s Tremont Hotel proves that while political patronage is hard to shake, a dog’s instinct for self-preservation is stronger.