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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1886 | 1 |
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| 1889 | 3 |
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47 stories matching feebl
- 651 Bills, 13 Laws: Inside Olympia's Frantic Last Two Weeks
A deadlocked local-option fight, a women's eight-hour bill that ended in fisticuffs, and a marriage law barring 'drunkards' and the 'feeble-minded' — the 1909 legislature's chaotic home stretch.
- The Forgotten: Advocating for Washington Territory’s Deaf, Blind, and Feeble-Minded Children
A compelling 1885 editorial highlights the territorial government's failure to educate citizens with disabilities, framing their exclusion as both a moral failing and a future burden.
- Olympia Moves to Outlaw the Insanity Defense — and Gag the Press on Murders
With the 1909 session half gone, Washington's legislature advances local option and an anti-racetrack gambling bill, while a sweeping new criminal code would strip juries of the insanity plea and bar newspapers from covering homicides before trial.
- The Beggar’s Plea: How an Old Man’s Tears Won a Judge’s Mercy
In a touching scene at the Snohomish County Courthouse, John Burner, a destitute laborer of 73 years, pleaded guilty to grand larceny not for greed, but because his starving family had no other way to eat.
- The Trial of Judge Wickersham: A Tacoma Scandal Over Land, Lies, and 'Delirium'
In February 1889, the trial of a powerful federal judge in Tacoma exposed a web of political corruption, land fraud, and sexual scandal involving a young woman named Sadie Brantner.
- A Judge’s Crusade Against County Corruption
Whitman County Judge William McDonald issues a blistering order to the prosecutor, detailing long-standing allegations of jailhouse abuse, probate perjury, and illegal spending by commissioners.
- The Day Seattle’s Subscribers Hauled Their Newspaper Office to Safety
When a fire threatened the Seattle Star building in Pioneer Square, loyal patrons didn't just call the fire department—they grabbed chains and ropes to physically tow the structure away from the flames.
- The Siege of Third Street
When tenants refused to vacate their boarding house, a Seattle landlord responded by nailing the gates shut and mounting a guard.
- The Wealthy Tramp of the Waterfront
A disheveled rancher found sleeping on the Seattle waterfront was revealed to be carrying a small fortune, catching local police and confidence men by surprise.
- Washington Territory's Eight-Year Push for Statehood
A Senate floor speech details the eight-year struggle for Washington Territory to shed its frontier status and become a state, including the controversial proposal to annex Idaho's northern panhandle.
- A Blind Elder's Suit to Undo a Land Fraud
In 1889, Washington O-dit went to court to void a deed for 160 acres on the Ahtanum, saying it had been taken from him without his knowledge or consent.
- The Deadly Water at Clover Creek
For years, the city has ignored the dangerous, contaminated state of the municipal water supply, preferring half-measures over a permanent solution.
- Saloon Owner Attacks Longshoreman as Crowd Watches
After a longshoreman shattered a saloon mirror, proprietor Dan McNamara beat him in the street while about thirty bystanders failed to intervene.
- The Voice of the Anti-Chinese Movement
A local resident writes to the Post-Intelligencer arguing that Seattle must rid itself of Chinese labor to support the 'bone, sinew and wealth' of the white community.
- The Passing of a Puyallup Elder
Richard Tinnawali, a tribal leader who helped secure the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek, passes away at 80.
- The Disastrous Nomination of Thomas H. Brents
Local political observers condemn the Republican Party's renomination of Thomas H. Brents, calling him an embarrassment to the Territory and a 'small specimen of humanity.'
- Seattle's Fire Drill Revealed a City Almost Defenseless Against Flames
A routine test of the fire department exposed feeble water pressure and sent two firemen to bed with serious injuries.
- The Forgotten Couple of North Seattle
A tragic encounter with the city's elderly poor reveals the thin safety net for those living in isolation during the late 19th century.
- The Sailor Who Hung by His Own Neck
A seaman aboard the English ship Halewood survives a sixty-foot fall after a piece of rigging snags his throat in mid-air.
- The Humble Origins of an Orphanage in Kitsap County
Rev. I. Tollefsen shares his vision for the Martha and Mary’s Orphans’ Home, established on eight acres of land in the wilderness of Dogfish Bay.
- Holiday Travelers Stranded by Mudslides
A Great Northern train headed to Seattle was halted by a series of massive land-slides near Ballard, forcing passengers to hike five miles through mud and slush to reach the city on Christmas Eve.
- The A.P.A. and the Fight Against Religious Bigotry
A scathing editorial decries the arrival of the American Protective Association in Seattle, denouncing its anti-Catholic secret agenda as 'idiotic' and a threat to American freedom.
- The Militia Crisis in the Coal Mines
A critique of the decision to deploy state troops to handle labor disputes, accusing authorities of partisanship and mismanagement.
- Seattle's Farm Paper Says No to Paying for Portland's World's Fair
As The Oregonian promised a $100,000 state appropriation for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial, a Seattle agricultural journal argued the money would be better spent on roads and irrigation — and doubted the crowds would ever show up.
- The Pit and the Claw: A Tacoma Man’s Terrifying Tale of Surviving a Bear Attack
Larsen describes the agony of being pinned in a bear trap, his arm crushed by the beast's jaws, and his desperate fight for survival in the woods near Schomaker.