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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 5 |
| 1859 | 5 |
| 1860 | 2 |
| 1861 | 3 |
15 stories matching left
- Gold Fever Empties Puget Sound
A schooner captain confirms rich strikes on the Fraser and Thompson rivers—and hundreds of workers are already leaving Victoria and the Sound for the mines.
- A Child's Fatal Fire at Point Roberts
The second son of Alexander Hahn died after his clothes caught fire while playing with his brother.
- A Fatal Mistake in the Nursery
A young child dies after accidentally consuming sulfuric acid left in a tub.
- Gold in the Wenatchee—and a War Warning at Fort Simcoe
A hard-riding express reaches Steilacoom with word of 300 miners in the new Wenatchee and Naches diggings—and a settler's letter warning of a wider Indigenous war over the invasion.
- The Hudson's Bay Company Puts a Price on Washington Territory
A proposed £500,000 sale of the company's Puget Sound land claims alarmed settlers and left Congress uncertain about who really owned the ground.
- Steilacoom Empties Its Garrison for a Near-War on San Juan Island
On Aug. 9, 1859, soldiers and two brass cannon left Steilacoom aboard the steamer Julia to reinforce Capt. Pickett’s tiny command, as the U.S. and Britain edged toward war over a boundary and a pig.
- A Gold Rush Romance in the Shadow of the Mines
In the rugged camps of the 1859 gold rush, a pair of lovers find their devotion tested by the harsh realities of frontier life and the relentless pursuit of fortune.
- The Day the Steamers Left Puget Sound
An 1861 Steilacoom editor warns that losing ocean steamship service will isolate Washington Territory and strangle its growth.
- Gold Fever on the Wenatchee: Steilacoom Miners Strike It Rich
A party of miners returns with rich specimens from Rock Creek, touching off a run on provisions, passengers—and town lots.
- A Brutal Murder on the Trail to Fort Steilacoom
A soldier is found dead after a violent altercation involving multiple men, leaving the community in shock.
- A Blockhouse, a Murder, and a Rumor of War
After a killing on the Snohomish, settlers in the Puyallup Valley put their families in a blockhouse. One farmer rode out to look for signs of an uprising—and found none.
- Gold Fever Empties the Army Posts—and Leaves Steilacoom’s Mail in a Canoe
A steamer from the north brings word of rich surface diggings on the Fraser and Thompson rivers, soldiers deserting lower Puget Sound posts, and Steilacoom cut off from its mail.
- The Governor’s Printing Office Grab
A territorial appointment turns into a public feud over who gets to choose Washington’s public printer—and whether the governor overstepped the legislature’s authority.
- The Steamer Traveler Goes Down Off Foulweather Bluff
A sudden leak in a winter gale drowned Captain Slater and several others on a routine Puget Sound run from Port Townsend to Port Gamble.
- A Settler's Plea for Too-e-pi-ti
An old Pierce County resident says a white man, Jim Riley, shot an Indigenous man without cause—and asks voters not to let the case die.