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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 12 |
| 1877 | 12 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 9 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 12 |
| 1886 | 8 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 9 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 24 |
| 1893 | 21 |
| 1894 | 12 |
| 1895 | 25 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 8 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 8 |
| 1909 | 8 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1917 | 5 |
| 1918 | 2 |
226 stories matching drift
- Defending the Bridge Against the Similkameen
As the spring flood swells the Similkameen River, residents fear the 'multitudinous battering ram' of drift wood will destroy the town's primary crossing.
- Tragedy at the Renton Coal Mine
A young miner is killed instantly by a falling boulder while working deep inside a Renton coal drift.
- A Series of Unfortunate Events on the Sound
Nine Everett hunters endure a harrowing night drifting on the Sound, only to lose their game in a final mishap as they reached home.
- A Stanchion, a Log Raft, and Two Ships That Never Came Home
Wreckage found off Cape Flattery leads Port Townsend mariners to suspect a double collier disaster hidden in a tangle of drifting timber.
- The Cricket Runs Aground
A steamer at Olympia drifts from its moorings and is submerged by the rising tide.
- The Strange Case of the Drifting Float
When a massive, expensive city-owned float vanished from its moorings, it sparked a mystery that ended in a quiet cove across the bay.
- Fatal Accident at the Fremont Lumber Mill
A day laborer at Lake Union loses his life after being struck by a drifting log while working on a boom.
- The Ghost Ship of Port Madison
A mysterious, unmanned scow drifts into the bay, sparking speculation about the missing crew.
- A Ledge of Bismuth: Deer Park's Tungsten King Assays Rich
Miners drifting into the Tungsten King hit an eight-foot ledge assaying $1,100 a ton in bismuth, with silver and gold besides.
- Trapped in the Fog on the Hanford Flyer
A river commute turns perilous when a local boat strikes rocks in thick fog.
- The Mystery of the Drifting Boat: A Father’s Search for His Son
Albert Milloy identifies a found vessel on Lake Washington as belonging to his missing father, sparking a search that bridges the gap between domestic worry and the city's bustling waterfront.
- The Seattle Flour Wars
A brutal price-cutting war between California millers reaches a tentative truce in Seattle, stabilizing the cost of a daily necessity.
- A Fierce Windstorm Batters Tacoma
An unusual east-northeast gale shakes the bluff, topples chimneys, and sends ships drifting across the harbor.
- Before the Next High Tide
An 1878 editorial warns that hauling gravel and pulling drift logs off the Point Hudson spit has already helped flood Port Townsend twice—and calls for an ordinance before the winter storms return.
- Trapped on the Tide: Two Boys Stranded in a Waterfront Shack
While the city went about its business, two boys were left to drift into danger—and nearly starved in silence.
- A Becalmed Regatta on Puget Sound
Seattle yachtsmen battle a dying wind and a frustratingly tedious afternoon during a club regatta on the Sound.
- The Great Northern Snow Plow: President Hill’s Battle with the Cascades
While Seattle slept, railroad magnate James J. Hill fought a war against the elements, his train delayed by drifts and snowplows in a dramatic struggle that highlights the fragility of early 20th-century transit.
- An Oar Snaps, a Boat Drifts, and a Rancher Nearly Freezes to Death
Henry Schultzie left Cusick by boat, but a broken oar left him helpless in the current. The Brown brothers spotted him hours later, lying in the bottom of the boat with both feet already frozen.
- The River’s Toll on the Timber Trade
A sudden freshet on the White River washes away over 150,000 feet of logs, devastating local lumber operators and scattering timber as far as Smith’s Cove.
- The Last Voyage of a Lost Boat
A tragic discovery on Bainbridge Island confirms the worst fears regarding a missing young man.
- The South Sea Islanders at Madison Park
A massive crowd descends on Lake Washington for a spectacle of exoticized performance and aquatic skill.
- The Meteor Caught in the Gale
A local vessel breaks loose during a severe windstorm and drifts toward the bridge.
- A Boat, a Dog, and Men Hidden in the Drift Logs
Customs officers arrest two men near Point Wilson for running Chinese migrants past the restriction law—a case that exposes how exclusion was enforced on the water.
- The Last Man Left Behind
A lonely figure in Tacoma navigates a hostile city after a systemic campaign of expulsion drove his neighbors into exile.
- Native man’s accidental drowning in the Snohomish River
A local man is found drowned after his canoe was discovered drifting empty on the river.