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38 stories matching improvis
- The Great Escape: Two Prisoners Vanish from Seattle’s Basement Jail
In a display of audacity and desperation, two men held on smuggling and liquor charges crawled through a torn-off board in a water closet to flee the U.S. Marshal’s improvised prison beneath the Clancy Building.
- Homemade Cannon Blast on Yesler Avenue
Two young boys narrowly escape death while attempting to build an improvised firework cannon on the Fourth of July.
- Fourth Suicide Reported at Steilacoom Asylum Since January
A patient at the state hospital takes his own life, marking a string of recent tragedies at the institution.
- The Janitor Who Foiled a Ten-Man Jailbreak in Ellensburg
Prisoners had almost tunneled out of the county jail when a janitor sleeping in the sheriff's office heard the scraping—and made a promise they believed.
- Forty-Three Days of Gales, Then a Jury-Rigged Schooner Limps Into Port Townsend
Sails torn to ribbons and gear twisted, the three-masted schooner Buhne makes port after a voyage that should have taken three weeks and took six.
- The Horror in Happy Valley
A husband confesses to murdering his wife and burying her remains under the roots of a stump, only to be discovered months later after tending to the site.
- Tragedy on the Wenatchee River
Two more victims succumb to injuries following the collapse of a Great Northern bridge, as details emerge of the frantic, improvised rescue efforts.
- Fatal Accident at McDonald’s Logging Camp
A swamp hook recoils, claiming the life of a Swedish laborer in the woods near Orting.
- A Woodsman's Night Terrors
A Snoqualmie man's journey home turns into a desperate flight from wildlife after his lantern fails.
- Portland Stock Buyers Head to Kennewick for Auction
General manager of the Union Stock Yards to attend first annual thoroughbred hog sale at the O-W. R. & N. depot.
- The Great Seattle Balding Summit
After the Great Fire of 1889, fifty-two insurance adjusters gathered to assess the wreckage—and accidentally became the most famous bald-headed group on the Northwest coast.
- The Great Buckley Fire Wipes Out East Main Street
A lumber town’s business district is reduced to ash after a mill fire jumps the tracks and consumes an entire city block.
- The Fishhook Baited With Human Flesh
In a Port Townsend hotel, a sailor displays the improvised wire hook that kept survivors of the wrecked whaler James Allen alive after the disaster in Bering Sea.
- A Small-Town Wage Fight Goes to Arbitration—and Both Sides Pay Half
When a Richland nursery salesman disputed his pay, the town improvised a three-man board instead of a courtroom.
- The Midnight Wait for Sunnyside Land
Homesteaders staked out a long, cold vigil at the land office, only to find the government had already cut a backroom deal.
- The Brutal Legacy of Seattle's Vigilante Justice
A citizen letter from 1894 reflects on the city's dark history of mob violence and the perceived failure of the legal system to address crime.
- The Grand Arrival of Henry Villard
A spectacular, Homeric welcome for the railroad builder that transformed the streets of Seattle into a forest-themed parade route.
- The Nimrod of Pioneer Days
A legendary deer hunter, famous for his incredible shooting, falls ill as the city remembers his frontier exploits.
- The Great Alarm Debate
Walla Walla’s City Council considers whether to invest in a modern fire alarm system or rely on an improvised network of city telephones.
- A Heroic Rescue in the Wilderness
After a tragic hunting accident, six homesteaders carry a wounded youth nine miles through sleet and snow to reach medical help.
- The Neighborhood Soldiers
A group of young boys, inspired by the fever of impending conflict, staged a march through the streets of Seattle, ending in a dangerous improvised explosion.
- When the Mill Went Dry: How a Railroad’s Pipes Put 57 Seattle Men Back to Work
Stetson & Post’s mill went dry, idling 57 workers—until a water company and a railroad improvised a pipe connection to get the saws running again.
- Point Defiance Dynamite Disaster
A workplace explosion at Point Defiance Park leaves one man dead and several others gravely injured.
- The Bathtub Comedy That Saved the Day
A struggling young couple in a Seattle play find their only salvation in a piece of furniture that isn't quite what it seems.
- The Slungshot Saloon Brawl
A scion of an ex-governor, fueled by opium and drink, faces arrest for a brazen assault in a Second Street tavern.