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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 8 |
| 1877 | 5 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1880 | 2 |
17 stories matching habit
- The Cow-Bell Symphony of Old Seattle
For one sleepless resident, the chaotic nightly parade of loose cattle through the city streets became an unintentional, ear-piercing orchestra.
- The Pox Patrol: When Smallpox Patients Went Out for Whiskey
In 1880, Seattle's quarantine measures were so lax that victims were reportedly slipping out of the pesthouse at night to hit the saloons.
- The Great Hotel Heist That Wasn't: How Seattle’s Gamblers Were Fooled by a Fake Fortune
A broken-down cardsharp named 'Splitcheck Jimmy' was tricked into stealing an envelope full of newspaper, only to be ambushed by actors in a staged robbery at the St. Denis Hotel.
- Bullets Through the Parlor: A Waterfront Shooting Spree Terrifies a Seattle Family
A late-night rifle-and-revolver crowd near Stone & Burnett's wharf has turned Mrs. P. Andrews's house into a target, and police still cannot find the shooters.
- The Logging Logjam: A Close Call on the Seattle Waterfront
When a chain of logs broke loose on the Seattle waterfront, a sudden collision nearly spelled disaster for a steamship navigating the dark bay.
- The Great Bill-Posting Scandal: Seattle’s First War on Urban Clutter
As the city grows, merchants are plastering every available surface with advertisements. Now, frustrated business owners are demanding the City Council step in to stop the visual chaos.
- The Engineer Who Vanished Into the Sound
A respected steamboat captain’s sudden disappearance in October 1878 sparks a desperate search and a grim theory of accidental drowning.
- The Political Price of a County Seat
When Steilacoom faced a challenge from a rising New Tacoma, citizens weighed civic growth against the hard cost of building a new government center.
- The Great Cow Standoff: When Seattle’s Streets Were Held Hostage by Livestock
In September 1878, a herd of cattle and horses blocked the wharf district, forcing pedestrians to halt in their tracks. The city council was forced to intervene as commerce ground to a standstill.
- An Expedition to the 'Niagara of the North'
A rugged traveler describes a treacherous 1874 journey by canoe and foot to witness the majesty of Snoqualmie Falls.
- The Unsung Toll of the 19th-Century Newsroom
A sermon reprinted in the Seattle press reveals the brutal reality of working as a journalist in 1877—from midnight shifts and 'fetid alley-ways' to the constant temptation of artificial stimulants.
- A Penny Dreadful for the Pioneer
A Seattle editor reviews a piece of pulp fiction, warning that if the author keeps killing off the population at this rate, there will be nobody left to read the story.
- A Victorian Manifesto for Seattle’s Youth
A rare 1876 editorial in the Seattle Daily Intelligencer rebukes the rigid, performative parenting of the era and calls for a more compassionate approach to raising children.
- The Radical Defense of Sweat Equity
In an 1876 editorial, a fierce local voice challenges the city’s idle wealthy to stop 'illustrating fashion's caprices' and embrace the dignity of physical labor.
- The 'Pretty Man' at the Seattle Theatre
An 1878 local columnist offers a biting, satirical takedown of a local dandy, mocking his grooming habits and public vanity at the theatre.
- The Labor of Your First Thousand
A classic 1876 editorial from the Seattle Daily Intelligencer on the moral and industrial value of earning one's keep from scratch.
- The Daily Rhythms of a Mill Town
A glimpse into life at Port Gamble in 1877, where sawmills drive the economy, ships arrive from across the globe, and the community gathers to mourn and celebrate.