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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1883 | 6 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 8 |
| 1894 | 6 |
| 1895 | 10 |
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| 1903 | 8 |
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| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 5 |
| 1914 | 3 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1923 | 1 |
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98 stories matching keen
- The Man Who Bought His Own Death
In a Seattle saloon in 1877, a gambler named 'Hilly Hacker' was challenged by a stranger with a shotgun. Hacker’s response? He bet the man $50 that he could buy him 20,000 shares of stock at a higher price before the market opened—proving his nerve was stronger than any weapon.
- A Web of Extortion in Seattle
A defense attorney alleges police and lawyers conspired to coerce a fourteen-year-old girl into testifying against her own stepfather.
- The Night Olympia Went to War — and Nobody Shed a Drop of Blood
A touring tragedian closes his engagement with six acts of Shakespearean murder, and the army court-martial in town turns out in force to watch.
- The Drunken Theft at the Cadwell Building
A laborer finds his sobriety and his money have both vanished in a late-night scuffle.
- The Commissioner Battle Finally Settled
After an election victory and months of legal maneuvering, C. E. DeBow prepares to take his seat as County Commissioner despite an appeal.
- A Packed House Watches a Dying Cardinal Bring Down the Curse of Rome
Touring tragedian Keene fills the Olympia Theater with Bulwer's 'Richelieu' — and promises Shakespeare's Richard III for tonight, with 'but a few seats left.'
- The Hay Thief, the Bathtub, and the Shotgun Out of Repair
A Westside barn alarm turns into a comic opera of nightshirts, a borrowed shotgun and one stolen bale of hay.
- The Ground Under Rainier Addition: A Seven-Year Title Fight Ends—for Now
After three trials and repeated reversals, Henry S. Alger is declared owner of a tract already platted into lots and improved by buyers who trusted the Hill title.
- The Banker Who Steered Newport Through the Panic of 1907
G. S. Thomas founded Newport's first bank, helped bring the city its water system, and died after guiding the institution through the financial stringency of November 1907.
- Tragedy Strikes on the Seattle Stage
A classic production of Romeo and Juliet takes a gruesome turn when a sword thrust during a duel leaves a performer blind.
- The Peril of Industrial Workspace
A laborer files a $5,000 lawsuit after a workplace injury highlights the dangerous conditions in a local lumber mill.
- The Great Seattle Rebuild: How the 1889 Fire Transformed the City
In the chaotic days following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city raced to replace charred ruins with brick, while grappling with the ethical dilemma of redirecting disaster relief funds intended for distant cities.
- The Violent Expulsion of Seattle's Chinese Community
In November 1885, following the forced removal of Chinese residents in Tacoma, a tense public meeting at the Seattle Opera House debated the 'Chinese Question' while labor leaders and city elites sought to avoid the bloodshed that defined neighboring towns.
- A Mountain of Coffins: Franklin Buries Its Miners
After a mine fire killed 37 men, the coal town of Franklin held a day of funerals—five graves at Black Diamond, three Italian miners on a hillside, and widows whose grief doctors feared would kill them.
- A Circular Saw Opened His Skull—and He Stayed Conscious
At the Stetson Post Mill on Commercial Street, engineer Horatio Stetson crawled under a rip-saw table to fix a belt. The saw caught his head, cutting through bone and into his brain, yet he never lost consciousness.
- A City Turns Out for Its Dead: Seattle's Memorial Day, 1895
Three hundred and five veterans, three militia companies, high-school cadets and a twelve-foot column of flowers marched Front Street and filled the Seattle Theater — while the Board of Health kept the schoolchildren from singing.
- Quarantined Residents Left Without Food in Seattle
Thirty people trapped inside the St. Denis hotel by a smallpox order face city bureaucracy and hunger.
- The Stranger at the Oriental Hotel
A local man's keen instincts and a sharp-eyed witness led to the capture of a fugitive murderer hiding in plain sight in a Seattle rooming house.
- Seattle Bids Farewell to Its Founding Father
As Henry Yesler, the man who built the city's first sawmill, is laid to rest, Princess Angeline and the city's pioneers reflect on the rapid transformation of their frontier home.
- The Wife's Side of the Story
A woman arrested for adultery in Olympia tells a harrowing tale of abandonment, abuse, and survival in the Washington Territory.
- The Mysterious Death of Abe Gross
A 28-year-old Tacoma dry-goods partner was found shot through the mouth in his bed. His brother's grief, a coroner's open verdict, and a city's disbelief turned a private tragedy into a public mystery.
- Orchard Owners Stunned by Federal Loan Ruling
A new appraisal standard effectively excludes orchardists from the benefits of the farm loan act, threatening the stability of Yakima Valley agriculture.
- Ballard’s Political Feud
A bitter public dispute erupts between a former treasurer and a local editor, trading accusations of criminal fraud and libel.
- A Former County Commissioner's Despair Ends in an Old Tacoma Room
Charles T. Fay, a well-known Steilacoom settler and ex-county commissioner, shot himself after financial worries and an election defeat.
- The Church Fair Scandal: When Seattle’s Clergy Played Prank on a Congregation
A reverend and his colleagues turned a charity fundraiser into an elaborate joke, dressing two women in 'shabbily' clothes to perform a 'Irish spectacle'—only for the punchline to backfire spectacularly.
Also about this, in other words
- A Skagit Valley Farmer’s Ruin
After the dikes failed, a prosperous farm on Skagit Island was reduced to 10 percent of its value, with the farmer pinning the blame on timber booms.
- 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 High-Stakes Footrace Challenge
Two rivals trade insults and deposit cash wagers for a sprint contest to determine the 'fastest man on the Sound.'
- The Last-Minute Change of Heart
After securing a ranch management position in California, a local resident abruptly cancels his move and his auction sale, deciding Kennewick looks 'awful good' after all.
- The First Speeding Ticket in Kennewick
A local delivery driver learns the hard way that the city's new traffic ordinance has teeth.
- A Bitter Business Rivalry Ends in Court
An accusation of boat theft between former business partners in Whatcom reveals a long-standing feud and allegations of 'cinching'.
- The Poundmaster Farce
The city council’s chaotic attempts to replace the poundmaster result in a legal stalemate.
- The 'Seedy' Runner Who Was More Than He Seemed
A stranger arriving in Seattle claimed ignorance of foot-racing rules, only to reveal himself as a skilled athlete in disguise.