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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 14 |
| 1877 | 15 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 2 |
34 stories matching quick
- A Daring Rescue at the Waterfront
A young boy pushed into the water from a wharf is saved by a quick-thinking mate from a nearby steamer.
- The Sad Martyr of Snohomish City
A local official’s descent into obsession over an impossible get-rich-quick scheme mirrors the mania of early Washington's frontier booms.
- The Waterfront Showdown of 1877
A mob attempts to forcibly eject Chinese laborers from a coal ship, but is repelled by a quick-thinking mate and his revolver.
- The Great Fire on Washington Street: A Narrow Escape from Ashes
A blaze in the upper story of a building near Pike Street threatened to consume Seattle’s growing commercial district, but the quick arrival of the fire engine saved the day.
- The Boy Who Stole a Four-Bit Piece: A Warning to Seattle Parents
An elderly man was surrounded by a gang of youths on Main Street yesterday. While the theft itself was minor, the paper uses the incident to launch a moral panic about juvenile delinquency and the influence of San Francisco.
- The Confidence Man of Front Street
A colorful encounter with a local schemer illustrates the 'get-rich-quick' fever that defined the early days of Seattle's business district.
- The False Promises of the Arctic Gold Rush
An 1877 dispatch from Seattle warns local laborers that chasing get-rich-quick mining dreams in the North leads only to bankruptcy, while those who commit to farming the region’s soil build actual wealth.
- The Man Who Paid for Nothing
A witty anecdote from Seattle's early days captures the city's growing confidence and irreverence toward authority.
- Stagecoach Chaos on Mill Street
A frightened team of horses sparks a wild ride through downtown Seattle, leaving a lone passenger clinging on for dear life.
- The Failed Toothpick Empire of Merrihew
A classic tale of a get-rich-quick scheme gone wrong, where a man's attempt to corner the national market on thorns turned his farmland into an impassable fortress.
- The Boat Thief at the Jail Door
A suspected thief stolen from Tacoma is apprehended in Seattle, leading to a tense struggle at the threshold of the local jail.
- The Midnight Rescue at Crawford & Harrington Wharf
A desperate cry from the dark waters of the Seattle waterfront led to a daring rescue—and a surprising discovery about the survivor.
- A Near-Death Experience on Lake Union
Three young men capsized in a pleasure boat, saved by the quick thinking of two local boaters who paddled out to rescue them.
- The Day Seattle’s Firefighters Forgot the Engine
A narrow escape on Mill Street in 1876 reveals how quickly a small fire could consume the wooden city—and how unprepared the new volunteer company was.
- The Waterfront Rescue
When two boys tumbled into the cold waters of the Seattle wharf, the indifference of the crowd stood in sharp contrast to one man's bravery.
- The Unbreakable Glass That Promised a Household Revolution
In 1877, a new chemical tempering process promised Seattle residents that lamp chimneys would never crack again—even if you drove nails with them.
- The Night Watchman's Dilemma: A Call for Safety on Seattle’s Dark Wharves
In September 1876, the Seattle City Council was urged to intervene after late-night passengers were forced to navigate dangerous docks alone, highlighting the precarious nature of early urban infrastructure.
- The Great 'Beer Hall' False Alarm
A late-night fire scare in 1877 Seattle sends the city into a panic, only to reveal how quickly a rumor could mobilize a crowd and expose the city's nerves.
- The Lawyer, the Boy, and the Five-Cent Lesson
A shrewd Seattle attorney tests a boy’s integrity with a lesson in promissory notes and the value of a promise.
- The Mule-Handling Tactics of 1877
A dialect poem from the Seattle Daily Intelligencer offers a glimpse into the frontier humor and casual racism prevalent in the territorial era's agricultural life.
- The 1878 Case for Buying the Dip in Seattle Real Estate
An editorial from the Seattle Intelligencer advises that despite hard times, the current low prices of labor and building materials make it the perfect time for working families to secure their own homes.
- The Great Cedar Jam: How Settlers Cleared the Skagit River by Hand
In September 1876, a group of determined farmers and loggers took on the massive timber jams blocking the Skagit River, hoping to unlock sixty miles of navigation for their struggling community.
- The Apple Orchard Dreams of Early Seattle
Before the city became a tech hub, civic boosters saw the future of Seattle in the 'stately forests' replaced by row after row of fruit trees.
- The Sacred Garden of the Frontier
A look at the sentimental and pious customs of 1878 Seattle, where the living turned to the Victorian language of flowers to honor the dead.
- The Night the City Tried to Eat Itself: A Confidence Man’s Flight Through the Woods
In May 1877, a swindler stole cash from a saloon, fought off a citizen, and fled into the Seattle wilderness—only to be caught by an officer hiding among ruins at dawn.