Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 7 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 8 |
| 1893 | 7 |
| 1894 | 9 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
58 stories matching snatch
- The Grocer and the Cheese Thief
When local police were too busy to help, a Front Street store owner took matters into his own hands.
- The Puyallup Reservation Goes on the Auction Block
In a Tacoma storefront, commissioners began selling off 1,000 acres of Puyallup Indian land — and a brick company snatched up the valuable clay first.
- The Lynching of an Innocent Youth in Conconully
An Okanogan boy was snatched from legal custody and murdered by a mob, despite having been granted bail by a court commissioner.
- The Grave Robbers of Spokane Falls
A quiet cemetery south of town is disturbed by a bizarre act of desecration, leaving a grieving family and a mystified community.
- A High-Stakes Wrestling Match at the Opera House
The Victoria champion Quinn faced off against Matsada Karakichi in a brutal match that ended in controversy and injuries.
- The Balloon Boy of Seattle
A 12-year-old boy is snatched into the sky after becoming entangled in a hot-air balloon's rigging, leading to a desperate mid-air struggle.
- The Shell Game at Myers Cannery
Two women are swindled out of $300 by a gang of con artists near the Myers Cannery, leading to a police hunt for the perpetrators of this classic 'gold brick' scam.
- A Mayor's Daughter, a Botched Kidnapping, and a Crushed Rib
In Tacoma, would-be abductors snatched the wrong 10-year-old girl, then dumped her bleeding in the street—hours before her father was injured in a city hall elevator accident.
- The Confidence Men of Leschi Park
A visiting Wells, Fargo express agent is fleeced by a trio of notorious swindlers in a elaborate 'bunko' game near the sea lion pavilion.
- Close Call with a Cougar in Orting
Two children playing near the Carbon River were nearly snatched by a massive cougar before a quick-thinking visitor intervened.
- The Laundry Cashier Who Outsmarted the Bunko Gang
Laundry cashier Julia Folsom foiled four men's short-change scam, snatching back the money before they could take it.
- The Padlock Swindle on the Sidewalks of Seattle
A new arrival in Seattle was relieved of his life savings by a pair of confidence men using a trick lock and a fake partnership.
- The Narrow Streets of Early Seattle
A three-year-old child is severely injured after being struck by a cable car on Front Street, highlighting the dangers of growing city transit.
- The Prank on the Train
A flirtatious encounter on a local commute leads to an unexpected and humiliating lesson for an overly confident young man.
- Corporations Used Dummies in Vast Timber Land Fraud
Corporations are using the lieu land law to snatch up millions of dollars worth of public timberland in the Pacific Northwest, leaving the honest homesteader with nothing.
- Pittsburgh Signs Seattle's Reserved Pitcher Kid Camp
When the Pittsburg club snatched a local star right out of the Seattle reserve list, it sparked a furious debate over labor rights and corporate greed in the early days of professional ball.
- The Mercer Island Cabin Killing
A man is on trial for the murder of his cabin-mate, claiming self-defense after a violent confrontation over driftwood collection.
- The Great Apple-Thieving Bear of Seattle
Local boys and a captain team up to take down a persistent bruin that had been raiding a private orchard.
- The Spectacle of the Potlatch
An observer documents the elaborate cultural traditions of an Indigenous gathering in the Washington Territory.
- The Tragic End of a Hotelier
A well-known Seattle ship captain and hotel proprietor dies after a fatal overdose of morphine intended to ease his suffering.
- The Tragedy of an Obsessive Pursuit
A Scandinavian immigrant's obsessive courtship in Tacoma turns violent, ending in a police manhunt and a quiet deal to exile the suitor.
- Homesteader Tracks Wails to Lake Washington's Haunted Spring
A lonely homesteader discovers the source of the eerie wails and mysterious shadows that had terrorized his cabin for thirty years.
- A Father Snatches His Baby on Main Street, and a Judge Orders the Child Returned
A Saturday afternoon chase in Olympia ended in court when a logger grabbed his infant son from his estranged wife, prompting a habeas corpus writ.
- A Watch Snatched on Howard Street, and a Call for a Real Jail
A late-night robbery in the alley by Rima's store prompts the paper to warn that the gold rush is importing 'tough citizens' faster than Spokane Falls can lock them up.
- The Hunt for Two Children in a Custody Feud
A mother stalks her estranged husband across the region after he snatches their two young daughters from a Portland home.