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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
28 stories matching murmur
- The Man Who Laughed Through the Flames: A Snohomish Tragedy of Love and Loss
When a gas leak ignited his home in Fruitland, Washington, Chandler Chandler didn't run for safety—he shielded his wife from the blast. His subsequent conversation with the doctor reveals a stoicism that defies belief.
- The Chehalis Inferno
A devastating blaze sweeps through four blocks of wooden buildings, leaving residents to wonder if firebugs are to blame for the city's second disaster in two months.
- The Seattle School Board Executes the High School
A legal dispute over the state constitution prompts the sudden, controversial dissolution of Seattle's only high school, leaving teachers and students adrift.
- The Warden Fights Back: Prison Labor, Jute Sacks and a Seattle Newspaper Scandal
Accused of selling prison-made sacks to middlemen and brutalizing convicts, Walla Walla’s warden answers his critics with a detailed defense—and a challenge to inspect the prison.
- A Violent Razor Attack at the Mint Saloon
An ex-convict slashes a stranger in a brutal morning dispute that echoes the volatile atmosphere of Seattle's early Pioneer Square.
- The 175-Pound Ghost That Fought Back
A skeptic grabbed a séance spirit, discovered a 175-pound man under the gauze, and touched off a fistfight in a Fremont parlor.
- The Scandal of Chief Woolery
A scathing 1885 editorial accuses Seattle's Chief of Police of protecting gambling dens and brothels while posing as a moral martyr.
- The Ghost on the Forest Trail
A lone rider’s remains, discovered near Enumclaw, spark a haunting reflection on the anonymous lives lost in the rush to settle the wild West.
- The Chinese Laborers Building Seattle’s Railroad
A reporter visits the line of the Northern Pacific railroad to find the massive, hidden workforce extending the tracks into the city.
- The Apple Trees That Sailed From England in a Sea Captain's Cabin
Seeds saved from a farewell dinner in 1833 were planted at Fort Nisqually and grew into the finest apple trees north of the Columbia. Now an editor wants Tacoma to move them to a park before the squirrels of Rosston are their only company.
- The Timber Tax Trap: How Snohomish County’s Wealth Was Slipping Away
A local writer warns that mill companies are exploiting a flawed $2.50-per-acre tax assessment to monopolize land, leaving the county with debt and no court house while small loggers go bust.
- The Dealer in the Gambling Den
In the rowdy timber town of Sedro-Woolley, the local gamblers have found a unique way to keep the peace: replacing the standard rough-hewn card shark with a captivating young woman.
- The Man Who Wanted to Go to Jail
A desperate and confused man repeatedly begged police to arrest him, only to be rebuffed by officers who had no interest in adding him to their workload.
- A Seattle Courtroom Packs for a Murder Arraignment
Henry Craemer, charged with killing Mrs. Philippine Miller and her baby Frieda, faced a crowded courtroom without counsel—and without a flicker.
- A Withdrawal, a Broken Deal, and a Senate Nominee
Levi Ankeny stepped aside, a rival bargain collapsed, and John L. Wilson rode a fifth-ballot surge to the Republican caucus nomination for U.S. senator in Olympia.
- The Valley Sixty Miles From a Railroad
In 1892, the Big Bottom settlers of Lewis County had no road, no sawmill and no rail line — just hand-hewn homes, packhorses, a tobacco-chewing cat, and a Fourth of July party for 160 neighbors.
- The Diseased-Poultry Swindle
A Yakima agricultural editor traces how sick birds moved from farmyards to city markets—and demands that the governor and legislature clean up the trade.
- The Wind That Spoke: Kennewick’s Dusty Plea for a Sprinkler Cart
A fierce Monday wind storm drove residents to subscribe to a new municipal sprinkler fund, proving that the battle against dust was won not by speeches, but by grit in the eyes.
- The Unlikely Swimmer of the San Juans
A stylish newcomer to the island society set shocks locals at the natatorium with a startling reveal about her supposed physical disability.
- The Great Hair Heist of the Commuter Train
A love-struck suitor tries to claim a souvenir from his sleeping crush, only to accidentally shear her wig instead of her locks.
- Public health conference screens thirty-eight children
Dr. Spaulding and county health officials conduct a thorough physical examination of local children at the Presbyterian church.
- The Fish That Confessed: A Sturgeon’s Warning to a Sweeping Reporter
In this bizarre piece of 1876 satire, a newspaperman encounters a talking sturgeon at the market who reveals he is a reincarnated swindler, warning the reporter that frauds become fish after death.
- The Day the 'Worst Boy' in Seattle Found His Voice
In an 1876 schoolhouse, a song about 'John Brown' acts as a social intervention to curb the disruptive behavior of a local child.
- The Great Snohomish Shake: A Tremor That Shook the Skykomish Valley
Just after midnight on Thursday, a distinct earthquake rattled Snohomish, with heavier tremors felt in Northern Montana and Idaho.
- A Final Peace: The Passing of Mrs. Smith
A poignant account of the final days and passing of a local woman, Mrs. Smith, who died surrounded by her family.
Also about this, in other words
- A Sudden End in the Aberdeen Ballroom
A prominent local businessman collapses and dies while dancing.