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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 7 |
| 1894 | 10 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
60 stories matching cheat
- The Great Steamboat Swindle
A small-time owner was left high and dry after smooth-talking confidence men vanished with his launch to Victoria.
- The Merchant, the Night Transfer and the Missing Man
Eighteen creditors accuse Simon Rumpf of hiding goods, diamonds and a Lake Washington ranch as his Richmond Palace business collapses.
- A Runaway Team Smashes into Downtown Tacoma
A delivery driver narrowly cheats death after his team bolts down Ninth Street, leaving a trail of destruction at the Tacoma Bazaar.
- The Great Nickel Counterfeit Bust
A local slot machine monopolist calls in the Secret Service to stop a gang from minting slugs to cheat his own gambling machines.
- Postmaster's Wife Seeks Divorce Amid Political Scandal
The wife of Port Townsend's new postmaster files an amended complaint for divorce, alleging indignities that have fueled the ire of her husband's political enemies.
- The Wage Suit That Ended With Altered Receipts and a Vanished Proprietor
A Paris restaurant worker sues for unpaid wages; the defense produces receipts that the plaintiffs say were doctored, and the proprietor slips away to California.
- The Sluggers of Pacific Avenue
A saloon’s security force takes street justice into their own hands after a customer tries to cheat a slot machine with lead slugs.
- The Yesler Will Conspiracy
Prominent Seattle figures face charges of destroying the last testament of the city's pioneer founder as the defense fights for a dismissal.
- The City-Line Land Grab
A real estate developer attempts to use municipal law to exclude his own property from city taxes while reaping the benefits of inclusion.
- The End of the Road for a Timber Swindler
A notorious operator who preyed on hopeful settlers finally lands behind bars after a farmer refuses to be cheated.
- The Cowboy Who Returned to Seattle
A decade-long separation, a tragic misunderstanding, and a chance encounter in Texas reunite a pair of long-lost lovers.
- The Seattle-Portland Cockfighting Feud of 1892
A high-stakes cockfighting match between Seattle and Portland descended into chaos, accusations of cheating, and a referee's decision that sparked a regional sports rivalry.
- The Mill That Vanished Before Its Workers Got Paid
Kent mill hands won wage liens, then found the company's assets allegedly shifted to a new corporation—and the sheriff returning 'No property found.'
- A Laborer's Grievance Over Skimpy Wages
A worker on the Madison Street grade reports that his contractor is withholding pay, sparking a debate on fairness and city debt.
- The Industry of Cheating the Line
A look at the cat-and-mouse game between railroad conductors, ticket scalpers, and the detectives hired to catch them.
- The Five-Gallon Pickle Jar That Held Three, and Other Cheats of 1907
Washington's pure food commissioner reports that the milk of Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane is clean — but the packages on the shelf are not what they claim, and he wants the legislature to make him inspector of weights and measures too.
- A Seattle Preacher Tells Society Women They Are Marching Their Children to the Gallows
Preaching to women only on "Dying Mothers and Starving Children," Rev. M. A. Matthews calls society "the emptiness of emptiness" — and blames card parties, prizes and maternal neglect for juvenile crime.
- The Great Seattle Straw Hat Swindle
A smooth-talking grifter fleeced the crowds of Seattle by promising cheap hats, only to leave them holding handfuls of worthless paper.
- The Independent Candidate Who Fought the Party Machine
After suffering a broken arm, a local editor decries the 'spoils system' and the grip of party caucuses over Washington Territory's first constitutional process.
- 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 Tax Reformer of Tacoma
A scathing 1888 editorial argues that tax exemptions for the wealthy create a 'system of injustice' that the state must dismantle for the sake of the common good.
- The Unbuilt Map of Everett
A civil engineer sues the city’s founding land baron for $11,000, claiming he was cheated out of the original survey contract and the right to sign his name to the town’s birth certificate.
- The Fire Chief’s Dangerous Close Call
Seattle's fire chief cheated death twice in one night, plunging through a burning saloon’s skylight while fighting a blaze on the waterfront.
- The Delegate Bunko: Party Math and a Patronage Promise
Seattle's Letter Writer Carson is accused of letting King County lose convention delegates, while Collector Saunders denies breaking a promise to a Seattle longshoremen's leader.
- The Fight to Fix Washington's Territorial Schools
A concerned teacher proposes major reforms to end patronage, cheating, and superintendent corruption in the Territory's school system.