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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 8 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 17 |
| 1893 | 16 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 7 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1924 | 2 |
104 stories matching pose
- A Violent Opium Sting Goes Wrong
An attempt by customs officers to pose as black-market buyers of 375 pounds of opium resulted in a brutal, bloody brawl that left three people hospitalized.
- The False 'Reporter' and the Seduction Case
A young man posing as a writer for the 'Post-Intelligencer' is arrested for seduction after a bizarre paper trail of fake confessions and suicide notes is uncovered in court.
- The 'Reverend' Who Fed on Seattle’s Faith
A man posing as a Universalist minister charmed the city’s socialites, ran up massive tabs at the best restaurants, and vanished into the night.
- The Shadow of Violence and Secrecy in Pioneer Seattle
A shocking arrest on charges of incest pulls back the curtain on the private lives of men who posed as 'dudes' in the city's downtown cigar district.
- The Political Brawl in Yakima
A fiery editorial exchange exposes the political posturing of John L. Wilson and the partisan tensions of the era.
- The Confidence Man Who Conned the Farmers
A smooth-talking impostor fleeced fruit growers by posing as a corporate representative, leaving behind a trail of bad checks and unpaid bills.
- The Unmasking of a Traveling Grifter
A persistent con man who preyed on local residents by posing as a member of the 'fraternity' was finally arrested after fleecing a victim in Port Townsend.
- The Detective’s Trap: A High-Stakes Kidnapping and Coercion Plot in 1889 Seattle
A young woman, under legal guardianship after a landmark trial, is lured into a carriage by a female imposter and delivered into the hands of a desperate man wielding a pistol.
- The Bloody Battle of Washington Street
A federal opium sting operation devolved into a chaotic, axe-wielding melee in a dark room in Pioneer Square.
- The Con Man Who Taught the City a Lesson
A prolific swindler who posed as a businessman and senator-associate leaves a trail of bounced checks and broken promises across Seattle, Tacoma, and Fairhaven.
- The Booster Who Sold a Forest by the Lot
A Tacoma real-estate promoter turned a virgin forest into a one-day $135,000 land rush—then got lost in the woods and stumbled on a surveyor’s stake from his own subdivision.
- Debs Comes to Seattle, Fresh From Jail, and Tells the Crowd How He Got Six Months
A thousand workingmen meet the Pullman strike leader at the boat landing, march him through town, and pack the Seattle theater to hear him name the real conspirators.
- The tugboat blockade at Grays Harbor
A local editor exposes a corrupt tugboat manager for sabotaging a critical federal survey of the harbor bar.
- The Great Spirit’s Empty Promise
High waters on the Yakima River thwart a final fishing feast for the Yakima people, highlighting a long-standing struggle over treaty rights and resource access.
- The Great Warehouse Embezzlement
A Shawnee Warehouse agent disappears with the wheat of local farmers, triggering a frantic manhunt from Colfax to Seattle.
- Mystery Abduction in Ballard Grading Camp
A young man was dragged from his tent by two men posing as officers, leaving his family to fear he was shanghaied for a fishing crew.
- The Plot to Rob Lou Graham
Police thwart a desperate plan by criminals to hold up the city's most famous madam for her diamonds.
- Street Blasting Terrifies Fairhaven Neighbors
A massive stump removal operation inside city limits wreaks havoc on local storefronts and rattles the nerves of residents.
- The Deadly Trifle: A Pharmacy Scandal in 1887 Seattle
A high-stakes criminal investigation unfolds after a mysterious book agent is implicated in the poisoning death of Richard Lyons.
- The Traveling Quack and the Stolen Girl
A traveling doctor accused of abducting a 12-year-old girl is arrested in Tacoma after a trail leading from California to the Puget Sound.
- The Mayor Who Forged His Way Out of Town
After posing as a moral reformer, the mayor of Anacortes was unmasked as a forger who threatened suicide to cover his tracks.
- The Opium Smuggler of the Union Depot
A traveler posing as a hardware salesman is arrested in Spokane after authorities discover 1,300 pounds of contraband in his luggage.
- The Con Man and the Tacoma Jail
After swindling banks for a half-million dollars, a notorious criminal is captured in Tacoma and offers an interview from behind bars.
- The Fight Against Mandatory Vaccination
Tacoma citizens organize a mass meeting at Union Hall to challenge school board mandates requiring vaccination for enrollment.
- The Buckley Bank Scam
A town in shock as two men posing as bankers abscond with the life savings of farmers and laborers.
Also about this, in other words
- The Portrait Scheme Scam
A group of Seattle women are out money after an elusive photography company vanishes from the Epler Block.
- A False Shock of Hair, a Slouch Hat, and $10 at Maplewood Station
A Tacoma department-store clerk steps off the Puyallup car and is stopped in the dark by a masked man in a false wig, who takes her money and orders her home on foot.
- The City’s First 'Rogues’ Gallery'
Seattle police modernize their pursuit of criminals by introducing systematic photography to document the local jailbird population.
- The Camera as a Weapon on the Picket Line
Local machinists are using photography to document and shame strikebreakers in their ongoing eight-hour day strike.
- The Art of the 'Living Picture'
Behind the scenes at the Calhoun Opera Company, where stagecraft and quick-change artistry bring classical paintings to life.
- The Spokane Racket Over Male Attire
When an amateur actress faced a local scandal for wearing pants on stage, the press stepped in to defend the choice as both traditional and modest.
- The Audition at Leslie’s
When an art agency put out a call for a model, dozens of women showed up at a steep office staircase, each hoping for the stability of a steady wage.
- No Safety Net, No Ordinance: A Trapeze Act Falls in Seattle
Two acrobats plunged from a Madison Street trapeze in 1895, exposing a gap in city safety rules and a very lucky escape.