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32 stories matching laps
- The Political Insurgency Against Congressman Wilson
A grassroots push among Spokane and Yakima Republicans seeks to unseat the incumbent congressman, branding his tenure a failure of representation.
- A Dispatcher's 'Lap Order' Sent Two Freight Trains Head-On Near Orting
A single mistake on a foggy single-track line killed engineer Louis U. Harmon and critically injured fireman Edward F. Martin—and left the dispatcher waiting helplessly for the crash.
- The Weight of Little Things
A century and a half ago, a Seattle writer mused on how the smallest details of life—a penny, a word, a drop of water—shape our massive, often overwhelming destinies.
- The Cross-Cascades Trade War
Seattle and Portland merchants battle for control over inland freight routes to the Yakima Valley.
- The Myth of Easy Prosperity
A Northern Pacific railroad superintendent tells local business leaders that a geographic location on the Columbia is useless without the infrastructure to back it up.
- The Seduction Trial of J. D. Stryker
A teenage girl testifies in a high-profile courtroom drama that captivated Tacoma.
- Disaster Strikes Spokane Falls Again
Mayor R.K. Nichols of North Yakima reaches out as news of a second major fire catastrophe hits Spokane.
- A Lonely Death in a Seattle Rooming House
A woman living in poverty is found dead in a prayerful posture, leaving behind only a small dog and unpaid rent.
- A Tragic Accident in the Solduck Valley
A mother and child were severely scalded after a household accident involving a stove and a boiling kettle.
- The Wolf-Dog of the Grande Ronde
A ranger’s loyal pet answers the call of the wild, but gives his life to defend his master against his own pack.
- The Secrets of Seattle’s Beauty Parlors
Behind the storefronts of 1889 Seattle, women entrepreneurs were building empires of vanity and wellness, one manicure at a time.
- The Redemption of a Drunkard
A harrowing night of domestic violence and neglect ends a decade later in an unexpected act of grace.
- The Tragedy at the Smith Home
A domestic accident in 1885 leads to the sudden, accidental death of a young mother in her bedroom.
- City Council Prepares to Give Away Valuable Tideflat Land
Tacoma officials are poised to hand over prime waterfront property to the Great Northern Railway without demanding fair concessions or adequate infrastructure in return.
- Two Trains Met at McMillan Station. A Jury Blamed One Man at a Telegraph Key.
A coal train and a shingle train collided on the Northern Pacific near McMillan, killing trainman Louis Harmon. The coroner's jury ruled the death criminal negligence — charged not to the railroad's schedules, but to dispatcher F. S. Rawlins, who had been running a post-strike backlog.
- The Struggle for an Inland Route
Olympia’s leadership frets that without a wagon road over the Cascades, the capital city risks losing its status to the burgeoning trade of the Upper Columbia.
- The Thief Who Stopped for a Drink
A theft at a Cosmopolis mess house led to a pursuit across Grays Harbor and an unusual roadside discovery.
- The Coal That Wasn't: A Town’s Brief Hope for a Mining Bonanza
A newcomer to Seattle claims to have found a vein of coal in the hills, sparking local excitement before the details vanish into silence.
- The Saloonkeeper Who Struck It Rich
Before becoming a California mining titan, John Mackay kept a humble saloon on the corner of 12th and Main in Seattle.
- A Seattle Divorce Trial Turned a Woman’s Private Life Into a Public Spectacle
Mrs. Steel spent hours on the stand denying adultery with Mr. Dugan, while a Black witness’s testimony exposed the racial boundaries of respectable Seattle.
- The Nez Perce Spend Their Windfall
After receiving a large payment, the Nez Perce people arrived in Farmington to trade, filling the town with new buggies, blankets, and curiosity.
- The Governor’s Violin Fell Silent at the Bohemian Club
Charles B. Laughton—former acting governor, lawyer, and celebrated fiddler—died mid-sentence in Tacoma after a legislative session, leaving behind a career tangled in vetoes and a school-book scandal.
- The Kidnapping of the Kerr Children: A Seattle Scandal of Custody and Class
In July 1888, Chief Justice Jones presided over a dramatic habeas corpus hearing regarding two young girls seized from an orphanage by their father and his new lover, sparking a public debate over morality, custody rights, and the fate of vulnerable children.
- 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.
- Three Drowned in the Columbia's Whirlpool
A Seattle official watched a small boat capsize near the mouth of the Methow, drowning two men and a woman in the roiling current.