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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1917 | 1 |
36 stories matching harden
- Sheriff and Editor Clash in Spokane
An intoxicated Sheriff and a local editor settle a long-standing journalistic feud with revolvers in downtown Spokane.
- The Lonely Life of the Seattle Bachelor
A local writer laments the lack of respectable social outlets for unmarried men, arguing that the city’s saloons and variety shows offer nothing but 'hardening influences.'
- The Newport Hardware Man Who Went Through Johnstown — and Kept the River Mud to Prove It
In his store window, E. E. Reid displays a gilded St. George torn from a clock and a rocking chair pulled from the 1889 Johnstown flood — silt still hardened in the crevices — and jokes that he is still selling hardware because the flood only went through him, not over him.
- Rising from the Ashes: The Great Seattle Fire of 1888
While the downtown core smoldered, Seattle citizens gathered in the courthouse—lit by tallow dips—to demand a modern city of brick and stone, rejecting makeshift wooden shacks and dreaming of a reconstructed metropolis.
- A Grand Jury’s Grim Look at Seattle’s Jail
A scathing report from 1888 slams local conditions for youth and calls for urgent reform, while calling out industrial pollution in the Cedar River.
- Minors Found Inside Tacoma’s Notorious 'Vile Resorts'
A legal battle to shutter saloons and dance halls reveals that children were regularly witnessing and participating in the city's 'wide open' nightlife.
- Justice in the Opera House Block
After years of whispers about corruption and bribe-taking on the Board, a juror finally delivers a verdict that sends a local official to prison, signaling a rare victory against civic graft.
- The General Who Laid Out Tacoma
Maj. Gen. John W. Sprague—Northern Pacific superintendent, Tacoma's first mayor and a founder of its bank and chamber—died at 74, leaving a city he helped place on the map.
- The Shame of the King County Jail
A scathing report from a grand jury reveals a 'standing disgrace' where prisoners are packed into windowless cells and the county government operates in squalid, cramped quarters.
- Canoeing the Queets: Promise and Dispossession on the Olympic Peninsula
An 1892 travelogue celebrates homesteaders in the Queets River valley while arguing that Native hunters should be confined to the reservation.
- A Runaway Wife Returns to View the Husband Who Died Searching for Her
Anna M. Nelson had hidden herself from an unhappy marriage. When Andrew P. Nelson died looking for her, she came back to Tacoma—exhausted, unmoved, and willing to explain.
- Life on the Edge of the World: A Dispatch from Tatoosh Island
A rare 1861 account of the desolate, storm-battered lives of lighthouse keepers and their interactions with the Makah people at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- A Desperate Act and a Hardened Response
Thomas Witt swallowed bichloride of mercury, was revived at an Eagle pharmacy, and jailed for disorderly conduct.
- The Brooklyn Plague: A Satirical Warning Against the 'Fanaticism' of Moody and Sankey
A local correspondent in Snohomish mocks the recent evangelistic crusade of Rev. D.L. Moody and singer R.A. Sankey, comparing their emotional preaching to a contagious disease and jokingly inviting missionaries to relocate to Washington Territory.
- The Man Who Couldn't Sleep: A Murderer's Five-Year Nightmare Ends in Seattle
William Devitt, a fugitive from a Pennsylvania railroad murder, surrenders to Seattle police after five years of wandering the South, claiming his conscience has finally caught up with him.
- Troops on the Coal Line: Roslyn's Strike Hardens
Federal troops move toward Roslyn as the coal company prepares to import strikebreakers, and miners weigh whether to trust organizer Norton.
- The Supper That Nearly Killed J. R. Schnebley
A Garfield County farmer came close to dying before he took the hint. Now his wife and a neighbor are in the Pomeroy jail, charged with feeding him strychnine.
- Olympia’s Booster Year: Brick, Bridges and a 50,000-Person Promise
As 1891 closed, the capital city counted $3 million in new buildings, a record bridge, electric lights and new rail lines — and predicted 50,000 residents within a decade.
- The Perilous Life of a High-Flying Acrobat
An aerial gymnast recounts the brutal physical toll, the thrill of the heights, and the changing landscape of show business in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Myth of the 'Hardened' Justice System
An 1892 editorial in the Post-Intelligencer argues against the notion that courts favor the wealthy, using the lengthy murder trial of Albert Friederich as proof that the poor received 'full protection' from the law.
- The Customs Inspector Who Planned to Print His Own Money
A Port Townsend official's plaster-of-Paris counterfeiting scheme unraveled after his mistress went to police — then he caught a midnight boat for Victoria.
- The Trial of the Torture Chamber Dentist
A Seattle woman takes her dentist to court, claiming his efforts to fit a set of false teeth were physically abusive and useless.
- The Hardened Life of Alaska Scout Jack Dalton
The storied frontiersman, known for guiding famous explorers and surviving bloody business feuds, reflects on his violent history in the North.
- The Captain's Final Voyage
A maritime tragedy in Seattle, as a hardened ship captain finds faith and a peaceful end following the sudden, harrowing loss of his wife.
- The Siege of the Waterfront Hoodlums
A wave of unprovoked violence by organized gangs of youths in Seattle reaches a breaking point when a young girl is struck by a thrown stone.
Also about this, in other words
- The 'Grafter' of Seattle
A man’s admission of his profession in court highlights the early Seattle obsession with the city’s burgeoning reputation for civic corruption.
- A Night at Turner Hall
Seattle’s athletic set gathers at Turner Hall for an exhibition match featuring lightweight pugilist Dal Hawkins.
- A Sidewalk Brawl on Front Street
George Brackett and Capt. J. H. Bryant brawled on Front Street, traded throws, and were arrested.
- A City Councilman Fights Back After Late-Night Arrest
Alderman Dr. J. Eugene Jordan demands that his colleagues condemn the ‘un-American’ manner of his recent police apprehension.
- Assault Reported in Rose Street Alley
A member of the Ninth Cavalry is in jail following an attack on a woman residing in the Rose Street alleyway.
- The Battle for the City Pound
Newly elected poundmaster E. R. Harding faces a standoff as the incumbent refuses to surrender the keys, sparking a brewing council crisis.
- A Brutal Encounter at the Waterfront
A Seattle harbor dispute spirals into a violent assault, leaving a man fighting for his life.
- Domestic Dispute Leads to Arrest in Richland
A man faces jail time after allegedly threatening his wife with a firearm during a domestic dispute.