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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1885 | 5 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 18 |
| 1893 | 10 |
| 1894 | 11 |
| 1895 | 11 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 7 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
96 stories matching deceiv
- The Butcher's Double Life
A local butcher's social charade collapses when his wife arrives in town from Pendleton, leading to a swift departure and unpaid debts.
- The Hysterical Society's High-Stakes Wager
An Everett group formalizes their political disagreements with a signed, notarized bet on the future of Theodore Roosevelt.
- The Broken Promise of a Convent Gift
An elderly benefactor sues to reclaim forty acres of land, alleging that his donation to a Catholic institution for orphans was built on a lie regarding the gender of the children served.
- The Conductors' Deception and the Streetcar Showdown
A bigamous electric car conductor is chased through the streets of Seattle by two women he had convinced he was their husband.
- The Laborer Who Wasn't
A clever con man successfully targets Tacoma merchants by impersonating a well-known local contractor and paying with forged checks.
- The Jail-Breaking Charlatan of Seattle
A notorious criminal uses a fake pardon and a religious disguise to walk right out of the county jail.
- The Con Artist Who Played Barber on Marion Street
A fake detective who swindled his way through Seattle with a short-lived barber shop is now wanted for attempted murder in New York.
- The Miracle Cure-Alls of 1870s Seattle
Before modern medicine, newspaper columns were filled with aggressive marketing for 'Pain Eradicators' and 'Radical Cures' that promised to fix everything from catarrh to death itself.
- Councilman Defends His Record Amidst Public Outcry
James Stewart strikes back at political rivals, refuting corruption accusations and defending his push for transparent city salaries in the face of local scandal.
- The Sawdust in Your Spice Cabinet
A Seattle newspaper exposé from 1888 reveals that the city's food supply was being systemically poisoned by greed, with sawdust in spices and grease in butter.
- The Counterfeit 'Rye Straw' Cigar Scam
Tobacco merchants discover a deceptive new counterfeit cigar wrapper made of chemically treated rye straw.
- The Unmasking of a Mason
A tense, public confrontation in a local Seattle establishment reveals the social friction surrounding the secret society's reputation in the 1870s.
- The Wild, Wild West of 'Africa'
A spectacular comic opera takes over the Marquam Grand Theatre, featuring a cast of seventy and a plot about a gullible college student misled into thinking he's exploring the Dark Continent.
- The Hidden Slavery of Whitechapel
An official investigation reveals a system of debt bondage and coercion trapping Japanese women in Seattle's waterfront districts.
- The Clumsy Forgery of a Political Appointment
Dr. Alfred N. Marion was amused to receive a fake appointment letter as deputy collector of customs, a prank aimed at Seattle's political circles.
- The Forgotten Heir of Everett
A legal battle pits an Indigenous heir against local titans in the fight for the heart of a burgeoning city.
- A Family Estate, a Half Interest, and a Fraud Charge
A lawsuit in superior court claims Joanna M. Russell misrepresented her share of the Jane Russell estate when the Cherry and Fourth property was sold.
- A 'Beast' in the Courtroom Says Only 'Not a Word'
McGee, convicted of assaulting his wife with intent to murder, drew ten years in Walla Walla—but his appeal kept him in the King County jail while Seattle read about his courtroom act.
- The 'Lingerer' and the Moral Purge of Tacoma
A fiery 1885 editorial spat reveals the tension between town boosters and a 'Law and Order' movement intent on policing the morality of the emerging city.
- The Unsung Patron of Port Townsend
A local priest takes to the pages of the Dispatch to set the record straight on who actually paid for the town's new church, insisting on public accountability for his private donation.
- The Political Battle for Power
A state senator warns that municipal utility expansion could shift tax burdens onto rural farmers.
- The Mock Wedding Scandal
A Seattle bride files for divorce, revealing her husband tricked her into a sham ceremony before marrying her for real under the watch of a constable.
- The Mother Who Hunted a 'Scandalous' Actor Across the West
A persistent woman travels from Oregon to San Jose, mistakenly harassing a local journalist whom she believes is the man who ruined her daughter's life.
- The Railroad’s Grip on Washington Territory Politics
A fiery open letter from 1885 accuses a party official of selling out the public interest to railroad companies, sparking a scandal over land rights and free travel bribes.
- The Buried Gold of Dungeness and the Woman Ansel White Left Behind
Neighbors near Dungeness take up divining rods and dig out stumps hunting a dead man's fortune — and turn up instead the fifty-year-old story of the woman he ruined.