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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 4 |
| 1883 | 19 |
| 1884 | 10 |
| 1885 | 17 |
| 1886 | 12 |
| 1887 | 9 |
71 stories matching often
- The Price of a Day's Pay: Seattle’s 1887 Labor Brokers
A deep dive into the predatory practices of late 19th-century employment agencies that thrived on the desperation of transient laborers.
- The Brutal Reality of the 'Sailor's Home' in 1886
A local reporter exposes the predatory labor practices and 'blood money' schemes targeting sailors in Seattle's waterfront boarding houses.
- The Underground Path to Puget Sound
A look at the porous maritime border between Victoria and Washington Territory, where the business of smuggling Chinese laborers flourished despite federal exclusion laws.
- Black Diamonds in the Backwoods
A look back at the chaotic, accidental, and often cutthroat early days of coal mining in the Washington Territory.
- Senator Van Wyck Challenges Northern Pacific Railroad Land Speculation
Senator Van Wyck challenges the Northern Pacific Railroad’s grip on public land, exposing a pattern of corporate greed and tax evasion that spanned the Territories.
- The House of Refuge: A Sanctuary for Seattle’s 'Homeless' Women
In an era when single women often faced destitution or vice, the local Women's Christian Temperance Union launches a new initiative to provide respectable housing at moderate rates.
- The Tragedy of the False Gold Rush
An editorial on the human cost of feverish speculation and the empty promises of distant mining 'Eldorados.'
- The Inner Life of a Dining Room Waiter
A frank, cynical look at the power dynamics between restaurant staff and customers in early Seattle.
- The Juvenile 'Junk' Gangs of Seattle
Local business owners report a wave of petty thefts by children as young as ten, raising alarms about the city's future.
- An Editor's Brutal Critique of Bad Poetry
A local poet brings his manuscript to the P-I office, only to have his work butchered by an editor with a cynical, practical sense of humor.
- Northern Pacific Route Shifts Dispossessed Homesteaders
How the Northern Pacific Railroad manipulated government maps to seize millions of acres, crushing homesteaders in the process.
- The Territory Picks Its Favorite
A survey of prominent Republicans across Washington Territory shows overwhelming support for James G. Blaine in the upcoming presidential nomination.
- 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 Rolling Pin’s Final Word
A widower who couldn't stop praising his late wife’s domestic skills quickly learns to stop complaining about his current spouse.
- The Brutal Reality of Convict Leasing in the Washington Territory
A scathing look at the state's profit-driven 'convict lease' system, where human beings were treated as disposable capital and exploited for labor with zero accountability for their survival.
- The Great Mountain Trek for False Promises
Chasing the myth of high wages over the Snoqualmie Pass, one woodman discovers that even in the 1880s, 'labor shortages' were often just a cover for low-balling workers.
- The Tragic Collapse at the Hardware Store
A routine day at a Seattle business turned into a scene of horror when a deep, shifting excavation buried a worker alive.
- The Price of a Wife: Marriage Traditions of the Skokomish
A rare 1885 account details the intricate marriage customs, dowries, and inter-tribal alliances of the Pacific Northwest tribes.
- The Land Grabbing Scandal of Yakima
A political operative hired by the Northern Pacific Railroad finds himself hung in effigy for his duplicitous schemes against local farmers.
- The Tragedy of a Domestic Cage
A Seattle woman’s desperate attempt to escape an abusive marriage ends in a violent suicide after her husband, an older man driven by irrational jealousy, takes his own life following a brutal assault.
- The Great Tax Assessment Revolt
Citizens and officials clash in Olympia over whether property should be assessed at 'full cash value' or kept artificially low to protect against Territorial overreach.
- 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 Brutal Reality of the Seattle Sailor Market
A waterfront insider describes the predatory schemes used to trap unsuspecting men into dangerous lives at sea.
- The Jailer’s Trust: A Domestic Tragedy in Tacoma
A prisoner allowed a day-pass to visit his wife leaves behind a trail of blood and a horrific crime scene after a fit of uncontrollable jealousy.
- The Seattle Militia Stands at the Edge of Chaos
Amid the anti-Chinese riots of 1886, a citizen militia maintains order against mob rule, setting a precedent for territorial authority.