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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 1 |
| 1895 | 6 |
| 1899 | 1 |
24 stories matching fathom
- The Salvage of the Mystic
After months submerged in the Sound, a sunken tugboat is finally coaxed from the mud.
- A New Harbor Defense for Steamboats
Seattle City Council authorizes a $3,500 investment in heavy-duty mooring buoys to manage the growing congestion of the waterfront.
- The City Council Bans Dumping at the Harbor’s Edge
Facing mounting concerns over the obstruction of commerce, Seattle’s early leadership passes a strict ordinance against dumping ship ballast into Elliott Bay.
- 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.
- The Sinking of the Underwriter
A tragic maritime accident in Port Townsend harbor leaves a local captain’s schooner at the bottom of the channel.
- The Sound’s Secret: How Deep Waters and Giant Trees Built a City
A reprinted editorial from New York reveals why Puget Sound is the 'Mediterranean of the West,' detailing its impossible depth, massive timber resources, and the strange phenomenon of forests with only small and giant trees.
- The Mail Carrier of Port Gardner Bay
A harrowing tale of survival in the winter of 1872 when the mail route between Mukilteo and Snohomish met a sudden, icy squall.
- The Strange Mystery of Eugene Semple's 'Sack'
As the senatorial deadlock in Olympia stretches on, an ex-governor arrives with rumors of a $1,000 slush fund to buy his way into office.
- The Sniper of Post Street Bridge
A prominent Seattle contractor narrowly survives a cold-blooded shooting as he walks home in the dark.
- The Salvage Ship That Came to Raise Puget Sound’s Sunken Wrecks
A new wrecking schooner arrived in Seattle with a rubber-suited diver, hydraulic jacks and a plan to lift the sunken Mississippi and Warhawk from the Sound.
- The Great Canal Dream
Proponents argue that connecting Lake Washington to the Sound would revolutionize Seattle's shipping and spare iron hulls from the ravages of salt water.
- The Pirate of Salmon Bay
A local captain confesses to scuttling his own schooner to collect insurance money, narrowly avoiding a death sentence due to a legal technicality.
- The Girl Who Ran Away: A Battle for Custody in Whatcom County
When W.M. Hart returned from British Columbia with a young girl he had sent to school, he sparked a public feud with her father, revealing the complex realities of child welfare and family law in the Pacific Northwest.
- A Timber From the Lost Collier: Wreckage of the Montserrat Comes Ashore at Cape Flattery
Six feet of painted stanchion, dragged from the sea off Tatoosh Island, convinces veteran mariners that the missing coal ship Montserrat has finally given up a piece of herself.
- The Race That Beat the Sea: How a Local Yacht Outpaced the Coast
Captain Burns’ Pacific coaster claims victory in a thrilling seven-round duel against the Dashing Wave, proving that beating to windward is what truly tells.
- The Coffin Captain: A Father, a Son, and the Wreck of the Lily and Maud
Ship carpenters warned Captain Robert Jack he was building his own coffin. Last Sunday night the frail schooner capsized in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the captain and his 23-year-old son went down with her.
- The Swindler Is Back, and He's Bought a New Suit
Fresh from Walla Walla, a confident ex-convict jokes about prison, promises diamonds, and leaves Seattle police wondering where his money comes from.
- The Night They Walked to an Indian Village: A Shipwreck Survivor’s Tale
After the steamer *Port Gordon* smashed against rocks near Destruction Island, four men survived a nightmare of broken lines and drowning comrades by building a raft from hatches—and then walking ten miles through the brush.
- The Day the Kingston Died: A Steamship Collision and the Pilot’s Tale
Pilot Gatter recounts the terrifying moments when the steamer Glenogle collided with the passenger liner Kingston in Puget Sound, sending hundreds of feet of steel into the water.
- The Ring of Corruption: How King County’s Auditor Hid the Books
A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch exposes Gardner Kellogg for refusing to explain thousands of dollars in missing county funds, accusing him of treating public office as private property.
- The Cannery Boom: Salmon, Chinamen, and the Gold Rush of the Columbia
A detailed look at the massive industrial scale of the Pacific Northwest's salmon industry in 1877, revealing the harsh labor conditions and the central role of Chinese workers.
- Whatcom's Mayor Reads the City Its Ledger—and Says the Spending Stops Now
With $147,000 in bonds, $77,000 in warrants and defaulted interest on the books, the new mayor demanded retrenchment and a return to municipal credit.
- Olympia Wakes Up: Subpoenas, Telegraph Rates and a Suffrage Amendment
The 1895 Washington legislature moved from political strife to lawmaking, passing investigative subpoena power and jury reform while introducing bills to cap telegraph tolls, save Columbia salmon and give women the vote.
- The Card Sharps Who Picked the Wrong Captain—and Sailed to Peru
Two Seattle gamblers went to Port Townsend to fleece the master of the British ship Dimsdale. He found out, shanghaied them both, and set sail for Callao.