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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 29 |
| 1859 | 52 |
| 1860 | 15 |
| 1861 | 9 |
105 stories
- A Yakama Chief Falls as the Territory's Indian War Ends
Col. Wright's campaign is declared over; Owhi is shot near the Snake River, and the Herald celebrates executions and hostages as peace.
- The Winter War Blueprint: An 1858 Campaign to Subdue the Tribes
A field letter from the Indian war in Oregon and Washington urges the Army to occupy the Colville Valley, cut off Indigenous trade, and expel missionaries and Hudson’s Bay Company employees.
- The Senate Ratifies the Treaties That Remade the Northwest
Ratified in 1859, the 1855 treaties with tribes across Oregon and Washington promised annuities, schools and mills while ceding millions of acres to settlement.
- A Town Organizes a Vigilance Committee to Keep 'Northern Indians' Off Its Shore
Citizens meet at the Court House, resolve that 'no Northern Indians at any time be allowed to land at this place,' and appoint a standing Committee of Vigilance to enforce it.
- Two Governors, One Island, and a War Called Off by Letter
Gen. W. S. Harney writes to Queen Victoria's man at Victoria to explain why United States infantry are dug in on San Juan; Gov. James Douglas writes back hoping no 'collision' follows. The boundary quarrel that became the Pig War, in the principals' own words.
- The Lost Schooner's Dark Secret
A confession in Victoria reveals the brutal fate of two missing vessels and their crews.
- A Brutal Murder on the Trail to Fort Steilacoom
A soldier is found dead after a violent altercation involving multiple men, leaving the community in shock.
- A Majority of 108 from Seventy Voters
The territorial election returns smelled of the ballot box: Whatcom County, with barely eighty voters, reported a majority of 108 for Stevens.
- Steilacoom Empties Its Garrison for a Near-War on San Juan Island
On Aug. 9, 1859, soldiers and two brass cannon left Steilacoom aboard the steamer Julia to reinforce Capt. Pickett’s tiny command, as the U.S. and Britain edged toward war over a boundary and a pig.
- A Chief Seized at Fort Bellingham
Acting Governor Mason's requisition sends soldiers after Kitup and Nelson; a visit to the Indian agent ends in a scuffle, an escape attempt, and a military arrest.
- The Night Steilacoom's Records Burned
A Tuesday-night blaze destroyed the county auditor's office, forced the demolition of a neighboring building, and nearly took Anthony's Hotel—until soldiers joined the bucket brigade.
- A Settler's Plea for Too-e-pi-ti
An old Pierce County resident says a white man, Jim Riley, shot an Indigenous man without cause—and asks voters not to let the case die.
- The Surrender Demand That Came Before Peace
Father De Smet escorts Kamiakin, Skloom, and other chiefs to Vancouver to meet Gen. Harney—but the terms are blunt: the 'ringleaders' must be handed over first.
- Pioneering the Snoqualmie Pass Road
Citizens of King County organize to build a wagon road across the Cascades, raising over a thousand dollars to bridge the wilderness.
- Opening the Cascade Gateway
A committee of citizens reports on the progress of a new wagon road through Snoqualmie Pass, promising a vital link between the Sound and the interior.
- The Sewing Machine Tragedy
A neighborly loan of money for a sewing machine leads to a fatal confrontation on a Steilacoom road.
- A Murdered Pioneer's Scalp, Kept as a Relic in Olympia
A grisly relic of Col. Isaac Ebey's 1857 killing on Whidbey Island turns up in Olympia, a reminder of the violence that shaped Washington Territory.
- Seeking Justice for the Murdered Schooner Crews
Authorities in Victoria and Washington Territory coordinate to track down those responsible for the brutal killing of crews on the Blue Wing and Ellen Marie.
- A Blockhouse, a Murder, and a Rumor of War
After a killing on the Snohomish, settlers in the Puyallup Valley put their families in a blockhouse. One farmer rode out to look for signs of an uprising—and found none.
- The Steamer Traveler Goes Down Off Foulweather Bluff
A sudden leak in a winter gale drowned Captain Slater and several others on a routine Puget Sound run from Port Townsend to Port Gamble.
- Gold in the Wenatchee—and a War Warning at Fort Simcoe
A hard-riding express reaches Steilacoom with word of 300 miners in the new Wenatchee and Naches diggings—and a settler's letter warning of a wider Indigenous war over the invasion.
- Gold in the Wenatchee, but the Miners Were Told to Leave
Pearson's party returns to Steilacoom after Indians warn them off the new gold fields; a handful of dirt shows a dollar's worth of gold.
- The Killer Who Walked Into the Council and Bared His Breast
On San Juan Island, a man accused of killing a chief's son returned to face tribal justice—and his family watched him offer his own heart to the dead man's brother.
- A Territorial Judge, a Killing, and a Governor's Bad Appointment
A grand jury has charged Judge E. C. Fitzhugh with murder in the death of Andrew Wilson, turning a territorial appointment into a test of Governor Stevens's judgment.
- Speculators Send a Surveyor to San Juan, and a Boundary Dispute Turns Hot
Americans from Victoria and Puget Sound move to preempt land on the disputed island, betting that U.S. jurisdiction will follow—and warning that trouble may follow first.