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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 9 |
| 1883 | 28 |
| 1884 | 20 |
| 1885 | 48 |
| 1886 | 22 |
| 1887 | 26 |
153 stories matching wit
- The Price of a Franchise: Seattle's Streetcar Bribery Scandal
A witness testifies that $2,000 was offered to 'stand in' with the company, exposing the grimy underside of Seattle's early transportation expansion.
- The Judge Who Was Only 'Sober as a Judge'
A legendary anecdote from the Seattle police court where a witness’s inadvertent insult revealed the bench's own notorious reputation for intoxication.
- Squak Valley Trial: Chinese Hop-Pickers Killed in 1885 Raid
A brutal night of terror in the hop fields as an armed mob targets immigrant laborers.
- The Shadow on Lake Washington
A grizzly discovery on Mercer Island leads to a frantic, suspicion-filled murder investigation in 1886 Seattle.
- The Justice Who Made the Complainant Pay
When a man filed an assault charge in the local courts, a sharp-witted justice turned the tables on him—and sent him to the county boarding house.
- The Fallout of the Anti-Chinese Expulsions
A witness recounts the inhumane treatment of Chinese merchants who were brought back to Tacoma to testify after being violently displaced.
- The Shadow Over Lake Washington
As the controversial Miller murder trial neared its conclusion in 1887, witnesses scrambled to untangle a web of shifting alibis, mysterious lake boatings, and a missing Winchester rifle.
- The Neighborhood Feud that Sparked a Arson Investigation
A bitter territorial dispute between two Tacoma neighbors reveals a pattern of property destruction, spite fences, and suspected arson, highlighting the volatile nature of frontier land conflicts.
- The Squak Valley Massacre Trial
A courtroom drama unfolds as witnesses testify regarding the violent night in 1885 when white men raided a Chinese hop-picking camp.
- The Strange Case of 'Danger' the Dog at Justice Coomb's Court
A local street joke involving a dog, a dry goods box, and the Chief of Police highlights the whimsical side of early Seattle's judicial system.
- The Shadow Over the Maxwell Trial
A grizzly discovery in a Seattle warehouse forces a local businessman to defend himself against a charge of murder.
- The Unwanted Charity of a Courtroom Foe
A woman pays her assailant's fine, leaving the man outraged by her unwelcome generosity.
- The Shadow on the Great Street Bridge
A murder trial reveals the dark final hours of a man named Schoberbring, whose death on a lonely Seattle road sparked a search for his killer.
- The Hatchet in the Room
A New Year's night assault at a Seattle boarding house leads to a suspicious man, a bloodied hat, and a neighborhood hunt.
- The New Era: How Woman Suffrage Changed Seattle Politics
An eye-witness account of the 1884 election, where new female voters, juries, and a 'reformed' city hall signal a sea change in frontier culture.
- A Journey to the Timber Powerhouse of Port Blakely
An eye-witness account of the massive industrial machinery and global trade routes operating just nine miles from Seattle in 1883.
- The Day the Circus Rolled into Seattle
Thousands flocked to the depot in 1885 to witness the grand arrival of John Robinson’s circus, a massive production that brought exotic animals and high-wire spectacle to the nascent town.
- Border Hurdles for New Arrivals
Customs officials confront a backlog of Chinese passengers arriving without proper certification.
- The Neighborhood Soldiers
A group of young boys, inspired by the fever of impending conflict, staged a march through the streets of Seattle, ending in a dangerous improvised explosion.
- The Governor-Candidate Who Handed Out His Own Petitions
In a display of political informality that shocked Olympia, a candidate for territorial governor took to the streets to personally solicit signatures, defying the expected decorum of the era.
- The Great Timber Land Swindle
A Seattle man is held on $300 bail after a witness confessed to filing multiple fraudulent land claims using fake names.
- The Revenue Collector’s Raid on a South Seattle Distiller
Federal authorities shutter a clandestine operation in South Seattle, seizing a menagerie of equipment and livestock from a local man.
- The Trial of Neil Sweeney: Sane or Mad?
A Seattle probate court spends an afternoon determining the mental state of a man accused of madness, highlighting the precarious nature of asylum discharges and personal liberty in 1887.
- 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 Day Seattle Turned Against its Neighbors
A look inside the 1886 trial records as civic leaders and residents testified about the forced expulsion of Seattle's Chinese community.