Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
14 stories matching bilk
- The Great Aberdeen Watch Swindle
A traveling con artist successfully bilks residents out of hundreds of dollars, leaving them with worthless brass trinkets.
- The Million-Dollar Water Heist
A scathing audit reveals that Tacoma taxpayers were bilked out of over a million dollars in a rigged water works acquisition deal.
- The Hobo 'Capitalist' Who Ran Palouse on Credit
A smooth-talking Swiss convinced butchers, brewers and saloon men to hand over shops and goods — some $1,200 worth — on the promise of a fortune still sitting back in Switzerland.
- The Irrigation Land Swindle
A confidence man posing as a land agent scams thirty-five laborers out of their hard-earned wages.
- The Vanishing Tailor
A charismatic salesman bilks local businesses out of hundreds of dollars before fleeing the city, leaving his manager and creditors in the lurch.
- A Bitter Business Rivalry Ends in Court
An accusation of boat theft between former business partners in Whatcom reveals a long-standing feud and allegations of 'cinching'.
- A Laborer's Grievance Over Skimpy Wages
A worker on the Madison Street grade reports that his contractor is withholding pay, sparking a debate on fairness and city debt.
- The Great Match Stick Swindle
A Superior Court judge exposes a massive stock-selling scheme that bilked nearly 1,000 investors out of $95,000.
- A State Medical Examiner Accused of Faking a Fracture to Bilk the County
M. D. Minkler of Centralia faces charges of obtaining money under false pretenses after county commissioners say his claimed treatment for a pauper patient was a fabrication.
- The Fast Runner and the Stiffed Innkeeper
A local foot-racing celebrity thought he could dodge his hotel tab, only to be caught in bed by a constable.
- The Ghost of the Sound: A Swindler’s Vanishing Act
A glib salesman charms his way into the good graces of a prominent Seattle firm, only to disappear with their funds and a trail of aliases.
- The Ghost of the Street: Seattle’s Most Prolific Teenage Con Artist
Before the age of identity theft, a nameless youth wandered the streets of 1892 Seattle, forging heartbreaking letters of loss to bilk the city's compassionate elite.
- The Smooth-Talking 'Distressed Brother' Who Worked the Masons
An impostor posing as a stranded fellow Mason bilked lodges from coast to coast. Seattle's United Lodge No. 92 — whose safe was cracked last summer — believes it unknowingly armed him with the forged receipts he used to collect.
- The Fish That Confessed: A Sturgeon’s Warning to a Sweeping Reporter
In this bizarre piece of 1876 satire, a newspaperman encounters a talking sturgeon at the market who reveals he is a reincarnated swindler, warning the reporter that frauds become fish after death.