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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 9 |
| 1876 | 13 |
| 1877 | 11 |
| 1878 | 9 |
| 1880 | 3 |
46 stories matching wit
- Acquitted: A High-Stakes Business Feud at the Occidental Hotel
A local partnership dispute ends in court, leaving the complaining witness to foot the bill for legal costs.
- 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 Price of Industrial Expansion
A sheriff’s auction reveals the crushing debt behind the rise of Seattle’s coal industry in the 1870s.
- 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 Man Who Slept in a Law Office Window
A destitute former resident of Chimacum is found crawling into a Seattle law office window, claiming he has nowhere else to go.
- Grand Jury Exposes Seattle Brothels and Liquor Sales to Native Americans
In September 1876, a King County grand jury reported widespread lawlessness in Seattle, including indictments for selling liquor to Native Americans, running gambling houses, and maintaining public nuisances.
- 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 Sheriff’s Auction Block in Territorial Seattle
A look at the brutal cycle of debt and displacement in 1878 Seattle, where land holdings were sold off on the courthouse steps to satisfy unpaid loans.
- The Dark Mystery of Alfred Hoyle
A body found in Snohomish County sparks a tense inquest revealing labor unrest, anti-Chinese sentiment, and unanswered questions on the Seattle waterfront.
- The Seattle Lottery Scandal of 1876
A local editor confesses his regret for backing a 'legal' lottery that turned the city into an open gambling hell.
- The City’s Biggest Celebration
Athletic contests and a tense yacht race on the Sound defined Seattle's 1880 Fourth of July.
- The Wild West of Washington Journalism
When the courts declared they had no power to punish libel, Seattle editors went to war with their pens—and their reputations.
- The Great Terminus Fever of 1871
As rumors swirled about the location of the Northern Pacific Railroad’s Pacific Coast terminus, Seattleites were gripped by a volatile, real-estate-driven madness that made men 'demented' and land values skyrocket.
- The Price of Seattle’s Growth: A 1878 Land Liquidation
A wave of court-ordered property auctions in 1878 reveals the precarious nature of land ownership and debt in early Seattle, as local families and businesses faced the loss of their holdings.
- The Price of Early Seattle Prosperity
A sheriff’s notice reveals the fragile nature of early real estate speculation in King County.
- The Great McFadden Ovation: A City Stops for Its Hero
In October 1872, Olympia erupted in celebration as thousands of citizens, horses, and brass bands escorted Territorial Delegate Owen McFadden home from his successful eastern tour, contrasting sharply with the cold reception given to his rival.
- The Courthouse That Built Itself
As Seattle transitioned from a frontier lumber outpost into a formal city, the County Commissioners finally took the 'bull by the horns' to replace scattered offices with a grand civic monument.
- A Family Tragedy in the Whatcom Courtroom
A mother and her twelve-year-old son were convicted of manslaughter after a deadly land dispute, highlighting the violent risks of territorial-era frontier claims.
- The Sheriff's Auction of 1878
Public auctions at the King County courthouse reveal the financial fragility and land speculation common in early Seattle.
- The Stranger at the Oriental Hotel
A local man's keen instincts and a sharp-eyed witness led to the capture of a fugitive murderer hiding in plain sight in a Seattle rooming house.
- The Battle for the Big Cut
On the frontier of 1872, railroad crews fight the Cowlitz floods and 'Big Cut' rock to carve a path for the North Pacific line.
- The Captain’s Silence: A Seattle Court Rules on Brutality at Sea
In a landmark Admiralty case heard in Seattle in 1872, Judge Jacobs holds ship owner E.A. Nickels liable for the brutal beating of sailor Frank Griffin, establishing that a captain's failure to stop abuse is an endorsement of it.
- The Ball That Shook Seattle: A Night of Masks, Money, and 'Transposed Sexes'
In the damp cold of February 1877, Seattle’s elite gathered for a masquerade ball that defied social norms, featuring cross-dressing performers and a prize for the 'best sustained character'—a rare glimpse into the territory's vibrant, chaotic social life.
- Tragedy at the Sawmill: A Father’s Grief
A young sawmill worker loses his life in a horrifying industrial accident near Vancouver, Washington.
- The Gentleman Wood-Sawyer of Seattle
When a young man’s romantic and financial future hung in the balance, he traded his social standing for an axe to impress a boarding-house landlady’s daughter.