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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 799 |
| 1884 | 455 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
3,198 stories
- The Railway Capture of the Public Domain
A scathing look at how land office officials transitioned into high-paying railroad positions after engineering favorable rulings for the corporate giants of the West.
- Domestic Chaos at Mill and Front Streets
A volatile dispute between a couple on the streets of Seattle leads to a public brawl and a day in court.
- The Price of a Walk Home
When a Seattle man chased off two strangers bothering his daughter, he found himself in the middle of an expensive legal standoff.
- The Cornerstone of Charity: Grace Hospital Rises Above the Sound
On an elevated plateau overlooking the water, Seattle's Masonic orders join the clergy to dedicate a new hospital dedicated to all, regardless of creed.
- The Insurance Company That Refused to Pay
After his steamboat, the Wildwood, burned at the dock in Olympia, Thomas Quail publicly denounced the insurance companies that refused to settle his claim.
- Left for Dead Under a Trestle
After a terrifying night spent injured beneath the tracks, a rail worker is finally rescued by a passing engine.
- The Tragic Cost of the Shingle Boom
A horrific workplace accident in a local mill underscores the lethal danger facing Washington’s labor force at the height of the timber expansion.
- The Knights of Labor Shake Up Seattle Politics
An unprecedented turnout at the polls signaled the arrival of a new, militant force in Seattle's municipal governance.
- The Fiery End of the Bark 'Hark Hope'
After failing to extinguish a mystery fire in the cargo hold, the crew of a Honolulu-bound vessel was forced to sink their own ship to save it from complete destruction.
- The Tragedy of the Romantic Runaway
A young worker’s desperate attempt to elope leads to an asylum, reflecting the era’s harsh social policing of adolescent passion.
- The Sheriff vs. The Reservation Agent: A Neah Bay Standoff
When a federal agent refused to obey a district court order, a deputy sheriff took a midnight steamer to enforce the law—only to be met with a threat of the guardhouse.
- The Captain, the Thief, and the Midnight Chase
When a suspected cattle rustler boarded a steamer to flee across the border, a determined captain navigated a tense confrontation at the Olympia wharf.
- Grinding Wheat in a Coffee Mill
A pioneer’s recollection of early survival in Western Washington reveals a harsh reality of isolation, lack of basic goods, and the brutal collision of cultures on the frontier.
- The Tragedy at the Waterfront
A young Seattle woman's late-night walk leads to a fatal plunge into the bay, leaving behind a grieving husband and a city searching for answers.
- The Logging Camp Swap: A Labor Struggle in 1885
A Snohomish camp owner’s decision to replace a white couple with a Chinese laborer ignites a local dispute over working conditions and labor equity.
- The Seattle Restaurant Pistol Melee
A breakfast turned violent when a man confronted the two thieves who had stolen his belongings—and who had served as witnesses in the Squak massacre trials.
- The 1885 Fight to Protect the Workingman’s Tools and Bedding
A proposed territorial law sought to expand property exemptions from debt, shielding everything from a mechanic's tools to a family's bedding from creditors.
- The Price of a Free Ticket
In 1883, the Post-Intelligencer took a stand against the 'free pass' corruption, where railroad companies leveraged free travel to buy the silence of regional editors.
- The 'Habitual Drunkard' List
A proposed law would have forced Seattle barkeepers to publicly post a list of 'habitual drunkards' in their establishments, effectively blacklisting them from purchasing alcohol.
- Tragedy in the Woods Near Sultan
A teenage boy searching for game in the Washington wilderness dies in a heartbreaking accidental discharge.
- The Double-Cross on the Sloop Skagit
A crafty smuggler’s attempt to offload his legal liability onto his hired hand backfires after a loose-lipped celebration at a local saloon.
- The Useless Life-Saving Station at Neah Bay
An 1885 editorial criticizes the federal government for failing to staff the Neah Bay station with capable crews, warning that stranded sailors would find themselves abandoned in a crisis.
- The Great Representation Scandal of 1886
A look back at how political gerrymandering in Washington Territory left voters with wildly unequal voices in their own government.
- The Struggle for Water in the High Desert
While Washington’s coastal regions flourished, homesteaders in the arid eastern interior were driven to desperation by the failure of deep-well drilling in Douglas County.
- The Last Embrace on the Precipice
A Shoshone hunter discovers the remains of a man and a grizzly bear locked in a final, lethal tangle in the Washington wilderness.