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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1864 | 2 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 21 |
| 1877 | 19 |
| 1878 | 8 |
| 1880 | 5 |
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1883 | 18 |
| 1884 | 11 |
| 1885 | 14 |
| 1886 | 20 |
| 1887 | 18 |
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| 1889 | 24 |
| 1890 | 6 |
| 1891 | 31 |
| 1892 | 60 |
| 1893 | 59 |
| 1894 | 60 |
| 1895 | 61 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 17 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1903 | 29 |
| 1904 | 25 |
| 1905 | 1 |
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| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 21 |
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587 stories matching pocket
- He Tracked His Runaway Wife to Seattle — and Got Arrested for the Gun in His Pocket
A Walla Walla County farmer drew $200 from the bank, pocketed a revolver, and went hunting for the boarder who ran off with his wife. Seattle police found him first.
- The Confidence Game on the Kalama-Tacoma Line
A traveler from Missouri lost his life savings to a smooth-talking stranger on a train, proving that 'confidence men' were a perennial threat to those passing through the region.
- A Solitary Death in the Harbor
A young man, seemingly alone in the world, is discovered in Seattle's harbor, his pockets containing only letters from a jilted former flame.
- A Populist Orator, a Sidewalk, and a Penknife
Tacoma police arrested 68-year-old party leader Dolph Hannah for blocking Pacific Avenue with a campaign speech, then released him on his own recognizance after a scuffle.
- The Midnight Robbery at the I.X.L. Saloon
A rancher falls victim to a pocket-picking scheme that spiraled into a violent street holdup.
- The Unlucky Traveler
A local man arrived from the Cascade Tunnel with a healthy savings in his pocket, only to have his pockets picked at a local hotel by morning.
- The Man Who Forgot His Own Murder
Edward Spencer takes the stand in his own murder trial, claiming amnesia and absinthe-induced blackouts to explain why he shot Ella Mundt in Spokane.
- The Great Port Townsend Customs Scandal
A federal grand jury uncovers a decade-long scheme of extortion and record-tampering at the Port Townsend custom house, where officials pocketed fees and forced local shipping firms to play along.
- The Hotel Yakima Pocket-Picking
A theft at a temperance lecture leads to an arrest, a suspicious discharge, and a swift sentencing for a second offense.
- A Gun Under His Nose: The North Seattle Highwaymen Go on Trial
John Murphy and two alleged accomplices are identified by the laborer they robbed at Front and Clay, while a second sandbagging case ends in a sealed verdict.
- A Literal Piece of Evidence
A Tacoma man presented his own severed nose to the police court following a brawl over a woman.
- The Case of the Missing Fifty Dollars
A Seattle woman accuses a dye-house solicitor of grand larceny after claiming she left money in the pocket of a dress sent out for cleaning.
- The Great Dayton Fire: A Block of Ashes and a City’s Near Miss
On the night of April 2, 1882, flames consumed three blocks in downtown Dayton, Washington. While the town paid with its buildings, Seattle’s own fire department narrowly escaped disaster thanks to a single force pump.
- The Old Man’s Last Stand: A Father’s Flight from Greedy Heirs Ends in a Sheriff’s Chase
P.V. Thorpe, an elderly pioneer fleeing false rape accusations and property theft by his son and son-in-law, was arrested for carrying a revolver in Seattle—only to be vindicated when the truth about his family’s blackmail scheme came to light.
- A Forty-Foot Leap From a Burning Lodging House
A predawn blaze in a Terrace Street rooming house forces immigrant laborers to jump from windows; one is likely fatally injured.
- The Poet-Waiter Who Drowned in Seattle Harbor
C. W. Chantrell came from a noble French family and carried a love poem in his pocket. He died broke, alcoholic, and alone on the steamer Idaho—and Seattle's coroner called it an accident.
- The Vigilantes’ Bones: Seattle Dug Up Its Most Notorious Lynching
Thirteen years after a mob hanged three men on James Street, a county doctor exhumed their skeletons for anatomy students— ropes, necktie and all.
- The Wooden Revolver That Freed Ten Prisoners
Thomas Blanck held a jailer hostage with a carved fake gun, emptied the King County jail, and vanished into Seattle's streets.
- Brutal Stabbing in the Red Light District
A local restaurant keeper is fighting for his life after a violent confrontation in the Rose Street red light district.
- The Siege of the Water Works
A property dispute between a private landowner and the city of Aberdeen escalates into a standoff involving armed men, city officials, and an eventual arrest.
- A Bereaved Husband, a Faithful Dog, and a 25-Cent Room
Daniel Bauman took morphine in a downtown lodging house after his wife died at the county farm. His little black dog stayed beside the body and fought off anyone who came near.
- The Bullet and the Bankroll: A Saloon Feud on Pike Street
A Seattle land swindler survived an assassination attempt at the Abbott House, thanks to a well-placed $20 gold piece in his vest pocket.
- The Wealthy Tramp of the Waterfront
A disheveled rancher found sleeping on the Seattle waterfront was revealed to be carrying a small fortune, catching local police and confidence men by surprise.
- 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.
- A Cook's Last Night in Tacoma
Injured, stranded ashore and facing the loss of his berth, a steamboat cook spends his final hours quarreling with his wife before swallowing morphine in a boarding-house room.
Also about this, in other words
- The Clerk Who Pocketed the Change
A grocery clerk is caught red-handed by a private detective after being suspected of skimming from the till.
- The Case of the Missing Pocket Watch
A Tacoma family's frantic search for a stolen heirloom ends when a toddler is found with the culprit in his overalls.
- Theft and the 'People's Theater'
A recent arrival to Seattle finds his night out at a local theater ends with an empty pocket and an arrest.
- Seized on Jackson Street
A sailor aboard the steamer City of Kingston is arrested with sixteen pounds of opium in his pockets.
- The Scent of 'Unmarked Coin' at the Capitol
As local option battles intensify, rumors of a slush fund designed to sway legislators circulate through Olympia.
- The $6,000 Wallet That Vanished From Under a Pillow
Milton Wood locked his door at the Vendome, left his pocketbook under his pillow, and woke to find $6,000 in cash and notes gone—with no sign of forced entry.
- The Man Who Cut Off His Own Foot
Desperate and denied by surgeons, a young Washington man performs a self-amputation with a pocketknife to save his life.
- The Anatomy of a Political Glutton
A satirical 1885 editorial dissecting the sudden, transformation of humble private citizens into greedy 'Ins' once they secure public office in Washington territory.