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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 2 |
15 stories matching nigh
- The Broken Promise of the Puyallup Coal Road
A political scandal erupts as Seattle accuses an attorney of pocketing fees while failing to stop the Northern Pacific Railway from seizing massive swathes of King County land.
- The Mayor's Embarrassing Debt
Mayor Ronald finds himself in a legal and ethical bind after borrowing $1,500 from the city's disgraced, defaulting treasurer.
- The Rat That Didn't Die: A Seattle Street Performer’s Electric Shock Gambit
In a desperate bid to steal customers from a rival vendor on Commercial Street, an electricity salesman rigged a dead rat to a copper plate—only for the rodent to remain stubbornly lifeless.
- The Girl Who Ran Away: A Seattle Hotel Trap and a Lawyer’s Complicity
In May 1882, a 16-year-old runaway from the Puyallup River found herself stranded in Seattle, only to be exploited by a local attorney who deposited her stolen savings in his own name. Chief of Police Woolery intervened, recovering the funds and exposing the legal professional’s unethical conduct.
- A Terrifying Night Adrift on Puget Sound
Four men cling to the hull of an overturned boat for three hours in the frigid waters of the Sound before a daring rescue saves them from certain death.
- The Midnight Blaze That Leveled Seattle’s Largest Sawmill
A devastating fire at the Stetson & Post mill in 1885 left 40 men unemployed and destroyed a vital industrial hub, all while a night watchman pointed fingers at a scapegoated worker.
- Twenty Inches of Snow Bring Seattle to a Standstill
A February 1893 blizzard blocks streetcars, freezes water pipes and threatens a coal famine, forcing schools to close and residents to melt snow for drinking water.
- The Secret Fortune of the Bereaved Bride
A newlywed widow, grieving the loss of her husband in a tragic, rapid courtship, remains unaware of the $10,000 legacy held in her name.
- The Summer the Smoke Saved the Harvest
With rainfall a third of normal and crops burning in the fields, Seattle's paper made the case that the season's suffocating pall of forest-fire smoke had been the region's salvation.
- In the County Jail, a Prisoner Fashions His Own Rope From a Sash
Awaiting a trip to Auburn to face a murder charge, a Japanese prisoner tries to end his life with the only materials his cell allows — and is found in time.
- Seattle’s Post Office Was a Public Nuisance
Letters sat for a day, stamps ran short, and clerks were worked to exhaustion while the postmaster earned about $85 a month. In 1883, Seattle’s mail service was barely functioning.
- The Shipbuilder Who Wasn't: A Swindler’s Bogus Checks and a Wife’s Shame
Captain John E. Higgins arrives in Seattle posing as a respected Bath, Maine shipbuilder, only to be exposed by Harbor Police Officer Metzler after cashing forged checks on local merchants.
- Seattle's Nonpareils Outplay Tacoma in a Thrilling Baseball Match
The junior champions of the Northwest dominated Tacoma with professional teamwork and acrobatic fielding, thrilling a crowd at Madison Street ball park.
- The Political Cost of War
A wounded veteran discovers that his war stories are ironically costing him votes in his run for Congress.
- The Vandalism of Seattle’s Fences
An 1880 editorial decries the 'wanton vandalism' of men and boys who whittled, tore, and marked up the city’s decorative fences, signaling a growing urban friction between private pride and public mischief.