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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 13 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 5 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 2 |
49 stories matching powerless
- The Ludlow Saloon Shield: How a Mill Worker’s Beating Was Ignored by the Law
In Port Gamble, Washington Territory, a brutal assault on an edgerman was dismissed by a local justice of the peace, leaving the victim powerless against his attacker in a display of judicial indifference.
- Lummi Tribe Asserts Reservation Rights Against Fishermen
Armed tribal members detain eight foreign fishermen in Hales Pass, leaving local authorities powerless to intervene.
- Tragedy at the Snoqualmie Log Jam
A respected local worker is lost in the river during a high-water operation, leaving his community in mourning.
- The Trial of the Mysterious Spiritual Adviser
A defendant accused of attempted murder is charged by prosecutors with using hypnotic powers to influence court witnesses.
- Summer Beach Cottages Targeted by Thieves
A teacher at Tacoma Public Schools loses $300 in silverware as prowlers return to the Quartermaster Harbor beaches.
- Survival in the Wynoochee Snow
Four hunters face starvation in the mountain snow, surviving for a month on nothing but elk and eagle meat.
- A Fatal Misstep on the Skookumchuck
A tragic river crossing in rural Washington leaves a young man dead after a single, impulsive movement.
- The Professional Strike-Maker
Clarence O. Pratt, a master of strategy, is rewriting the rulebook on labor disputes by trading brickbats for public opinion and the power of organized unity.
- The Tragic End of a Seattle Diver
After suffering from a mysterious illness contracted while working on the sunken tug Mystic, a local diver passes away, leaving behind a young family.
- The City Council's Permissive Grift
A frustrated fire official reveals that Seattle's fire safety ordinances are being gutted by the very council members who passed them, as they issue private permits to bypass building restrictions.
- The Clallam Tragedy: A Honeymoon Cut Short
A husband watches helplessly as his bride vanishes into the stormy seas during the sinking of the SS Clallam in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- Unnamed Drifter Saves Girl from Drowning
A homeless man risked his life to pull a young girl from the water near the Great Northern tracks, only to walk away and spend the reward money on liquor.
- The Hill That Couldn't Be Saved: Fire Chief Pleads for Water on Seattle’s Steepest Slopes
In a stark report from June 1904, Chief Joshua Phillips warns that the city’s volunteer fire brigade is powerless against blazes in the steep upper districts, where gravity defeats their hoses and time kills buildings.
- Border Smuggling Crisis
Revenue officers report nearly one hundred Chinese laborers crossing the northern frontier by boat as current enforcement resources prove inadequate.
- Steamboat Monopoly Sparks Outrage on the Sound
A passenger fare hike between Fairhaven and Seattle has riders and business leaders accusing steamboat companies of price-fixing.
- The Commonwealers' Battle for the Rails
Striking workers and the unemployed attempt to travel across Washington via hijacked trains, triggering violent clashes with federal marshals.
- Tragic Industrial Death at Spokane Rail Yard
A switchman is killed instantly after his foot is trapped at a crossing during a freight car maneuver.
- The Riot of 1886: Seattle’s Dark Chapter of Exclusion
A state-sanctioned mob forces Chinese residents from their homes, leading to martial law and a bloody confrontation at the wharf.
- Cattle Rustlers Reclaim Their Horses in Spokane
After a timber speculator used stolen horses as collateral for a bond, the original owners simply took them back.
- The Battle Over Kennewick's Port Future
A fiery public debate erupts as boosters defend the creation of a port district against claims of government overreach and potential tax hikes.
- Fire Leaves South Seattle Helpless
A devastating blaze destroyed two grocery stores and a local lodge room because the buildings sat just one block beyond the reach of the city water mains.
- The Miracle of Fannie McCann
A lifelong invalid, confined to a chair for twenty-two years, found her voice and language only in her final hours.
- Tragedy in a Walla Walla Hotel
The bodies of a mining investor and a teenage academy student were discovered in a hotel room, sparking a mystery over their final hours.
- The Unmasking of a Mason
A tense, public confrontation in a local Seattle establishment reveals the social friction surrounding the secret society's reputation in the 1870s.
- The Day the Circus Band Wagon Tore Through Downtown Tacoma
A runaway team of horses pulling a promotional circus wagon turned a mundane Monday into a scene of carnage at the corner of Washington and South Second Street.