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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 9 |
| 1893 | 8 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1918 | 1 |
41 stories matching fruitless
- The Tragedy on Howard Street
A household servant disappears after a toddler dies from arsenic poisoning.
- Hot Ashes Nearly Burn Down Olympia’s Pride
A carelessly discarded batch of hot ashes smoldered for hours in the Capitol Steam Laundry before bursting into flame beneath the Olympia Hotel.
- The Ring Goes Down: Seattle Turns Out the Machine
A Democratic sweep in Seattle's city election stuns the men who thought they owned the town — and the Grand Army veterans they snubbed do the electing.
- The Great Potato Swindle on the Wishkah
A logger attempts to pull a fast one on a local rancher, leading to a heated riverboat confrontation over the weight of seven sacks of spuds.
- A Chaotic Brawl in Old Whitechapel
A police pursuit of drunken sailors spills onto the streetcar tracks, resulting in a wagon collision and mass confusion.
- The Last Letter From Everett: A Young Printer Vanishes on the Road to Spokane
Elmer H. Rogers told his parents he was headed for Spokane. He never arrived, and his family feared he was killed trying to ride the rails between Seattle and the inland city.
- The Mayor Won't Sign, the Railroad Can't Build, and a Saloonkeeper Sues the Town
Newport's council spends a long evening tangled in street vacations for the Idaho & Washington Northern, unsafe crossings, a disputed plat of survey monuments — and trades a lawsuit for a liquor license.
- The Railroad That Built the Town Now Charges It Tribute
Spokane Falls merchants discover the Northern Pacific has quietly raised freight rates 50 to 150 percent — to fatten Portland at the inland towns' expense.
- The Tacoma Republicans Who Refused to Knife John McGraw
A Pierce County party committee tried to block the state ticket. A rival Harrison Club fired back with a mule-team metaphor and demanded candidates pledge loyalty.
- A Midnight Knock, a Bloody Hat, and the Farmer Who Vanished
Charles Gloystein joined an oath-bound farmers’ society near Mica, tried to leave, and disappeared. A bloody hat was all searchers found.
- A Razor and a Riot in Seattle's Tenderloin
A crowded Italian saloon at Third and Washington erupted into a free-for-all that took a squad of police to break up—and left the neighborhood talking.
- The Case for a Wagon Road Over Stevens Pass
A Skykomish correspondent pitches a $40,000 public road from Seattle to Tolt and over the old Great Northern tote road, so farmers needn't pay the railroad to cross one hill.
- The Body in the Box: A Political Murder Haunts Spokane County
Charles F. Gloystein crossed the Freeman's Protective Silver Federation and disappeared. Now his neighbors are offering a $1,000 reward—not for a killer, but for the body.
- Sixty Deputies, a Special Train, and the Hunt for an Escaped Prisoner
King County officers sweep the woods near Black River Junction for a jailbreaker named Blanck, borrow bloodhounds that don't answer, and get word that the bunko man Holmes has been spotted near Snohomish.
- A Farmer Vanished Near Mica, and His Neighbors Blamed a Populist 'Shotgun Club'
Charles F. Glovstein disappeared from his Spokane County farm on July 28, 1894. Republicans called it political murder; the governor could offer only $1,000 for answers, and a secret 'protective association' was said to hold its members for life.
- An Engineer Bets Newport Could Rival Spokane
A Spokane mining engineer reports on the Bead Lake and Conquest claims, arguing that capital, a concentrator and a five-mile rail spur could turn a dormant district into Newport’s future.