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1. Ten Gales, Three Lost Schooners, and a Widow Who Wasn't

   A Seattle seal hunter back from eight months in the North Pacific describes a season that swallowed whole crews — and explains why he'd rather kill seals with a spear than a gun.

   Sep 13, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

2. A Held-Up Housewarming

   A friendship turns sour when a woman allegedly uses a revolver to reclaim jewelry and clothing from a neighbor.

   Feb 6, 1909The Tacoma Times1248 South D Street, Tacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

3. An Ambush in the White River Valley

   A local store owner and his daughter narrowly escape a violent attack by three assailants.

   Mar 26, 1886Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerKent, King CountyExclusion & Resistance · True Crime

4. 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.

   Sep 4, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerQueets, Grays Harbor CountyExclusion & Resistance

5. Tragedy at the Crossing

   A Grant County sheep rancher and his wife are struck by a Great Northern train near Ephrata in a harrowing vehicle collision.

   Jul 28, 1916Coulee City DispatchEphrata, Grant CountyDisasters

6. The 'Pistol-Packin' Girl' of Seattle's Waterfront

   A rowdy encounter on the Seattle waterfront leaves a man stunned after a local girl pulls a pistol on him—and fires.

   Jan 17, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle Waterfront, Seattle, King CountyNightlife

7. Pheasant Hunters Ravage Local Farms

   Ranchers and farmers in the valley are threatening to close their land to public hunting after a wave of vandalism during the opening of pheasant season.

   Oct 4, 1917The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton County

8. The Snow Drove Twenty Elk to the Beach. A Hunter Killed Them All.

   Near Brinnon, settlers formed a vigilance committee after an unknown hunter slaughtered a snowbound herd—and then burned his cabin.

   Jan 4, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerHood Canal, BrinnonTrue Crime

9. A Grim Discovery in the Woods

   Hunters find an unidentified, decomposing body in a secluded ravine near Smith's Cove with a razor in hand.

   Feb 20, 1891The Seattle Post-IntelligencerButler Block, Seattle, King CountyTrue Crime

10. The Orcas Island Poaching War

    Island residents are taking a stand against commercial hunters who are stripping the local deer population bare without contributing to the community.

    Sep 15, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerOrcas Island, San Juan CountyFollow the Money

11. The Great Hunter’s License Fiasco

    A Spokane judge strikes down a state hunting law, labeling it a 'fearful and wonderful piece of work' riddled with drafting errors.

    Sep 5, 1903The Evening StatesmanSpokane, Spokane CountyCity Hall · Strange But True

12. Survival in the Wynoochee Snow

    Four hunters face starvation in the mountain snow, surviving for a month on nothing but elk and eagle meat.

    Mar 16, 1893Aberdeen HeraldWynoochee River, Grays Harbor CountyStrange But True

13. Search Party Sent for Two Missing Hunters

    A hunting trip to the mountains near Tucannon turns into a desperate search for two missing young men.

    Dec 26, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTucannon, Columbia CountyTrue Crime

14. A Hunter's Bear Hug Nearly Becomes His Last

    Adam Mechling shot at what he took for a fawn in the Skagit County woods and found himself beneath a 300-pound she bear.

    Aug 17, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerHamilton, Skagit CountyStrange But True

15. The Hunter and the Cougars

    A Skagit County hunter recounts a harrowing, split-second encounter with a pack of cougars while stalking deer in the snow.

    Feb 13, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerBurlington, Skagit CountyStrange But True

16. The Cleopatra's Big Game Expedition

    Twenty members of an Illinois hunting club trekked into the Northwest to bag grizzly, goat, and caribou, leaving a trail of exhausted guides and provincial legal trouble behind them.

    Oct 2, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

17. The Deadly Perils of Amateur Hunting

    A satirical warning about the 'sporting' men of the Pacific Northwest who, in their eagerness to bag big game, frequently mistake their own relatives for deer.

    Jul 31, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerLopez Island, San Juan CountyStrange But True

18. A Close Call on the Grant Street Bridge

    A real estate agent’s commute turned chaotic when local duck hunters accidentally peppered his horse with birdshot.

    Aug 29, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerGrant Street, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

19. The Unsung Heroes of the Fidalgo Island Orchard

    A local farmer fights back against hunters, arguing that quail are essential allies against cutworms and pests.

    Oct 11, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerFidalgo Island, Anacortes, Skagit CountyStrange But True

20. The Great Hoquiam Bear Hunt

    A group of local hunters brings home a bear, but nobody can agree on who actually landed the shot.

    Jul 30, 1891Aberdeen HeraldHoquiam, Grays Harbor CountyStrange But True

21. The Dueling Tomcats: A Hunter’s Tale of Feline Fury in Spring Brook

    A local hunter witnesses a violent territorial battle between two male wildcats, fought over the affections of a female observer, before intervening with his shotgun.

    Mar 5, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSpring Brook, King CountyStrange But True

22. The Ghostly Harvest of the North Pacific

    A brutal accounting of how 19th-century pelagic sealers, operating out of Washington ports, pushed a species to the brink of extinction through industrial-scale slaughter.

    Apr 3, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerNeah Bay, Clallam CountyFollow the Money

23. The Courthouse War

    A fierce battle between a judge and county officials leads to a standoff, a jail sentence, and a wild threat to tear down the jailhouse to free the prisoner.

    Jun 18, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerChehalis, Lewis CountyCity Hall

24. The Makah Nation’s Fleet Challenges the Seal Hunters

    With firearms banned, the Makah sealers of Neah Bay turn to traditional hunting methods, outmaneuvering white commercial competitors.

    Dec 13, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerNeah Bay, Neah Bay, Clallam CountyExclusion & Resistance

25. Sheriff Blocks 28 Miners From Landing — a Newspaper Calls Out the 'Chronic Pauper Hunter'

    In 1877, a steamboat captain brought 28 out-of-work miners from Victoria to Port Townsend. The sheriff said they were paupers and refused to let them off the boat. This Seattle editor wasn't having it.

    Mar 31, 1877Puget Sound DispatchPort Townsend, Jefferson CountyWork & Pay

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