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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 29 |
| 1859 | 52 |
| 1860 | 15 |
| 1861 | 9 |
105 stories
- The Recluse of the Woods
A haunting account of a man driven into isolation by the cruelty of his own kin.
- The Politicization of the Bench
A critique of the growing trend to select judges based on their partisan alignment rather than their legal expertise.
- San Juan Islanders Draw a Line in the Salish Sea
At a packed meeting in the little town of San Juan, American settlers pass defiant resolutions against the Governor of Vancouver Island and thank the U.S. troops sent to hold the island — an early scene in the boundary standoff remembered as the Pig War.
- The Land Office Money That Never Reached the Books
Register Isaac W. Smith accuses Receiver Selucius Garfielde of holding land-claim payments on private deposit and refusing to account for them—an 1861 public audit fight in Washington Territory.
- A Territory Mourns: Olympia Buries Charles H. Mason
When Washington Territory's secretary and frequent acting governor died in 1859, Chief Justice McFadden and Olympia's leading men gathered at the capitol to call him a public servant 'of both soul and nerve.'
- Gold Fever Lands at Bellingham Bay
Mail-steamer dispatches report 1,400 argonauts bound for the new mines, Victoria land prices climbing to a 'dizzy elevation,' and rumors of a fresh townsite at Semiahmoo Bay.
- A Territory Asks Congress for a Road, Rails, and Troops
Meeting at Col. M. T. Simmons's house, October 18, 1858, adopts resolutions for an overland route from St. Paul to Puget Sound, land grants for the Northern Pacific, and military posts to protect the gold rush—and to put down the territory's Indian war.
- The Jury's Boozy Banquet
A Pierce County jury demands a lavish spread of food and a gallon of Scotch while deliberating a verdict.
- A Polite Political Rivalry
Despite the heated competition between the Democratic and People's tickets in Steilacoom, voters maintained a surprising level of civility.
- Gold Fever on the Wenatchee: Steilacoom Miners Strike It Rich
A party of miners returns with rich specimens from Rock Creek, touching off a run on provisions, passengers—and town lots.
- Four Sailors, a Filthy Jail, and a Test of the Law at Port Townsend
A British crew refused duty after the ship changed course for Puget Sound. Their answer was a jail cell — and a writ of habeas corpus to see whether the territory could legally hold them.
- The Wharf, the Steamer, and the Grudge
A Puget Sound steamer damages Steilacoom's private wharf; the repairs are made, but the landings become a running feud between a steamboat captain and the town.
- Four British Sailors Jump Ship—and Find American Liberty at Port Townsend
A steamer captain tried to return stowaways to Esquimalt, but a U.S. commissioner freed them, exposing a diplomatic gap over extradition.
- Gold on the Wenatchee
Miners returning from the Wenatchee country report paying prospects—and a rush is already forming from Puget Sound.
- Gold Fever Reaches Steilacoom by Schooner
A Saturday arrival brings word of gold at Fort Yale, a turn-by-turn route up the Fraser River, and a miner's warning that provisions are very high.
- Col. Wright's Column Drives Spokane Fighters Across the Plains
An 1858 campaign report describes a running fight on the Spokane Plains—and the violent logic of dispossession behind it.
- The Military Road That Opened the Northwest
A $100,000 federal appropriation sends Lieut. John Mullan back to the Pacific to push a wagon road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton—and with it, a tide of settlers into Oregon and Washington.
- The Volunteers Were Paid Twice—Sometimes Thrice—For the Same War
A federal commission auditing the 1855–56 Indian War muster rolls finds men drawing captain's, wagon-master's and private's pay all at once—including a Nisqually ferry keeper who billed the government for the same ten ferrymen he never properly mustered in.
- Eighty Artillerymen Bound for the Spokane War
A San Francisco dispatch reports Company K of the 3d Artillery heading north to reinforce Col. Steptoe, with a new commander for the company lost when Lt. Gunn was killed by Spokanes.
- The Soldiers’ Barracks at Fort Vancouver Burn
A fire destroys the barracks at Fort Vancouver; soldiers are hurt fighting the flames, but no lives are lost.
- The Night a Soldier Robbed the Editor's House
While the Puget Sound Herald's proprietor and his wife were away, a soldier slipped into their home—then walked back through the kitchen into the sitting room.
- A Child's Fatal Fire at Point Roberts
The second son of Alexander Hahn died after his clothes caught fire while playing with his brother.
- The Night Seattle Danced Until Two: A Steamer Excursion from Steilacoom
In July 1859, the steamer Julia carried Olympia and Steilacoom society across the Sound to Seattle, where three supper tables and a hall full of dancers made territorial news.
- A Councillor Settles a Political Argument With Clubs, Then Leaves Town
A quarrel over loyalty to the mayor ends in a back-lot club fight, a wounded stranger, and a town official who vanishes from the city.
- The Constable Who Charged for Mileage on Every Duck
A local anecdote about a frontier constable’s creative approach to fee collection.