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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 14 |
| 1891 | 12 |
| 1892 | 40 |
| 1893 | 40 |
| 1894 | 51 |
| 1895 | 6 |
167 stories matching beat
- The Beating of Henry Brown: A Runaway Elevator Boy and a Family's Violent Secret
A 14-year-old black elevator operator flees his home after a savage whipping by his father, revealing a tangled story of poverty, pride, and punishment in 1894 Seattle.
- The Cripple’s Revenge at Port Gamble
After enduring a vicious beating by a mill-hand at a Port Gamble mill, a worker with a disabled arm exacted a bloody retribution.
- Tacoma Merchants Declare War on 'Dead Beats'
Fed up with unpaid tabs, Tacoma retailers organize a boycott committee and a $20 fine system to discipline customers who buy on credit.
- Officer Censured for Beating a Citizen
A police commissioner’s inquiry reveals that an officer brutally beat an innocent Black man at Second and Union, raising questions about police conduct in early Seattle.
- A Midnight Knock, a Hidden Fortune, and a Brutal Beating on Vashon Island
Two men demand an old rancher's money, bind and club him, then ransack his cabin for a cache of cash. Seattle police arrest a suspect—and then the victim's wife.
- The Mysterious Death at the Eureka House
A man found dead in his hotel room in Whatcom leaves behind conflicting stories of a brutal beating by footpads and the possibility of a gambling-induced suicide.
- The Dentist’s Twisted Domesticity
A young bride files for divorce in Seattle, exposing a horrific cycle of abuse and control behind the closed doors of a prominent dentist’s home.
- Dragged From Her Company House: A Tenant Sues the Coal Company
Maria May says Oregon Improvement Company agents broke into her Franklin home, beat her, and threw her out half-clothed in 1891. She is asking for $15,000.
- The Mayor of Gilman's Violent Vengeance
After discovering his wife was coerced into an affair, the Mayor of Gilman took matters into his own hands in a public beating that transfixed the town.
- Fatal Prize Fight Leads to Manslaughter Charges
A prizefighter died after a brutal seventh-round beating, and the theater owners hosting the spectacle were bound over for abetting.
- Seven Months at Sea: The State of Maine’s Ordeal
The State of Maine left New York in July 1892 and reached Seattle 201 days later, her crew disabled by saltwater boils, her water spoiled, and her captain forced to beat men to the pumps.
- The Fight Against Classroom Brutality
After the conviction of two teachers for beating a student in Chewelah, the P-I condemns corporal punishment as a 'relic of a dolorous age.'
- A Desperate Jump at the Spring Street Wharf
Deserted, drinking, and despondent, Kate Johnson tried to drown herself in Seattle harbor—then fought the men who pulled her out.
- The Globe-Trotter, the Elks, and the $5,000 Wager
A Boston telegram called Paul Jones a fake. Seattle's own reporting found a Harvard man circling the world on a wager — and turning a paper suit into a sellout lecture.
- The Hammer in the Kitchen
A killer waited until the men left for a labor-hall meeting, then entered a Seattle house, beat Mrs. Miller and her baby to death, looted a valise, and set the place ablaze.
- Domestic Abuse in the Kinnear Block
An arrest follows a brutal domestic assault in a prominent downtown building.
- The Mail-Order Marriage from Hell
A lonely rancher and a widow seeking companionship found only a farcical and bitter end to their long-distance romance.
- The High Price of Labor
A former city officer turned laborer is critically injured in a sewer trench collapse near the downtown core.
- Driven From Home: A Mother and Three Children at the Police Station
Found drunk in a waterfront saloon with her children in tow, a 23-year-old woman told a police matron a story of beatings and of a husband at a coal camp near Palmer who cast her out with the babies.
- Seattle’s Canal Demand Became a Political Trap
At the 1892 Democratic state convention in Olympia, King County’s push for a Lake Washington ship canal collided with a Pierce County-led alliance—and James Hamilton Lewis’s gubernatorial hopes hung in the balance.
- A Circus Brawl Breaks Out in Chehalis
A local deputy sheriff attempts to arrest a carnival worker for short-changing a farmer, only to be beaten by a mob of show employees.
- A Seattle Wife's Plea for Freedom: 'He Beat Me and Drenched Me'
Maria Berg files for divorce from Eric B. Berg, alleging years of cruelty culminating in a brutal attack over his ill-treatment of a horse.
- The Chicken-Head Oath Was Not Used in This Seattle Courtroom
Chin Chew was acquitted of beating and robbing a fellow Chinese laborer, but the case is remembered for a judge's refusal to repeat a rival jurist's 'chicken oath' experiment.
- The Beat Cop's Bad Joke
A police officer on Queen Anne hill faces suspension after fabricating a robbery report as a 'joke'—much to the chagrin of city leadership.
- Seattle Lost the Ship Canal Fight in One Olympia Night
The 1892 Democratic state convention rejected the Lake Washington ship canal, humiliated King County's delegates and nominated Henry J. Snively for governor — setting off a political feud over Seattle's waterfront future.
Also about this, in other words
- The Street-Side Brawl Over Union Labor
A bakery driver was fined after physically attacking a union member who was picketing his wagon in 1891 Seattle.
- The Brewery Brawl
A local assault case reaches a strange legal impasse when a prosecutor is asked to define whether a beer keg constitutes a deadly weapon.
- The Bench Inspects the Horse
A judge takes an unconventional approach to a cruelty case, heading to the sidewalk to inspect an injured teamster's horse personally.