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1. The Pit and the Claw: A Tacoma Man’s Terrifying Tale of Surviving a Bear Attack

   Larsen describes the agony of being pinned in a bear trap, his arm crushed by the beast's jaws, and his desperate fight for survival in the woods near Schomaker.

   Mar 7, 1899The Seattle StarTacoma, Pierce CountyDisasters

2. The Great Puma Panic: How a Loose Cat and a Lucky Dog Sparked Chaos at Leschi Park

   In the early days of Seattle's municipal parks, a puma escaped its cage, chased a terrier into a bear pit, and nearly cost the zookeeper his bones in a brawl that read like a cartoon.

   Apr 1, 1899The Seattle StarLeschi Park, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

3. They Climbed Rainier First—and Slept in a Sulphur-Scented Ice Cave

   In 1870, Hazard Stevens and P. B. Van Trump reached Mount Rainier's summit after a brutal 10½-hour climb, then spent a freezing night beside volcanic steam vents.

   Jan 6, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

4. The Bear on Yesler's Grounds: An Urban Panic

   When Dr. Jordan's pet bear broke loose, he terrorized a neighborhood and sent a handful of panicked men scrambling into a two-story barn to escape his 'affectionate' embrace.

   Apr 16, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

5. A Close Call in the River Bottoms

   A hunter's routine expedition turns into a desperate struggle for survival against a wounded bear.

   Aug 27, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

6. The Bear Who Sat Through Sermon

   A black bear wandered into a North Creek church during Sunday service, causing panic among the congregation before calmly exiting—leaving behind a confused minister and an eager bear hunt.

   Sep 2, 1876Puget Sound DispatchNorth Creek, Pierce CountyStrange But True

7. The Unintended Cross-Country Runner

   A postal worker’s bicycle breakdown in Marysville leads to a terrifying, high-speed foot race with a black bear.

   Apr 16, 1904The Tacoma TimesMarysville, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

8. The Bear Hunter of First Avenue

   When a bear threatened a farm near Seattle, one determined man took matters into his own hands—and his own shotgun.

   Aug 23, 1888The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

9. A Desperate Escape from a Bear in Covington

   A settler finds himself treed by a pair of angry bears and relies on a faithful dog to help him survive the encounter.

   Mar 25, 1886Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerCovington, King CountyStrange But True

10. The Cosmopolitan Hotel's Escaped Bear

    A bear cub makes a frantic dash through the streets of Seattle, smashing mirrors and leading his pursuers on a wild chase.

    May 31, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerFront Street, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

11. A Hunter's Bear Hug Nearly Becomes His Last

    Adam Mechling shot at what he took for a fawn in the Skagit County woods and found himself beneath a 300-pound she bear.

    Aug 17, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerHamilton, Skagit CountyStrange But True

12. The Great Apple-Thieving Bear of Seattle

    Local boys and a captain team up to take down a persistent bruin that had been raiding a private orchard.

    Aug 28, 1886Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

13. A Wild Bear Fight on the Grand Ronde

    A local hunter witnesses a brutal showdown between a cinnamon and a black bear in the Asotin County mountains.

    Sep 6, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerAsotin, Asotin CountyStrange But True

14. A Bear Hunt in a Hollow Tree

    Two Snoqualmie settlers trap and kill a furious bear after an intense standoff inside a tree.

    Jan 18, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnoqualmie, King CountyStrange But True

15. The Bear That Wasn't: Seattle’s War Department Scandal

    A federal court of inquiry clears the city of corruption but exposes a bizarre military blunder involving refrigerated beef and embalmed meat during the Spanish-American War.

    May 8, 1899The Seattle StarSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Scandal

16. The Grizzly at Point Defiance

    A silver-tip grizzly escapes its cage at Tacoma's Point Defiance Park, wounding three park employees before being put down to protect the zoo’s deer and elk.

    Apr 4, 1904The Tacoma TimesPoint Defiance Park, Tacoma, Pierce CountyStrange But True

17. The Nahcotta Bear Fighter

    A meat market man from the coast fends off an angry mother bear using only his boot.

    Sep 24, 1903The Evening StatesmanNahcotta, Pacific CountyStrange But True

18. The Great Maple Valley Bear Panic

    When a black bear wandered into their backyard, a frontier couple abandoned their home and fled on horseback to escape the 'ferocious' beast.

    Jun 19, 1887Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerMaple Valley, King CountyStrange But True

19. The Bear That Burned Down the Neighborhood

    A Spokane resident’s attempt to treat a sick horse with home remedies went up in flames when his pet bear caused a catastrophe.

    Sep 13, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSpokane, Spokane CountyDisasters

20. The Art of Roping a Bear

    After a close call with a grizzly, a local man returns to the wilderness to capture a cub with a lariat for the town's amusement.

    Sep 10, 1891The Yakima HeraldMoxee, Yakima, Yakima CountyStrange But True

21. The Logger Who Wrestled a Bear

    A local timber worker narrowly escapes death after stumbling into a den and fighting a brown bear for fifteen minutes with an axe.

    Jun 21, 1889The Mason County JournalShelton, Mason CountyWork & Pay · Strange But True

22. A Desperate Encounter in the Northport Mountains

    A local rancher survives a harrowing close-quarters struggle with a wounded black bear.

    Oct 9, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerNorthport, Stevens CountyStrange But True

23. The Bear Who Drank the Molasses: A Lumber Camp Disaster

    A hungry black bear broke into a West Branch Lumber Company supply shed in Washington's Cascade Mountains, getting hopelessly stuck in a keg of molasses and becoming a spectacle for the workers.

    Mar 3, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnoqualmie Pass, King CountyStrange But True

24. A Close Call with a Cub in the Woods

    A young boy's attempt to capture a bear cub nearly ends in disaster when the mother bear returns to defend her offspring.

    May 30, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSumas, Whatcom CountyStrange But True

25. Bears Saved from Madison Street Blaze

    A photograph gallery fire triggers a frantic rescue of two captive bears at the Lake Washington terminus of the cable line.

    Aug 15, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyDisasters

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