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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1876 | 6 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 9 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 6 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1915 | 1 |
78 stories matching mortal
- The Cripple’s Revenge at Port Gamble
After enduring a vicious beating by a mill-hand at a Port Gamble mill, a worker with a disabled arm exacted a bloody retribution.
- The Prickly Pear That Changed a Life: How a Boy’s Prank in Iowa Sent Him to Seattle
A local resident reveals the bizarre chain of events that led him from an Iowa farm to the Pacific Northwest, starting with a screwdriver and a pair of boots.
- The Pacific Coast Mourns a Fallen Hero
General Lander's death, linked to his mortal wound at Ball's Bluff, stirs deep regret across the Pacific Northwest.
- The Hidden Costs of Industrial Labor
A national health report links high mortality rates in the 'dusty trades' to tuberculosis, fueling labor's push for safer conditions.
- The Healthiest Spot in the Union
In 1884, a physician made the case that Seattle’s mild, stable climate made it a medical anomaly—a city where typhoid was rare and death rates were the envy of the nation.
- The Brutal Statistics of Poverty in 1880
A report in the Seattle Daily Intelligence uses cold, hard data to argue that the 'reproduction of capital'—human life—is threatened by the crushing weight of poverty and labor conditions.
- 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.
- Sheriff Solves 1892 Mercer Island Cabin Murder
After the mutilated body of George Richards washed ashore, a confession from an accomplice revealed a desperate struggle and a grisly disposal in Lake Washington.
- A Yakama Chief Falls as the Territory's Indian War Ends
Col. Wright's campaign is declared over; Owhi is shot near the Snake River, and the Herald celebrates executions and hostages as peace.
- Death Reared Its Horrid Head: Steam Heater Explosion Kills Two Men in Downtown Seattle
A careless Japanese fireman left a boiler unattended at Second and Washington, causing a catastrophic explosion that killed one man instantly and mortally wounded another.
- The Hangman's Verdict: John Thompson Convicted of Murder in Snohomish
A trial that captivated the entire Territory ends with a death sentence for a man accused of killing his friend during a drunken brawl over a card game.
- A Funeral Crowd Calls for a Killer's Neck
Thousands filed past the bodies of Philipina Miller and her child as Seattle police rushed the accused murderer to the county jail to stop a lynching.
- A Dismissed Complaint, Then a Woodshed Ambush in Tacoma
Maggie Kornder had charged Mike Pfeifle with threatening her. A judge let the case go; days later, the rejected suitor hid in her employer's woodshed and shot her before turning the gun on himself.
- The Captain Who Died for His Flag
A Seattle lawyer’s final wish—to be killed in battle while holding the American flag—was tragically fulfilled in Manila, casting a storm over the local community.
- The Unsung Tragedy of the Central Office
When the Chief Justice of the Washington Territory fell mortally ill in Seattle, a critical delay in emergency medical aid—caused by a lethargic telephone operator—sealed his fate.
- The Labor Volcano That Cooled: Seattle’s Coal Strike Ends in Days
A walkout by the Knights of Labor at Newcastle and other local mines appeared to be a major escalation, but operators quickly filled the spots with non-union labor, ending the dispute before it could spark a general strike.
- The Mine That Became a Battlefield
A company manager defends his decision to arm guards against striking miners in Newcastle, claiming the 'faction fight' between labor unions left him no choice but to protect his property.
- Fatal Brawl in the Mining Town of Gilman
A blacksmith is in custody after a deadly encounter outside a hotel leaves one man dead.
- The Railway King’s Promise to Seattle
Henry Villard addresses Seattle’s future, confirming the construction of a rail line to Cedar Valley and defending the necessity of a 'benevolent monopoly.'
- Wild Goose Bill Dies in the Doorway of the Hollis King Ranch
The squatter who founded the town of Wilbur came to the King ranch with a six-shooter, shot the woman who had left him, and was killed by the dying man who shot back.
- Fatal Ambush on the Northern Pacific
A railroader and a brakeman are gunned down in a mid-transit robbery that leaves investigators baffled.
- The Death Rate Was Up. The Health Officer Blamed the Syringe.
In 1891 Olympia's health officer reported an unprecedented mortality spike—and pointed to morphine and cocaine injections, with young women said to be using them 'just for fun.'
- The Orphan’s Plea: A Poem That Moved Seattle to Tears on Decoration Day
As the city honored Civil War dead with solemn processions and speeches, a young girl’s grief over her father’s unmarked grave brought the Grand Marshal to tears.
- Billy Fife: Self-Taught Caricaturist of Frontier Seattle
A biography of Billy Fife, a sailor and self-taught caricaturist whose sharp wit and rare artistic skill captured Seattle's frontier life.
- The Beating of Henry Brown: A Runaway Elevator Boy and a Family's Violent Secret
A 14-year-old black elevator operator flees his home after a savage whipping by his father, revealing a tangled story of poverty, pride, and punishment in 1894 Seattle.
Also about this, in other words
- The Man Who Claims He Stays Young by Being Buried Alive
Alexander J. McIvor Tyndall, a traveling mystic, shares his peculiar method for achieving eternal youth and his request that doctors not perform an autopsy if he stops breathing.
- The Man Who Wouldn't Die: A Suicide Attempt in Olympia
In a grim display of resilience, a man named June Hickey survived a lethal dose of antimony in an Olympia hotel last week, defying the finality of his own design.
- The Case for Naming an Olympia Street After Judge Hewitt
A memorial sermon for a territorial judge becomes a plea to carve his name into Olympia's street map—and a meditation on what makes a public life worth remembering.
- A Body in the Bay
A unidentified man is found dead in the waters near Yesler's wharf, bearing marks of a violent end.
- The Snohomish Afterlife: A Spiritualist Joke
In an 1878 newspaper, a medium's séance takes a darkly humorous turn when a grieving widow asks her late husband if he is in heaven.
- The Stranger Who Cheated Fate
A high-stakes gambling dispute near Cathcart leads to a harrowing encounter with frontier justice.
- A Desperate Act at Chimacum
A local laborer, facing destitution, ends his life in a violent explosion that rocks a small settlement.
- The Match That Killed: A Seattle Woman’s Desperate End
Maggie Borchers, 30, died in agony after ingesting sulfur matches because her family had locked away all other means of suicide.