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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1899 | 19 |
19 stories matching break
- The End of the Chain Gang in Seattle
City officials move to retire the practice of using prisoners for manual street labor, shifting to rock-breaking in a bid to deter professional tramps.
- The Klondike Gold Rush Comes Home
A staggering $500,000 in gold dust arrives in Seattle aboard the steamer Queen, marking a record-breaking speed for the journey from Dawson.
- The Night the Burglar Lost His Shoes: A Seattle Thief Flees in Stockings
A daring break-in at a Bell Street laundry ends in farce when the thief is spotted before he can steal anything, forcing him to flee barefoot and leaving behind his footwear as evidence.
- The Burglar Who Hid Evidence in His Shoes
Detectives tracking a prolific Seattle house-breaker finally cornered him in a Second Avenue drug store, discovering a curious stash of keys hidden in his footwear.
- Tragedy in the Timber: A Fatal Day Near Orting
A young laborer loses his life in a logging accident, underscoring the lethal risks inherent in Washington's turn-of-the-century lumber industry.
- The Great Northern Snow Plow: President Hill’s Battle with the Cascades
While Seattle slept, railroad magnate James J. Hill fought a war against the elements, his train delayed by drifts and snowplows in a dramatic struggle that highlights the fragility of early 20th-century transit.
- The Night Watchman’s Leap: A Seattle Police Officer’s Brutal Fall
William Wyatt, the city's night watchman at the Union Station mail depot, suffered broken ribs and internal injuries after falling from a moving train while chasing a thief.
- The Tailor's Revolt: Seattle Shops Defy Union Wages
As the local tailors' strike enters its second week with shops shuttered, merchants import labor from abroad to break the union, sparking fears of violent confrontation.
- Labor Riot on the Snake River Valley Line
Contractor Huppes faces a violent revolt from his Japanese work crew over summary dismissals and harsh conditions.
- The City That Couldn't Float: Steamship 'Seattle' Breaks Down on Its Maiden Voyage
A mechanical failure leaves the vessel adrift in the Pacific, forcing a British tug to tow it home while passengers and crew endure a humiliating delay.
- The Tragedy of the Diver in Tacoma Harbor
A routine salvage operation to reach a sunken vessel turned fatal when a burst air pipe left a diver trapped in the depths of Puget Sound.
- The Daffodils Rise: Seattle’s Spring Awakening
As the severe winter finally breaks, gardeners and housewives alike rush to reclaim their yards from the frost, marking a collective seasonal shift in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Great Seattle Streetcar Standoff
A proposed deal for a unified street railway system in Seattle hits a wall as Boston-based investors reject municipal demands for fair wages and affordable fares.
- The Ice That Crushed a Man: A Frightful Death on White Pass
Louis Wrick was clearing ice near the summit of the White Pass when a massive block gave way, pinning him beneath tons of frozen weight. Another worker survived; Wrick did not.
- The City That Couldn't Say No: Seattle’s Fourth of July Extravaganza
In the summer of 1903, Seattle invited the entire Northwest to a Fourth of July celebration so massive it threatened to break the city's capacity for hospitality.
- The Uncultivated Yankee and the Professor's Sword
A late-night brawl breaks out in the rotunda of Seattle’s most prestigious hotel after a visiting musician insults an American sea captain.
- The $12.50 Gold Rush: How a Railroad Rate War Flooded Seattle with Hope and Skepticism
As Canadian Pacific slashes fares to half the price of American lines, local merchants debate whether the coming wave of homeseekers will build the city or break it.
- Death Reared Its Horrid Head: Steam Heater Explosion Kills Two Men in Downtown Seattle
A careless Japanese fireman left a boiler unattended at Second and Washington, causing a catastrophic explosion that killed one man instantly and mortally wounded another.
- The Mayor’s Gambit: Humes Defers to Council as Seattle Sweeps Away Its Gambling dens
In a rare moment of unified reform, the City Council has ordered the closure of all gambling houses and restricted saloons in the business district. Mayor Humes, citing legal ambiguity over the saloon ordinance but promising strict enforcement against lotteries, leaves the fate of Seattle’s vice industry to the police chief.