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1. 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

2. Trapped by the Tide on the Road to Queets

   In 1892, poet Herbert Bashford joined a camping party for a walk up Washington’s wild Olympic coast—and found the rising tide more dangerous than any highwayman.

   Jul 24, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerQueets, Grays Harbor CountyStrange But True

3. The Cave at the End of the Boundary Trail

   A 1908 Newport writer follows a blazed trail north of Metaline into a limestone cavern of bath-like basins, a 'Guardian of the Baths' and a music room already being vandalized.

   Sep 3, 1908The Newport Miner (Newport, WA) 1899-CurrentMetalineStrange But True

4. Moving Mountains for the Monte Cristo Railroad

   Contractors use dynamite to carve a path for the new Everett and Monte Cristo railroad, blowing away a solid granite promontory.

   Oct 1, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMonte Cristo, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

5. A Mother Jumped Into a Well to Save Her Baby

   Near Green Lake, a toddler fell sixteen feet into a well. Her mother lowered a too-short ladder, dropped in after her, and revived the child before help arrived.

   Aug 23, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerGreen Lake, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

6. The Pirate King of Seattle

   A real-life adventure of a man who survived a childhood on a pirate ship and returned to Seattle to recruit a crew for a treasure hunt.

   Mar 14, 1872Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyLocal Legends

7. The Brutal Work of Boring Stampede Tunnel

   Deep in the Cascades, a reporter documents the grueling labor conditions of the men carving the Northern Pacific’s Stampede Tunnel through the mountain’s gut.

   Mar 24, 1887Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerStampede Pass, Kittitas CountyWork & Pay

8. The Disappearing Lake

   Residents are baffled as the waters of Surprise Lake suddenly recede, leaving property owners high and dry.

   Aug 5, 1904The Tacoma TimesSurprise Lake, Milton, Pierce CountyStrange But True

9. Life on the Edge of the World: A Dispatch from Tatoosh Island

   A rare 1861 account of the desolate, storm-battered lives of lighthouse keepers and their interactions with the Makah people at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

   Jul 20, 1861Washington StandardNeah Bay, Clallam CountyStrange But True

10. The Magic Well of the Upper Skagit

    An 1877 expedition pushes beyond the edge of known maps into the upper Skagit wilderness, encountering glowing tunnels, giant eagles, and the promise of a rugged agricultural frontier.

    Feb 27, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

11. The Battle for Seattle’s Soul: Saloon Owners vs. The City Over 'Music with Booze'

    In a landmark legal clash in 1901, three prominent saloon proprietors sued the city to block a $1,000 tax on their establishments, arguing that entertainment and alcohol should remain legally intertwined.

    Feb 1, 1891The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

12. A Night Spent in the Steam Vents of Mount Rainier

    An early mountaineer recounts a harrowing, freezing night spent huddled inside a steam-carved cavern near the summit.

    Sep 25, 1886Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Ashford, Pierce CountyStrange But True

13. A Steam-Heated Night Inside Mount Rainier

    A local professor and two students discovered steam-filled caverns and potential new plant species while spending a harrowing night inside the crater of Mount Rainier.

    Aug 7, 1903The Evening StatesmanMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

14. The Lawyer Who Bombed City Hall With a Piece of Paper

    Attorney John Wiley served the Seattle city council a superior-court writ of prohibition mid-hearing on the Masel case, freezing the proceedings and leaving the aldermen sputtering in their chairs.

    Jun 19, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

15. The Trial of the $12,000 Yellow Dog

    A vicious canine’s habit of biting pedestrians leads to a massive civil lawsuit that leaves a judge weighing the legal definition of a trespasser.

    Oct 29, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyStrange But True

16. The Picky Buyer of Seattle

    A skeptical land-seeker turns down a perfect farm because of a church organ, illustrating the absurd lengths of a real estate hunt.

    Sep 1, 1876The Daily IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

17. The Fight for Life in the Depths

    A harrowing, vivid account of a fisherman's life-or-death struggle against a giant cephalopod, reprinted from Victor Hugo's 'Toilers of the Sea' in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

    Jun 20, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King County

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