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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 1 |
9 stories matching cleverest
- Jim Hill’s Tideflat Tactic
How a railroad magnate manipulated the City Council into a lopsided depot deal by trading away public bridge obligations for private land gains.
- The Great Port Angeles Gold Scam
How a clever land boomer used fake gold coins to manufacture excitement and swindle investors in the late 1880s.
- The 'Pretty Widow' Conning the Coast
A charming socialite accused of swindling Seattle investors with worthless oil stocks awaits her day in court, leaving police convinced no jury will dare to convict her.
- The Counterfeiter of Tacoma
A notorious gang of spurious coin makers is finally apprehended in a remote Tacoma house, ending a long cross-state crime spree.
- The Bathtub Comedy That Saved the Day
A struggling young couple in a Seattle play find their only salvation in a piece of furniture that isn't quite what it seems.
- The Perilous Ring at the Empire Theater
A local boxing match turned into a comedy of errors when the floor collapsed under the combatants twice, sending one fighter into the sub-cellar.
- The Burglar Who Hid Evidence in His Shoes
Detectives tracking a prolific Seattle house-breaker finally cornered him in a Second Avenue drug store, discovering a curious stash of keys hidden in his footwear.
- The Gamblers Who Took the Wrong Ship
Two Seattle card sharps tried to fleece an English sea captain. He had them shanghaied instead.
- Old Bill Davis, Bare-Knuckle Champion, Arrives to Open Seattle Gym
A 63-year-old former world champion shares a life spanning the Mexican War, the California Gold Rush, and consular posts in Japan and China—and picks the winners for the Sullivan-Corbett fight.
Also about this, in other words
- The 'Smart' Grift: A Frontier Romance Scammer
A Chinese laborer attempts to use the legal system to recover money lost to a romantic swindler who promised marriage but disappeared with his cash.
- Vigilantism in Wiser
A deputy sheriff takes three men into custody for the targeting of Chinese laborers.
- A Desperate Escape Attempt in Whatcom
A clever plan to cut through jail cell bars with a smuggled file is thwarted by the county attorney.
- The Oldest Trick in the Book
A grifter in Seattle's city jail has a penchant for a classic pocketknife switch that leaves tourists penniless.
- The Clueless New Bailiff
A newly appointed municipal bailiff attempts to arrest a theatre owner using only a subpoena, only to be schooled on the law by the judge.
- The Perpetual Motion Inventor's Wild Night
Dr. Hannibal Mills, a local crank obsessed with his 'perpetual motion' machine, shoots a saloon keeper after a drunken argument.
- Old Yank, the Sequim Inventor Who Rigged His Counter to Sting Thieves
A correspondent visits Professor Watkins of Sequim Prairie, an eccentric mechanic whose inventions ranged from a needle-spring burglar trap to a wooden mowing machine and a windmill made to grind the prairie's wheat.
- The Lucky Winner of the Auto
A resident of Wallula discovers he holds the winning ticket for an automobile, but his interest is strictly in the cash.