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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 5 |
| 1887 | 7 |
24 stories matching error
- The Madison Street Assessment Mix-Up
A clerical error by the city has suddenly shifted the burden of sidewalk taxes, creating a financial mess for homeowners.
- The Sheriff’s Shabby Costume: A Prisoner’s Trick to Escape the Penitentiary
In a bizarre twist of early Washington Territory justice, a sheriff attempted to smuggle a prisoner into the territorial penitentiary by disguising him in shabby clothes. The trick failed, but not before the warden made a memorable quip.
- The Auditor's Ledger Scandal
After an investigation into King County's books, the county auditor is indicted for forgery following a chaotic attempt to clear the ledger before his term expired.
- The Great Seattle Property Map Scandal
A scathing editorial reveals that King County’s property assessments are so riddled with errors that the tax rolls are essentially worthless, leaving the local government in a state of administrative paralysis.
- Tragedy in the Timber: A Faller’s Fatal Error
A young logger’s life is cut short by a freak accident in the deep woods of the Pacific Northwest.
- The Speaker’s Gavel Clash
In the Territorial House, a subtle procedural error leads to a public confrontation over how legislation is truly passed.
- The Manly Art of Boxing Gone Wrong
A local man's humorous attempt to improve his health through boxing with his younger brother leads to broken brackets and a bruised nose.
- The Steamer Collision That Divided the Waterfront
After two rival steamers collided in the Tacoma harbor, an official inquiry revealed a comedy of errors and stubborn seamanship.
- The Sheriff’s Unwelcome Guest
An indebted Seattle businessman is arrested on a steamboat just as he was about to skip town for Whatcom.
- The Tragic Wreck of the Steamer Tacoma
Captain George D. Korts faces an official inquiry into the catastrophic loss of the vessel, revealing a series of navigational errors and failed rescue attempts.
- The Day the Silence Was Golden
A local baseball match in Seattle turns into an oddly hushed affair, proving that true sportsmanship doesn't require a shouting match.
- Territorial Supreme Court Paralyzed by Missing Law
A confusion of jurisdiction leaves the highest court in the territory unable to convene, forcing an adjournment until September.
- Judge Greene Slaps Down Legal Nitpicking
A Territorial judge refuses to let a clerical error in the law strip working teamsters of their property exemptions.
- The Seattle Legal Crisis of 1887
When an error in the law's title threatened to invalidate every court order in the territory, the Seattle Bar Association gathered to decide if the wheels of justice had ground to a halt.
- Gas Line Explosion Destroys Home in Snohomish County
A tragic error during a pipe connection leaves three dead and others severely burned after a home is leveled.
- The Paperwork Error That Challenged Seattle’s Property Claims
A legal dispute over a real estate deed in 1885 reveals how bureaucratic technicalities—specifically a missing county seal—threatened the validity of early land titles in King County.
- The Perils of the Telegraph
A look at the chaotic and often hilarious errors produced by local telegraph operators.
- The Great Tax Assessment Mess of 1887
Seattle and King County property owners find their tax rolls hopelessly entangled in errors, leaving public officials to question if the entire assessment should be scrapped.
- The Price of a Badly Written Charter
Tacoma’s new municipal charter proves to be a legal disaster that costs the town thousands in needless fees and litigation.
- Mayor Struve Rebuts Fire Department Corruption Charge
Mayor H.L. Struve publicly denies allegations that a fire ordinance was improperly altered in his office, calling for fraternal cooperation.
- The Fight Against the 'Iron Grasp' of the Northern Pacific
Yakima County citizens gather to denounce the Northern Pacific Railroad's land hoarding and call for immediate federal forfeiture of unearned land grants.
- The Price of Falsehood in the Anti-Chinese Movement
As tensions boiled over in 1886, a Seattle newspaper called out local rabble-rousers for using blatant lies to incite hostility against Chinese residents.
- The Scandal of a 'Working Man's Romance' in Seattle
When a young German immigrant found himself the talk of the town after falling for his employer’s daughter, the local press didn't just report the news—they took sides in a class-inflected drama of love and social climbing.
- The Blundering Firefighters of Pioneer Square
A satirical look at a day when a local livery stable fire turned into a slapstick comedy of errors for Seattle's volunteer hook and ladder company.