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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 29 |
| 1891 | 12 |
| 1892 | 52 |
| 1893 | 55 |
| 1894 | 65 |
| 1895 | 55 |
273 stories matching check
- The Cowboy Who Cashed His Own Checks
A visiting cowboy passed about $100 in forged Frye-Bruhn checks across Seattle saloons, then caught the steamer Kingston before the warrant could catch him.
- The $1,000 'Good Faith' Check That Became a Prisoner of Its Own Terms
Seattle’s streetcar pioneers petition the City Council to return their forfeited deposit, arguing the project stalled due to circumstances beyond their control. The paper argues they have no moral right to reclaim the money.
- The City’s ‘Rubber’ Checks Are Finally Good as Gold
After years of city employees losing money to brokers by discounting city warrants, the Mayor forces a policy of redemption at par value.
- A Forged Check Leads to a Hotel-Room Arrest
A bogus $7.50 check at a Columbia Street drugstore unravels into cocaine, morphine and a man who may have been the "Henry" on the signature.
- Insurance Agent Vanishes After Passing Spurious Checks
A smooth-talking insurance agent charms his way through Seattle's business community before disappearing with premiums and bad checks.
- The Power Struggle Over Pavement
Tacoma's city council faces internal deadlock as officials fight over who gets to countersign checks and which material should pave the city streets.
- The Bank-Issued Currency of 1893
Facing a national economic panic, Seattle merchants and bankers agree to honor certified checks as local tender to keep the hop harvest moving.
- The Opium Ring and the Floating Body: A Seattle Murder Mystery
When Abner Abbott’s body was found in the tide flats, suspicion fell on a smuggling ring. Was he silenced for knowing too much about a $400 check from China?
- The Customs Inspector with a Paper Trail
How a Seattle customs official’s history of corruption and confession led to a suspicious opium smuggling sting.
- The Logging Camp Grifter
A teamster is caught by a deputy sheriff after allegedly swindling a saloon owner with a forged time check.
- The $40 Forgery That Fooled Seattle’s Hardware Elite
A dashing stranger with a dark mustache and bare chest walks into W.P. Boyd & Co., flashes a forged check from the Seattle Hardware Company, and vanishes with $40 in cash—leaving behind only a single typo that saves the victim from total ruin.
- City Laborers Find Relief at the Bank
Mayor Phelps intervenes to stop the exploitation of city laborers by 'scrip buyers' who were charging fees to cash municipal pay checks.
- The Elusive 'Seattle Swindler' Disappears Again
A young attorney leaves a trail of bad checks across the Pacific Coast, sparking confusion in the San Francisco police force.
- The Unraveling of a Grifter
A well-connected drifter faces consequences after passing bad checks in local saloons.
- The 'Line-Man' Forger of 1891
A young con artist dressed as a weary lineman successfully swindled several Seattle clothing stores and a saloon before vanishing into the night.
- The Daring Heist at Martin Creek
A storekeeper recounts how three masked men held up his business in a daring robbery that shocked the county.
- The Mystery of the Missing Check
A deep-seated accounting discrepancy involving former City Treasurer W. L. Ames leads to calls for a formal investigation and legal action.
- The Confidence Man of Colby
An elderly immigrant family arrives in Washington only to be swindled of their life savings at the docks.
- The Tacoma Check-Kite Who Vanished Into Thin Air
A mysterious stranger from San Francisco duped local merchants out of hundreds of dollars with worthless drafts before disappearing, leaving a trail of broken trust in the heart of downtown Tacoma.
- The City Treasurer's Missing Millions
A Seattle property owner discovers his taxes were paid, but the money never reached the city treasury.
- The Con Man Who Wore a Partner's Identity
A clever grifter posed as a prominent Seattle businessman to swindle New York merchants, leaving local partners to clean up the mess.
- A Mining Man's Strange Lapse
A Silverton mining man is released after a public confusion involving a bad check and a brief illness.
- The Comptroller Was Right: Seattle's Ex-Treasurer Pays Back $4,017
Willis R. Ames spent two years insisting the city's books were wrong. This week his bondsmen wrote the cheque — and the paper trail runs through a second treasurer who later absconded.
- Laborer Brutally Robbed on Great Northern Grade
As construction moves rapidly across the region, a railroad worker is assaulted and robbed near Snohomish.
- The Bailiff Who Lost a Prisoner
A procedural mishap in the municipal court leads to a humiliating embarrassment when a defendant simply walks out of the custody line.