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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 8 |
| 1877 | 5 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1880 | 7 |
36 stories matching capt
- The Mail Must Go Through: A Fatal Storm on the Coast
A dedicated mail carrier and his father lost their lives in a treacherous storm off the Washington coast while attempting to deliver the mail from Montesano to Chehalis Point.
- The Unheard-of Honesty of Captain Starr
In an era of public distrust, a Seattle steamer captain surprises the city by compensating a passenger for a stolen trunk without the threat of a lawsuit.
- The Captain Refuses to Stand Down
A political storm erupts as a county official defies a court ruling to vacate his office, claiming his popularity trumps the law.
- The Disappearance at Skagit Pass
While railway surveyors pushed aggressively into the wilderness to map the Pacific Northwest, a young engineer vanished without a trace, leaving behind a cold case and a community's unease.
- The County Treasurer’s Double-Dipping Scandal
A local editor challenges a powerful official for illegally holding two offices, exposing a web of political favoritism in the Grand Jury room.
- The Ship That Tore Its Own Bow Off: A Seattle Coal Vessel Lost to the Gale
In January 1877, the 1,200-ton ship *Commodore* was driven ashore at Cape Flattery in a ferocious storm. The crew survived, but the vessel—owned by local Port Ludlow resident Arthur Phinney and valued at $20,000—was destroyed.
- The Ship Eldorado is Lost
A valuable Seattle coal vessel runs aground near Port Angeles, signaling a likely total loss.
- 7,000 Miners Head for the Skagit, But High Water Halts the Diggings
Spring freshets wash out the wingdams on Ruby Creek while hundreds of men wait at the Portage for a trail and pack animals — and California newspapers predict a stampede of thousands.
- The Day the Seattle Gold Lottery Fell Apart
A grand public spectacle at Occidental Square took a sour turn when organizers confessed they had sold only half the tickets, forcing a desperate, on-the-spot slashing of prize money.
- Sheriff Blocks 28 Miners From Landing — a Newspaper Calls Out the 'Chronic Pauper Hunter'
In 1877, a steamboat captain brought 28 out-of-work miners from Victoria to Port Townsend. The sheriff said they were paupers and refused to let them off the boat. This Seattle editor wasn't having it.
- Tragedy on the Skagit: Six Miners Lost in River Crossing
A supply-laden canoe capsized near the Portage, ending the lives of six men seeking their fortune in the gold-rich mountains.
- The Zephyr’s Relief Mission to the Snohomish Valley
After the mountain snows melted and triggered a devastating flood, the steamer Zephyr served as a critical lifeline to the isolated settlers of the Snohomish River valley.
- The Ghost of the Old Foundry
A group of boys wreak havoc in a derelict Seattle building, leaving neighbors to wonder about the city's crumbling youth management.
- The Whaler That Never Was: A Yankee Betrayal of Puget Sound
In 1877, a local newspaper exposed how Boston shipbuilders stole a lucrative contract from Seattle’s own yards, ignoring the region's superior timber and strategic advantage for whaling.
- The Gold Rush to Ruby Creek
A local merchant receives a singular order for gold scales from miners in the North Cascades, signaling a major mineral boom on the Upper Skagit.
- The Day the Pigs Needed Life Jackets: Seattle’s Great Duwamish Flood of 1876
As the Duwamish River swells and farmers flee to their attics, local merchants rally to clear the Skagit River, betting on a waterway that could transform the territory's economy.
- A Passenger Revolt Against Seattle’s 'Dirty' Steamers
A visiting general and his party refused to board a local vessel, sparking a public outcry over the state of regional maritime transit.
- The Wild West of the Seattle Waterfront
A dangerous 1877 standoff between captains reveals a lawless, unregulated harbor where ship lines were a hazard to life and limb.
- Surveying the Wilderness for Iron Rails
As the Northern Pacific Railroad push reached deep into the Montana and Washington territories, engineers braved brutal winter storms and rugged mountain passes to chart the future of the Northwest.
- The Natchez of Puget Sound: A Commercial Hub Rising from the Mist
A dispatch from Port Townsend reveals a bustling port city defined by its Customs House and steamship trade, sharply contrasting with Seattle's own rapid development.
- The Great Seattle Saw-Mill Gamble
When the city's leading industry, the Yesler Mill, was placed into a grand lottery to boost the local economy and resolve debt, it sparked a frontier frenzy of ticket-buying.
- The Rowdiest Port in the Pacific Northwest
An 1872 report describes the brutal realities of the maritime labor market in Port Townsend, where sailors were coerced into service and returned to shore battered and bruised.
- The Great Timber Jackpot: Yesler’s Mill and the Lottery of Land
In 1876 Seattle, timber baron H.L. Yesler didn't just build the city's first mill; he turned his entire property into a $100,000 lottery prize, betting that luck would save him from debt.
- The Paradox of Plenty: Seattle’s Lumber Boom Leaves No One to Live In
In August 1872, the city's primary industry is churning out lumber at a staggering rate, yet the town faces a bizarre crisis: there are simply no houses left to rent.
- Seattle’s First Call for a Seamen’s Bethel
In 1877, a local captain campaigned in New York to build a refuge for the thousands of sailors arriving in the 'future storehouse of the Territory'—a young, booming port that lacked any formal shelter for the maritime labor force.
Also about this, in other words
- The Captain's Final Voyage
A maritime tragedy in Seattle, as a hardened ship captain finds faith and a peaceful end following the sudden, harrowing loss of his wife.
- The Pirate King of Seattle
A real-life adventure of a man who survived a childhood on a pirate ship and returned to Seattle to recruit a crew for a treasure hunt.