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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 314 |
| 1889 | 785 |
| 1891 | 328 |
| 1892 | 1,308 |
| 1893 | 1,604 |
| 1894 | 1,246 |
| 1895 | 1,087 |
6,672 stories
- The Judge Who Drank: A Local Magistrate’s Confession to the Grand Jury
In a stunning display of candor, Seattle Justice of the Peace John Mercer admits to his courtroom that he was frequently intoxicated while on the bench, blaming 'political enemies' for his drinking and accusing the city of turning a blind eye to saloon owners who ruin working men's wages.
- The Ghost in the Yellow Trunk
A tip from surveyors leads two intrepid reporters to the shores of Alki Point, where they unearth a grim secret hidden in the brush.
- The Woman Who Defended Her Home With a Shotgun
When city laborers arrived to tear down Mrs. Williamson's fence for a road-widening project, she made it clear that some property rights are defended by force.
- The North Seattle Commuter Who Fought Back
When two armed men attempted to rob a local resident near the Grant-Street bridge, he chose to defend his coin with a kick and a fistfight.
- The Tragic Cost of Seattle's Growth: The Death of C. Toellner
A tragic train accident at the Grant Street Bridge exposes the perils of Seattle’s rapidly expanding infrastructure in the late 1880s.
- Ten Inmates Crawl Through City Jail Roof
A dozen prisoners rip the roof off the city jail, leading to a night of escapes, returns for more whiskey, and public mockery of the facility.
- The Siege of Third Street
When tenants refused to vacate their boarding house, a Seattle landlord responded by nailing the gates shut and mounting a guard.
- The Electrified Watchman
When the Seattle Electric Railway’s infrastructure turned the city into a hazard, a local watchman learned the hard way that his job required handling more than just time.
- Mystery Shooting at the Washington National Bank
A bank accountant is found with a gunshot wound to the chest, but the circumstances behind the incident remain disturbingly unclear.
- The Bullet and the Bankroll: A Saloon Feud on Pike Street
A Seattle land swindler survived an assassination attempt at the Abbott House, thanks to a well-placed $20 gold piece in his vest pocket.
- The Great Sidewalk Standoff of 1892
A Seattle clothier brandished a revolver and a trowel in a public skirmish over basement access, highlighting the messy street-level power struggles of early downtown Seattle.
- The Ghost of William Radloff
A Seattle poultry farmer appears to have staged his own death in a house fire to claim a $55,000 insurance payout, leaving investigators to wonder if the charred remains in the ruins were those of a stolen corpse.
- The Shadow Trial of Ah Jim
A secret trial in a Seattle basement nearly triggers a riot, revealing the intense, violent rivalries between competing Chinese merchant factions vying for control over labor and transit.
- The Seattle Baseball Management Moves to Evict Hecklers
After players were subjected to racist slurs and verbal abuse from the stands, the Seattle club announces a new 'no-tolerance' policy for fans.
- The Great Money-Jar Heist
A notorious career criminal and his accomplices are captured after a daring burglary at a Seattle clothing store, prompting the store owners to turn the crime into a promotional spectacle.
- The Madison Street Park Riot
Seattle baseball fans fight, claw, and crush each other to catch a shutout victory against Tacoma.
- Seattle Kept Its Quarantine — and Cleared Every Native Family Off Ballast Island
With smallpox burning through Victoria and Vancouver, Seattle's health board refuses to reopen the port. Then a policeman hears Chinook on the waterfront and orders an entire encampment off the island 'until the quarantine is raised.'
- The Landlady, The Lodger, and the Revolver
A rooming house rental dispute on Third Street explodes into a brawl involving hair-pulling, biting, and a gun.
- The Struggle for a Baby's Safety in the Waterfront Slums
A twelve-month-old Japanese child was rescued by neighbors after being neglected and abused by the couple hired to care for him.
- Quarantined Residents Left Without Food in Seattle
Thirty people trapped inside the St. Denis hotel by a smallpox order face city bureaucracy and hunger.
- The Fevered Eve of the 1892 Election
Thousands crowd into Seattle’s armory for a final show of political might as Republicans and Democrats stage competing rallies on the eve of the presidential vote.
- The Mayor's War on 'Black Chapel'
Mayor J. T. Ronald vetoes a saloon license in a notorious district, decrying the density of vice in a three-hundred-foot square.
- The Sword of Order at the Newsboys' Union
When an attempt to depose the union's leadership led to chaotic brawls, a local fireman had to intervene with a literal sword.
- The Day the 'Mercury' Office Became a Shambles
After an article called his theater a 'branch of hell,' a local theater manager stormed the newspaper office, triggering a violent brawl and a shooting.
- The Perpetual-Motion Man Came Downtown Armed
Before Dr. Hannibal Mills shot a man in the Occidental saloon, he told a restaurant waiter he would not live until morning and announced, “I'm God, the devil and himself.”