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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 8 |
| 1889 | 22 |
| 1891 | 11 |
| 1892 | 16 |
| 1893 | 16 |
| 1894 | 17 |
| 1895 | 17 |
107 stories matching chain
- The Chain-Gang’s Shovel Symphony
In the heart of Olympia, a group of convicts turned Pacific Avenue into their personal construction site, wielding pickaxes and shovels with obstinate pride.
- The Tragedy at the Dog Show
A blue-ribbon collie is found strangled to death in her stall following an accidental slip-noose on her chain.
- A Chain Gang Escapee Captured in North Seattle
Dan McMillan, who made a daring escape from a city chain gang, is finally back in custody after years on the run.
- The All-Night Waterfront Watch That Recovered Forty Stolen Boom Chains
Police lay in wait at the foot of Vine Street after a boat loaded with chains appeared in North Seattle. The trail led back to a Port Townsend mill and a second-hand dealer.
- The Chain Gang Strikes: Bread and Water for Seattle’s Labor Rebels
When twelve men on the city's chain gang refused to work, Mayor Moran’s police chief responded with a cold diet of bread and water—and a public shaming that turned the streets into a theater of penal discipline.
- The Chain Letter That Worked the Christian Endeavor List
A Seattle post-office box asked for dimes for a 'crippled girl'—and for every recipient to copy the letter to two friends.
- Watch Thief Nabbed at Lake Washington
A young man loses his gold watch and chain at the Madison Street terminus; an arrest follows, though the watch remains missing.
- Robbed Under the Nose of Police Headquarters: A Daring Snatch on Yesler Avenue
A visitor from the Snoqualmie hop ranch is relieved of his watch just steps from the jail, leading to a dramatic chase through a vacant lot.
- The Strange Case of the Drifting Float
When a massive, expensive city-owned float vanished from its moorings, it sparked a mystery that ended in a quiet cove across the bay.
- Theft Attempted During Church Service
Two young boys are caught trying to steal an usher's coat during a church service, only to be arrested by a member of the congregation.
- A 30-Cent Debt Ends in a Water Pitcher, a Watch Chain, and Two Lawsuits
A Newcastle boarding-house keeper and a stage driver turn a petty fare dispute into a grand-larceny trial, a jury, and a follow-up assault charge.
- Tragedy at the Western Mill
A 17-year-old worker is crushed by a falling log while loading a rail car in Tacoma.
- The Real Estate Auction That Built Seattle’s First Suburbs
In March 1889, just months after the Great Fire devastated downtown, executors of James Crawford’s estate sold off dozens of city lots in a public auction at Occidental Square. These parcels would become the foundation for neighborhoods like Judkins and Bellevue.
- The New Order at City Hall
As a new Democratic administration takes control of Seattle in 1892, Mayor J.T. Ronald pledges to end the 'barbarous spectacle' of chain gangs and clean up the city's corrupt contracting practices.
- The Butter Bandits of West Street
A bold group of petty thieves used a sophisticated 'sampling' scheme to systematically loot Seattle merchants.
- The Salvage Diver of Elliott Bay
A local diver describes his successful, DIY operation to raise a sunken boiler from the depths of Puget Sound to sell for scrap.
- Betrayed by the Pianist: A Night at the Dove Dance Hall
After a laborer was drugged and robbed in a dance hall, the perpetrators were undone not by the police, but by the vengeful testimony of a woman scorned.
- The Doctor’s Thief Caught by the Landlady
A bold sneak thief invades a medical office, but meets his match in a persistent woman who hunts him down across the city.
- The Chain Gang Strike: When Seattle’s Jailers Fed Rebels Bread and Water
Twelve roughs on the city's Commercial Street cleanup crew walked off the job, leaving six loyal workers to finish the job. The police response? Lock them in the darkest cells until their sentences expire.
- The Jailer and the Cell: A Brutal Scuffle in 1891
A repeat offender turns the city jail into a ring for a violent, bloody showdown with his longtime adversary, the jailer.
- The Arrest of Link Davis
A playful, staged arrest of a former police chief turned into a heartwarming tribute by his former force.
- Great Northern Train Wreck Near Wenatchee
A runaway freight car collision resulted in $20,000 worth of damage.
- The Housekeeper and the Watch
A man who unsuccessfully campaigned for a police badge finds himself chasing a thief after a disastrous job interview.
- The Price of Meat and the Cost of Labor
An 1889 market report reveals how a massive influx of laborers into Seattle was driving up the local meat market and straining supply chains.
- The Hammer in the Woodshed: Henry Creamer's Death Sentence
A Seattle jury convicted a foreign-born laborer of Mrs. Meller's murder on circumstantial evidence, while his lawyer insisted the real killer—or at least a missing witness—was in the room.