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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 62 |
| 1858 | 29 |
| 1859 | 52 |
| 1860 | 27 |
| 1861 | 101 |
| 1862 | 87 |
| 1863 | 69 |
| 1864 | 32 |
| 1865 | 11 |
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 812 |
| 1877 | 678 |
| 1878 | 526 |
| 1879 | 64 |
| 1880 | 180 |
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 911 |
| 1884 | 499 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
| 1888 | 440 |
| 1889 | 1,324 |
| 1890 | 287 |
| 1891 | 1,115 |
| 1892 | 2,855 |
| 1893 | 2,829 |
| 1894 | 2,116 |
| 1895 | 1,830 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 62 |
| 1898 | 196 |
| 1899 | 446 |
| 1900 | 114 |
| 1902 | 34 |
| 1903 | 1,332 |
| 1904 | 1,126 |
| 1905 | 124 |
| 1907 | 53 |
| 1908 | 351 |
| 1909 | 1,545 |
| 1910 | 413 |
| 1911 | 160 |
| 1912 | 73 |
| 1914 | 261 |
| 1915 | 300 |
| 1916 | 545 |
| 1917 | 332 |
| 1918 | 45 |
| 1919 | 5 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1922 | 18 |
| 1923 | 185 |
| 1924 | 151 |
| 1925 | 64 |
| 1928 | 14 |
| 1929 | 19 |
2,116 stories
- Tacoma Officials Accuse Land Commission of Favoring the Land Company
City leaders head to Olympia to challenge harbor lines they say were drawn to benefit the Tacoma Land Company rather than the city.
- A Cabin Sold for $10, Then a Body at the Foot of Union Street
Frank Mails was last seen leaving a Railroad Avenue saloon; the coroner ruled his death accidental, but the details of his last night left quiet questions.
- The Fireman Who Accused His Commissioner—Then Sued the City
Oswald R. Vitzthum says Seattle owes him years of pay and that he was never legally discharged after accusing a former fire commissioner of taking money for jobs.
- The Woman on Her Sister's Grave
A young woman shoots herself at Lake View cemetery and gives her name as Mrs. Whitney. Two families then arrive at her hospital bed, and neither can agree on who she is.
- Four Railroads, One Street Grid, and a Deal Seattle Had to Approve
Great Northern, Northern Pacific and rival lines nearly settle how their tracks will cross south of downtown—if the city council will rewrite their franchises.
- The Mayor Who Vanished: Port Angeles' Populist Chief Goes Missing
Frank McGill left town after a drunken night, gave his wife power of attorney, and was last reported heading for San Francisco—leaving the city council unable to pass ordinances.
- The Firebug's Last Exit: A Tacoma Lodging-House Owner Hangs Himself
After firemen foiled his attempt to burn his own lodging house for insurance, Carl Haesbseche walked out before breakfast, rigged a twine noose, and stepped off a platform.
- A Railroad Beats a Homesteader Over a Tacoma Land Claim
Judge Gilbert rules James De Lacey abandoned his claim before the Northern Pacific land grant, but De Lacey will appeal.
- Tacoma Assessor Fires Deputy With a Yard-Long Wooden Knife
After Joe Egermeyer opposed his boss's nomination, County Assessor Doherty staged a mock execution with a butcher knife.
- The Chicken-Head Oath Was Not Used in This Seattle Courtroom
Chin Chew was acquitted of beating and robbing a fellow Chinese laborer, but the case is remembered for a judge's refusal to repeat a rival jurist's 'chicken oath' experiment.
- The Odd Fellows' Missing $144.15: A Treasurer's Fall From Grace
Henry A. Swift, a Fremont mill worker and lodge treasurer, is charged with embezzling $144.15 after a shutdown left his family in need.
- The Commissioner Said There Was Work. The Unemployed Asked What It Paid.
Labor Commissioner Lamb reported no takers even for guaranteed hop work at Yakima—and conceded that pay for harvests, railroads and ditch digging was often low and uncertain.
- He Swindled a Banker Out of $5,000. Now He Says the Newspapers Poisoned His Jury.
Harvey W. Knowlton, convicted of swindling an Aberdeen banker, files for a new trial claiming jurors read prejudicial news accounts and that a missing sheriff would have testified the money went to another man.
- The Democrats Drum Up Candidates—and One Staged His Own Surprise Party
Seattle Democrats organize ward clubs, weigh fusion with Populists and independents, and trade rumors over sheriff, treasurer and prosecutor—including a would-be senator who bought his own gold-headed cane.
- The Hotel Thief Who Slept Under the Same Roof He Robbed
Sat Sanguinetti begged the Rainier Hotel's manager for a place to sleep, then used a skeleton key to strip its guests of diamonds and gold — until a private watchman caught him red-handed.
- Fremont and Green Lake Lose Their Streetcars—and Their Conductors
A new schedule halves service, strips conductors from the cars, and has Fremont residents crying foul over a city ordinance.
- A Seattle Merchant Sold His Stock, Then Vanished — and His Creditors Want Him Back
Simon Rumpf disappeared sometime after selling the Diamond Palace's goods to J. K. Basye & Co. Detectives are hunting Nuremberg, Honolulu, and a cache of missing merchandise they suspect never left the city.
- The Fair, the Band, and the Union Telegram
When Tacoma's Interstate Fair hired an out-of-town military band, the local musicians' union balked—prompting an angry telegram and a last-minute scramble to catch the train.
- The Fair Band Walked Out When the Pay Didn't Come
Fifteen Tacoma musicians said they quit the Interstate Fair band after management failed to arrange their wages — and they had brought players from Portland and Seattle at their own expense.
- The Queen Anne Fire That Nearly Took Mrs. Geddes
A lamp explosion before dawn sent Professor Geddes into a smoke-filled house to rescue his unconscious wife.
- Seattle’s Food and Shelter Depot Served 5,572 Free Meals in December
The charity’s weekly report defended free meals, promised work for the able-bodied, and insisted it served all comers regardless of race or religion.
- The Two Mrs. Van Valkenburghs
A Seattle restaurateur's elopement with a Napa woman brought a forgotten first wife out of San Francisco, claiming his divorce was fraudulent and that she was still his lawful spouse.
- A Young Mother Dies at Cottage Lake—and the Coroner Stops the Funeral
Twenty-two-year-old Mary Heizog died in childbirth attended by an “old woman” of uncertain training; when Dr. Chase arrived three hours too late, Deputy Coroner Frank Carroll ordered the burial halted for an investigation.
- Candy, Land Claims and a 'Confidence Man': Arlington's Commissioner Hits Back
George Morrell denies stealing ginger snaps and swindling settlers—then accuses his accuser of running an extortion racket with a Seattle police escort.
- A Road Through the Barn: Drunk Commissioners and a Judge's Rebuke
A Snohomish County road crew moves to cut a highway through T. Larson's house and barn; testimony says two commissioners were too drunk to inspect the route.