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243 stories matching drunk
- The Drunk Who Paid the Price: Jessie Johnson’s Fine in Early Wenatchee
A local woman is fined $10 and costs for being drunk and disorderly on the streets last Friday night.
- A Plea for the Drowned Soldiers
A survivor of a tragic drowning incident at Fort Townsend writes to defend the character of his fallen comrades against charges of intoxication.
- Yakima Jail Overflowing with 'Drunk and Disorderlies'
A frustrated prisoner asks a pointed question as the city lock-up fills up with residents.
- The Drunk, The Lecturer, and The Law in Walla Walla
A local drinker makes a fool of a traveling quack in a public square, leading to a trial that turns into a town comedy.
- The Philosophy of a Drunk-Roller
A notorious criminal known for robbing intoxicated men in the basement of the Albion block receives a harsh sentence after a blunt admission in court.
- Main Street Gunplay Leads to Jail Time
A night of drinking in Walla Walla ends in arrests and fines for two local men.
- The Cigar Drunkards of Seattle
In 1877, police were baffled by a new phenomenon: Native Americans getting intoxicated not from liquor, but from smoking cigars. As the city grappled with enforcement of temperance laws, this bizarre loophole left officers scratching their heads and citizens demanding new legislation.
- Intoxicated Burglars Stumble into Police Trap
Three men broke into the Louvre saloon, couldn't find the cash, and ended up getting arrested after getting drunk on the stolen goods.
- The Jailhouse Scuffle
A drunken brawl in a jail cell turns into a messy confrontation between a prisoner and the jailer.
- The Price of a Drunkard’s Grave
A teenage boy is fined for public intoxication, sparking an editorial demand to hold the 'Blue Front' saloon owner accountable for serving minors.
- A Road Through the Barn: Drunk Commissioners and a Judge's Rebuke
A Snohomish County road crew moves to cut a highway through T. Larson's house and barn; testimony says two commissioners were too drunk to inspect the route.
- The Judge and the Philosopher in the Tank
A local drunk arrested for public intoxication offers a colorful, philosophical defense to the judge, arguing that his lifestyle is a necessary pillar of the city's economy.
- The Great Pigeon Whiskey Heist
A Seattle police officer's bungled attempt to intoxicate local church pigeons ends in his own humiliation.
- The Mysterious Death of a Traveling Book Agent
After M.T. Connellan, a well-dressed encyclopedia salesman, was found dead on a hotel floor, the man who brought him there was arrested, leaving Seattle to wonder about a life of secrets.
- The Longshoremen’s Riot: How a Watch Theft Sparked a Street Brawl in Pioneer Square
When a dockworker was arrested for stealing a gold watch from a drunk patron, his fellow laborers turned the courtroom into a battleground, forcing the justice to flee and the city to confront its own violent underbelly.
- The Tragic Final Wages of John Smith
A deckhand on the steamer 'McNaught' met a mysterious and lonely end on the Seattle waterfront, leaving behind nothing but a tragic search for dignity.
- A Smuggler’s Brassy Boast at the Custom House
A smuggler brazenly enters the Seattle Custom House while intoxicated, bragging to officials about moving people into the country illegally.
- The Great Jailhouse Swap
A bungling jailer manages to swap a suspected burglar with a drunk man, allowing the suspect to pay a fine and walk free while the wrong man sits behind bars.
- A Drunk Man Mistakes a Stranger for a Burglar—and Lands in a Slander Suit
After his house was broken into, Capt. Peter Jensen drowned his sorrows, spotted Henry Wolfe on Front Street and accused him of the burglary. Wolfe knocked him down; now a jury weighs the wreckage.
- A Newport Barber Walks Free After a Seattle Manslaughter Trial
Frank Poquette's six-hour jury deliberation ended in acquittal, with the defense insisting William King fell drunk on the pavement.
- The Shipwreck Scandal
A bitter public dispute erupts after shipwrecked survivors allege cruel neglect by a Seattle hotel, while locals claim the couple were rowdy drunks.
- A Rough Night in the Tenderloin
A Skagit man's night out in Seattle ends in a police cell after he attempts to force a young girl to accompany him.
- The Chief Says the Victims Were Drunk
Two men said they were robbed and ignored by Seattle police. Chief Enright answered with a saloon-to-alley account of drink, deeds, and a woman called 'Big Six.'
- The Tugboat Race to a Distant Sail
Off Cape Flattery, crews raced rivals for incoming ships and went months without seeing home — while rum-drunk gulls kept them company.
- The Judge Who Was Only 'Sober as a Judge'
A legendary anecdote from the Seattle police court where a witness’s inadvertent insult revealed the bench's own notorious reputation for intoxication.
Also about this, in other words
- The Anatomy of a 'Drunk' in 1883
A local observer breaks down the social mechanics of the saloon-crawl, from the first casual invitation to the inevitable collapse on the floor.
- The Drunken Gentleman of Commercial Street
A tipsy passenger’s chaotic attempt to board a streetcar and his subsequent social performance in 1877 Seattle.
- Twelve Days in Jail for a Drunken Woman—and the Men Who Walked Free
A Port Townsend letter protests a double standard after a woman is locked up for disorderly drinking while the town's inebriated men go unpunished.
- The Doctor Who Walked Among Us: A Case of Acute Alcoholism
In a rare moment of public health transparency, the Snohomish Star details the physiological dangers of heavy drinking, warning that moderate consumption can turn a man into a 'walking dynamite' ready to explode at the sight of a candle.
- The Drunken Rampage at the Marshall Block
A rowdy disturbance on Commercial Street lands a man in the custody of the law after a destructive tavern brawl.
- The Drunken Lawyer Who Kept Coming Home to Jail
Ross Hogan paraded Second Street with a tattered parasol, asked strangers for birthday quarters, and spent his mother's train fare on whisky.
- The Drunken Sailor's Plunge
Two reporters witness the same chaotic scene at Yesler's Wharf.
- The Drunken Voter and the Drain: Seattle’s 1876 Election Reform Ideas
While the 1876 presidential election left the nation in suspense, the local Seattle press used the quiet polling day to propose strict new moral and administrative reforms for the growing town.