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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 1 |
15 stories matching pal
- The Lock and the Bunko Men: How Two Hop Pickers Turned the Tables on a Seattle Con Artist
Richard Sullivan, a bunko man with a Tacoma headquarters, was convicted of petty larceny after swindling two Indian boys on the City dock.
- The Snake in the Parlor: How Two Con Artists Drained an Elderly Man Dry
In May 1877, John Dowd and his accomplice targeted a respected Seattle citizen with a fake land deal, winning his trust before stealing his watch, cash, and dignity at a local saloon.
- The Paid Informer of Seattle
Seattle Police Chief Sullivan faces scrutiny after admitting to employing a convicted career burglar as a paid police informant.
- The Paper War: How Seattle’s ‘Public Thieves’ Exposed a Corrupt Ring
In 1872, the *Puguet Sound Dispatch* accused local officials and the rival *Intelligencer* of extorting taxpayers through inflated advertising rates for tax sales, framing it as a 'Tammany ring' stealing from the public.
- A Convict Killed a Fellow Prisoner. Could He Be Tried While Already Serving Twenty Years?
The killing of Reif by convict Hoyt at Walla Walla set off a legal puzzle: whether a prisoner already serving a murder term could face another trial — and whether the governor could suspend his sentence to allow it.
- The Desperate Foraging of the Waterfront Four
When four men living in an abandoned Seattle shack ran out of supplies, they launched a clumsy, doomed heist—leading to a quick sentence and a warm bed behind bars.
- The Underworld Abduction of Norma Hoyt
A sixteen-year-old girl is recovered from Vancouver, B.C., after being lured away by local underworld figures, sparking a looming legal battle.
- A Thief’s Tall Tale in Court
Charles Stevens offered a creative defense after being caught ransacking a room at a prominent Seattle lodging house.
- The Hunt for the Abductor
A Tacoma girl is recovered from Vancouver after being enticed away by local underworld figures.
- The Unruly Everett Jail Riot
A rowdy group of local troublemakers battered their way into the Everett jail to liberate an associate, leaving the facility in shambles.
- A Denial and a Threat: W. H. Evring Fires Back at Murder Plot Accusations
Accused of plotting to kill a ship captain, Whatcom businessman W. H. Evring writes a fiery letter denying everything—and warning his enemies he'll be back.
- The Jailhouse Houdini of Seattle
While awaiting trial for boat stealing, a prisoner named Burton used a hidden knife to fish biscuits through his jail bars and plotted his escape with remarkable bravado.
- Midnight Intruder Apprehended by Local Baker
After waking to find strangers in his room, an enterprising Walla Walla businessman chased a burglar into an alley and detained him until police arrived.
- Late-Night Plumbing Shop Burglar Slips Through Police Net
An alert patrolman interrupted a lock-picking duo near South 17th and D, marking the fourth business targeted in the neighborhood this week.
- The Great Jailbreak on the Waterfront
Two young prisoners pried their way out of a city jail with nothing but a table leg and help from friends on the outside.
Also about this, in other words
- A Young Ward of the Philippines
A young Filipino boy, orphaned and brought to Seattle by a veteran, finds a new life in the home of a local merchant.
- 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.
- Polly Noble’s Great Escape
A City Jailer's pet parrot, known for her conversational skills, escaped to the rooftops after being spooked by a neighborhood dog.
- The Unwelcome Guest in the Banana Crate
A Black Diamond baker discovers a live stowaway from the tropics in his pantry.
- The Empathetic Pup of Idol Hill
A local carpenter finds comfort in a loyal companion who mirrors his own physical struggle.
- One Comma Turned a Lost Boy’s Police Bulletin Into a Station-House Joke
A five-year-old lost and found at the Seattle police station became a lesson in punctuation when a missing comma made his uncle sound like a man named John Chestnut.
- The Pastor and the Organist
A physical brawl between a clergyman and his church organist raises the question of how to handle insubordination in the pews.
- The City’s Coldest Tea: A Prohibition-Era Poke at Seattle’s Saloon Culture
A satirical notice from 1871 captures the tongue-in-cheek public grumbling that followed the closure of a beloved watering hole.