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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 19 |
| 1877 | 11 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
35 stories matching wit
- The Anatomy of a Murder (Misunderstood)
A courtroom blunder in 1876 highlights how a simple misunderstanding can derail the pursuit of justice.
- The Heirs of a Ghost: A Legal Battle for Seattle’s Empty Land
In the early days of Washington Territory, three women stepped forward to claim an inheritance in a town that barely existed, warning off any buyers from purchasing land they believed was theirs.
- A Heartbreaking Reunion Aboard the Dakota
The final journey of a dying man and his devoted wife captures the cruel reality of terminal illness in the pioneer era.
- The Price of Justice in 1876 Seattle
A meticulous audit of King County court records reveals the day-to-day costs of frontier law, from witness fees for 'Indian Lucy' to the building of the very first jail.
- Blood on the Tracks: The Renton Saloon Brawl of 1877
A card game, a wrestling match, and a concealed knife turned a quiet evening into a deadly tragedy in Renton.
- The Ghost Caboose of Seattle
A high-wind storm sends a riderless train car hurtling down the tracks in a moment of unexpected local drama.
- The Disappearance of James Goodwin
A cook vanishes from the steamer Yakima while en route from Snohomish to Seattle, leaving behind a mystery that leaves the local authorities puzzled.
- The Displacement of Chinese Women in Early Seattle
Local courts and newspapers in 1876 actively campaigned to criminalize and drive out Seattle's Chinese community, viewing their presence as a blight on property values.
- The Great Seattle Straw Hat Swindle
A smooth-talking grifter fleeced the crowds of Seattle by promising cheap hats, only to leave them holding handfuls of worthless paper.
- The Dog Who Drowned Twice: A Seattle Tragedy in the Slip
A large black Newfoundland met a bizarre and fatal end at Stone & Wharf last week, plunging into the water twice in a spasm of terror before being rescued by witnesses.
- The Professional Pessimists of Early Seattle
A 19th-century editorial takes aim at the 'croakers'—the local doomsayers who claimed the town's prosperity was always on the verge of collapse.
- The Centennial Lottery Gamble
In 1876, the Washington Territorial Legislature authorized a public lottery to fund a wagon road across the Cascade Mountains, marking a desperate and creative approach to frontier infrastructure.
- The Fatal Quarrel at the Renton Mines
A bloody dispute at the Renton coal mines leads to a murder conviction, exposing the rough edges of frontier life in the burgeoning territory.
- The Wild Horse Races and Baseball of 1873
Before skyscrapers and paved roads, Seattle residents gathered for half-mile horse heats and a historic first baseball game.
- The Jailhouse Houdini of Seattle
While awaiting trial for boat stealing, a prisoner named Burton used a hidden knife to fish biscuits through his jail bars and plotted his escape with remarkable bravado.
- The Unmasking of a Mason
A tense, public confrontation in a local Seattle establishment reveals the social friction surrounding the secret society's reputation in the 1870s.
- The Tragic End of a Seattle Logger
After years of success followed by a swift decline in fortune, a once-prosperous logger faces the ruin of his livelihood and his mental health.
- The Widow’s Failed Suit and the Captain’s Steel Eye
A flirtatious widow attempts to trap a wealthy widower in marriage, but his razor-sharp wit and exacting standards send her packing.
- 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 Great Escape: Professor Baldwin’s Spectacular Deception in Seattle
In July 1876, a traveling spiritualist and escape artist took over Yeager's Hall, challenging the public to witness his 'human agency' escapes from handcuffs and pillories, exposing the mediums of the day as frauds.
- The General Who Couldn't Say 'No' to a Bigot
Lt. Col. George Newton’s stinging reply to a letter writer reveals the ugly underbelly of Seattle’s civic elite in 1897.
- The Counterfeiters of 1877
An expert assayer at the U.S. Mint offers local shopkeepers a masterclass in detecting 'whitish brass' counterfeits circulating in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Curse of the Golden Calf: Seattle’s Economic Anxiety in 1877
As banks tightened their grip on local capital, a Seattle editor warned that hoarding wealth—rather than investing in local industry and homes—was a dangerous path to ruin.
- The Science of Life Comes to the Coal Mines
When a traveling medical lecturer visited the coal town of Newcastle in 1877, the entire community turned out to witness a performance that mixed professional medical advice with public heckling of the town's elite.
- The Ghost Towns of the Skagit Gold Rush
A winter trek through the North Cascades reveals a landscape of stunning beauty marred by the desperate, thieving misery of the failing gold camps.