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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 6 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 5 |
27 stories matching rush
- The Panic on Stage: How a Shout of 'Fight' Turned a Seattle Theater into a Stampede
In the winter of 1876, a misinterpreted cry during a local play sparked a chaotic rush for exits, injuring several patrons and exposing the fragility of public order in the young city.
- 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.
- Seattle Miners Rush to Sultan River Gold Claims
When a chance discovery in the dry bed of the Sultan River sparked a desperate dash for fortune, the town of Snohomish was left nearly deserted as laborers abandoned their jobs to try their luck in the mud.
- The Skagit Gold Rush of 1880
A winter of record-breaking snow gives way to a spring of fevered anticipation as prospectors return to the Skagit River's golden banks.
- The Gold Hunters of Seattle's Backwoods
Three Indigenous men bring fine shot gold to the Puget Sound Banking Company, sparking a rush of speculation about rich deposits in the mountains east of town.
- 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 Great Mill Street Wagon Prank
A local hotel runner learns the hard way that the boys of Mill Street have a penchant for mechanical mischief.
- The Midnight Attack on a Chinatown Cigar Stand
A deliberate arson attempt threatens to ignite the heart of downtown Seattle after rags soaked in coal oil are discovered burning against a Chinese-owned business.
- A Tragic Warning in the Slate Creek Woods
A logger is killed by a falling tree, fulfilling a premonition voiced by his son just moments before.
- The Gold Rush Trail to the Skagit
As prospectors flock to the Skagit River, old-timers debate the best route through the wilderness to reach the promised riches.
- The Brutal Assault on a Young Chambermaid
A playful attempt to clean a hotel floor escalated into a vicious act of anti-Chinese violence in the heart of downtown Seattle.
- The Skykomish Gold Rush
A reported discovery of river-bed gold near Snohomish sparks a local frenzy, leading prominent citizens to abandon their businesses to stake a claim.
- The Ghost on the Wharf: A White Jacket Startles Seattle
In December 1876, a Coast Survey captain’s neatly covered engine sparked a panic among dockworkers who mistook it for a spectral figure.
- The Gold Rush at the Swinomish Flats
While miners chased gold in the mountains, early settlers on the Swinomish tide lands found that dyking and ditching the soil offered a far more reliable fortune.
- The Child Who Vanished: A Tragedy on the Columbia Bar
A two-year-old girl was swept overboard from a steam tug in the Pacific Northwest, becoming one of the many unnamed victims of the region's treacherous waters.
- The Pen and the Pistol: A Seattle Saloon Brawl
When an editor’s satirical writing sparked a public confrontation on Mill Street, a local developer settled the score with a revolver—until his target managed to disarm him.
- The Engine House Was Locked—and the Janitor Was at Church
When two fires broke out in Seattle's Chinese quarter, the engine house was locked and the janitor held the key. Bystanders put out the flames—and the paper demanded a fire department overhaul.
- The Penitent Lion-Tamer
A quiet laborer in a traveling Seattle menagerie finds redemption through a final, fatal sacrifice.
- The Wild West Gold Rush at the Border
When the federal government refused to station customs inspectors at the Skagit gold fields, Seattle merchants feared a massive influx of untaxed British Canadian competition.
- The Tyrant of the High Seas: A Sailor’s Knife vs. a Mate’s Revolver
In a dramatic trial before U.S. Commissioner D.S. Smith, witnesses describe how the first mate of the brig *Sampson* beat a sailor into paralysis with an iron bar and revolver, sparking outrage over maritime abuse.
- The Shipmate’s Miracle: A Story of Grit at Sea
A young sailor survives a hundred-foot fall and a double compound fracture, saved by the improvised surgery and steady care of his shipmates far from any port.
- The Tax Swindle: How Seattle’s Printer Defrauded His Neighbors
In 1872, the publisher of the *Puget Sound Dispatch* exposed a collusive scheme between local tax collectors and a rival newspaper to overcharge delinquent taxpayers for legal notices, sparking a bitter war of words in the territorial press.
- The Battle for Block Eight: Two Men, One Lot, and the Law
In a dispute that highlights the chaotic land rush of early Seattle, two settlers find themselves locked in a legal battle over the same pre-emption claim, forcing a federal judge to intervene.
- The Sheriff’s Gavel: A King County Land Auction in the Shadow of the Gold Rush
In August 1876, Seattle’s legal system was already grinding out foreclosures on massive land claims, signaling that the territory’s boom would be built on debt and dispossession.
- The Pig That Pays the Bills: How Swine Became Puget Sound’s Secret Wealth
In 1876, while Seattle looked to timber and fish for its future, a local article argued that raising hogs on wheat stubble was the most reliable path to prosperity.