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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 5 |
19 stories matching finger
- The Redemption of a Drunkard
A harrowing night of domestic violence and neglect ends a decade later in an unexpected act of grace.
- From Surgeon to Mill Hand: A Tragic Decline
After a minor workplace injury turns fatal, the tragic end of a former Union Pacific surgeon highlights the precarious nature of life for laborers in the region.
- The Broker Who Tried to Divorce His Wife Over a Finger Bowl
A distressed stockbroker enters a Seattle law office seeking a divorce, only to find the legal requirements for ending a marriage in 1885 hilariously difficult to meet.
- The Tragic Cost of a Long-Standing Feud
A fifteen-year-old boy shoots and kills a man in downtown Oakesdale, Washington, following years of harassment.
- The Baltimore Oyster House Fire
A suspected arson and double tragedy at a Second Street hotel leaves the community in shock as the accused points a finger at his own wife.
- The Perilous Bathing of the Seattle Snake-House
A keeper's routine bath for his serpents turns into a life-or-death struggle when a 14-foot boa constrictor decides to coil around his leg.
- The Auctioneer and the Widow's Heirloom
A desperate widow, a misplaced cedar cabinet, and a piece of paper that held the future of her children.
- The Midnight Blaze That Leveled Seattle’s Largest Sawmill
A devastating fire at the Stetson & Post mill in 1885 left 40 men unemployed and destroyed a vital industrial hub, all while a night watchman pointed fingers at a scapegoated worker.
- A Night Spent in the Steam Vents of Mount Rainier
An early mountaineer recounts a harrowing, freezing night spent huddled inside a steam-carved cavern near the summit.
- Runaway Gravel Train Near Hood Canal
A dozen laborers on a Port Gamble railroad work train are forced to jump for their lives as their cars lose control on a steep grade.
- The Dark of Night Smuggling Ring in Puget Sound
A steamship captain fingers a local agent in a brazen operation to sneak mysterious trunks onto a vessel under the cover of darkness.
- The Book Agent's Quick Exit
A traveling book salesman avoids a long legal ordeal by pleading guilty and leaving town immediately.
- The Diamond Ring in the Sawdust
How a humble mill worker’s midnight search for a lost engagement ring led to a life of affluence and social elevation.
- The Roller-Skating Rink Disaster
A grocery man's customer describes the catastrophic attempt of his father, a self-proclaimed former skating expert, to navigate the local roller rink.
- The Night Watchman Who Traded His Lantern for a Crab Net
After trading the damp misery of night-shift railroad duty for the docks, a Seattle man explains how he makes a living pulling crab from the bay—and why the job comes with its own set of neighborhood troubles.
- The Unsolved Disappearance of John H. Wisely
A man disappears from his home in broad daylight, only for his body to be discovered days later on the shores of Elliott Bay.
- The Divine Sarah Bernhardt’s Theatrical Meltdown in Seattle
When the legendary French actress discovered her grand stage at the Columbia Theater had been booked for a minstrel show, she didn't just walk off—she unleashed a legendary, multi-lingual tantrum.
- The Fight for Life in the Depths
A harrowing, vivid account of a fisherman's life-or-death struggle against a giant cephalopod, reprinted from Victor Hugo's 'Toilers of the Sea' in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
- Masked Vigilantes Hang a Convicted Murderer in Dayton Jail
James McPherson, convicted of murdering E. H. Cummins at New York Bar, was taken from the Dayton jail by masked men and hanged, despite a governor's reprieve and a new trial order.