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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 8 |
| 1877 | 8 |
| 1878 | 19 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 5 |
46 stories matching escap
- Sheriff Offers $250 After Five Escape King County Jail
When five prisoners escaped from the King County jail in 1878, the local sheriff issued a bounty for their capture—a high-stakes display of frontier justice.
- The Unlikely Hero of the Fire Escape
When a local doctor patented a new fire escape in 1878, he had to prove it could survive the ultimate test: a 'timid' gentleman from the New England Hotel climbing down from a third-story window.
- The Midnight Escape from the King County Jail
When four inmates mysteriously vanished from their cells, the local authorities were left baffled and scrambling to track them down along the muddy roads of old Seattle.
- The Perils of the Lumber Truck
A young boy narrowly escapes a gruesome fate after a tumble on Seattle's busy waterfront.
- A Dispute Over Money Ends With a Shot Through the Kidneys Near the White River
John Morse of Seattle shoots a man near Steele's Landing over money matters and escapes; the wounded man is not expected to live.
- The Jailbreak at Milton
A man detained by the authorities in Milton on suspicion of insanity successfully escaped by stealing the clothes of his own guard.
- The Great Jailbreak of 1878
Five inmates, including a man held for attempted murder, escaped a Seattle jail using a key hand-crafted over six weeks.
- The Narrow Escape: A Four-Year-Old’s Head Survives a Wagon Wheel
In the muddy streets of 1876 Seattle, a toddler’s life hung by a thread when a heavy wagon rolled directly over his skull—yet he walked away with only minor injuries.
- The Great Escape at Port Madison
A convicted murderer slips past a guard and vanishes into the thick brush, sparking a frantic island-wide manhunt.
- The Ambush on Black River
A quiet evening walk turns into a violent confrontation as a local man narrowly escapes a pair of disguised highwaymen.
- The Day a Prisoner Broke His Chains and the Police Chief Grabbed a Boy's Horse
A robbery suspect makes a mid-day run for the bushes from the chain gang; Seattle's police chief commandeers a horse and trees him just outside town.
- The Mother, The Child, and The Purser’s Zeal
A desperate mother is arrested in Seattle after a daring escape from the hospital, exposing the cruelty of rigid legal intervention in the 1870s.
- Racing the Iron Horse on the Trestle
A man’s late-night walk toward the city turns into a desperate sprint for life against an oncoming train.
- Trapped in the Cascade Whiteout
A harrowing survival story from the brutal winter of 1880, where a Whatcom County Sheriff and his child narrowly escaped a lethal snowstorm.
- The Knife in the Carriage
A young woman’s train ride turns into a life-or-death encounter with an escaped asylum patient.
- The Great Telegraph Trail Escape
After fleeing the King County jail, two prisoners find that their path to freedom in Mukilteo was blocked by the unforgiving woods and an unexpected encounter with a local resident.
- The Great Poker Heist: A Man Steals Glass to Escape His Debts
In a bizarre twist of justice in 1872 Seattle, a gambler fleeing a poker loss was caught stealing window panes from a saloon instead of cash.
- The Great Boat Chase of Seattle Harbor
A drunken sailor's attempt to visit his sick wife ends in a high-seas brawl, a capsized skiff, and a daring escape.
- The Great Cherry Street Escape
A band of savvy business owners nearly outfoxed their creditors by packing up shop in the middle of the night.
- Tragedy on the Lake: Three Snohomish Boys Fall Through Ice
A winter afternoon skating excursion turns fatal for two young local boys.
- The Great Seattle Jailbreak of 1878
Sheriff Lewis V. Wyckoff offers a reward for the capture of five men who vanished from the King County jail in the dead of night.
- The Disappearing Patient of King County
A small-statured man, well-dressed in slate colors, walks out of the Territorial Insane Asylum and vanishes without a trace.
- The Perils of Coasting: A Sidewalk Smash-up
Two local boys narrowly escape tragedy after a high-speed sledding accident on a steep Seattle street.
- The Jailbreak at the Lava-Beds
A woman held in a Seattle lockup executes a daring escape, shedding her clothes and fleeing toward the wilderness after outsmarting her captor.
- The Deaf Dodge
A local drunkard tries to outsmart a judge by faking deafness, only to be tripped up by the prospect of a free drink.