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71 stories matching rat
- 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 Great Rat War of the Seattle Waterfront
A local commission merchant argues that poor box design is turning Seattle apple shipments into a banquet for waterfront vermin.
- Acquitted in Five Minutes: The Girl Accused of Poisoning a Child
A packed Seattle courtroom erupts when Hildegard Rundberg is cleared of murdering little Richard Parker with 'Death to Rats' rat poison — the jury needing barely five minutes to set her free.
- The 'Rat' Printers of Seattle
When an 1877 newspaper attempted to cut costs by firing union compositors, the resulting strike sparked a fierce, public feud between rival publications.
- The Unlikely Peace of the Port Townsend Wharf
A cat known for its hunting prowess inexplicably raises an enormous rat alongside her own litter of kittens.
- Two Shots, a Cold River, and a Flask of Rat Poison
Frederick Angle fired twice at his wife, jumped in the river, and then drank Rough on Rats with a friend who did not survive it. The stomach pump arrived, in the paper's words, 'unfortunately' too soon.
- The Nurse Girl and the Rat Poison
A thirteen-year-old girl stands trial for the poisoning of an infant in a case shrouded in domestic mystery.
- The Bustle Bandit of Front Street
A routine shopping trip in Seattle took a chaotic turn when a startled store rat sought refuge in the most unlikely place imaginable.
- The Kennel Club's Howling Success
High-society dog shows in 1891 Seattle were noisy affairs, complete with terrier rat-killing matches and stolen St. Bernards.
- The Ruins of a Bishop’s Household
After years in storage on the Seattle waterfront, Bishop Paddock's furniture was recovered in a state of 'shameful' decay, riddled with rats and broken glass.
- Dynamite Plot Found on Puget Sound Collier
A meticulously rigged infernal machine, timed to trigger via a rat trap and revolver, was discovered in the hold of the steamer Bawnmore.
- The 'Rat' Ledger and the Union Strike
After the Tacoma Ledger arbitrarily cut printers' wages by 30 percent, the labor union responded by boycotting the paper and launching a rival daily.
- The Ballard Tragedy
A 14-year-old nursemaid is accused of murdering an infant in her charge with rat poison.
- The Tragedy of a 'Box Rustler' at the Standard Theater
After being abandoned by her partner and facing a string of personal losses, 18-year-old Lillian Stewart took her own life in a downtown hotel.
- The Rowdy Pierce County Democratic Convention
Boos, hisses, and shouts of 'Rats' define a chaotic convention as local Democrats revolt against a fusion plan with the People's Party.
- The Tax Swindle: How Seattle’s Printer Defrauded His Neighbors
In 1872, the publisher of the *Puget Sound Dispatch* exposed a collusive scheme between local tax collectors and a rival newspaper to overcharge delinquent taxpayers for legal notices, sparking a bitter war of words in the territorial press.
- The Tragedy on Howard Street
A household servant disappears after a toddler dies from arsenic poisoning.
- The Rat Out of the Hole
A bitter public feud erupts between two of Seattle's major industrial firms over the construction of a city fireboat.
- The Northern Pacific's Tacoma Depot Is a Rat-Infested Shed
While the railroad pours a quarter-million into a new Seattle terminal, Tacoma commuters are left with a miserable shack.
- The Shingle Mill Girls of Cosmopolis
A local lumber mill defies labor union expectations by hiring a crew of women, sparking both ridicule and admiration on the Pacific Coast.
- A Body in the Ashes at Rolling Bay
An eyewitness to the coroner's inquest corrects the Post-Intelligencer's lurid account of a bullet-scarred, half-burned corpse found in a shack on Bainbridge Island — and lays out his own theory of an unsolved Kitsap County killing.
- Samuel Hill Warns Seattle Would 'Die Like Rats in a Trap' Without Highways
As Congress weighs the Latimer and Brownlow road-funding bills, the Seattle utility magnate and son-in-law of James J. Hill makes the case that paved highways out of the city are a matter of survival, not comfort.
- A Fatal Shot in Ellensburg: Adopted Son Killed, Mrs. Norris Takes Poison
Mrs. J. C. Norris shot 21-year-old Thomas Murray in the temple, then swallowed rat poison and told callers she was glad of it.
- The Sleeping Fireman and the Rat-Trap Defense
Two city firemen faced an investigation after one was caught sleeping on duty and the other admitted to abandoning his post to hunt rodents.
- The Drain Detectives
A warning to tenants: sewer gas is a hidden killer, and your landlord’s thrift might be costing you your health.
Also about this, in other words
- The Rat in the Wardrobe
A lady’s attempt to light a dark closet leads to a terrifying, fire-starting encounter with a persistent rodent.
- A Local Boy’s Dangerous Encounter with a Pet Raccoon
A young newsboy known as 'Pud' loses a finger after a rough encounter with a captive raccoon.