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244 stories matching risk
- Thirty-Seven Miners Died 150 Feet From Safety
An 1894 coroner's jury in Franklin, Washington, heard how a small fire in the Oregon Improvement Company's coal mine became a wall of smoke — and why the men who could have escaped stayed to fight it.
- The Company Blamed the Dead Miner
After thirty-five men died in the Franklin mine, the Oregon Improvement Company answered a widow's lawsuit by saying her husband assumed the risk—and should have run sooner.
- The Siege of Seattle: A City Under Martial Law
After four days of intense unrest, the city maintains order and asserts its commitment to American law.
- The Insurance Cartel's War on Competition
Seattle underwriters clash over a 'non-intercourse' rule designed to force agents to abandon independent companies.
- The Perilous Daily Commute at the Cedar River Mines
For miners in a remote Seattle-area coal camp, getting to work meant risking their lives on makeshift bridges and slippery footlogs, all to feed their families.
- The $8,000 Schoolyard Fight
A losing contractor accuses Seattle’s school board of steering a South School grounds contract to a favored bidder and wasting taxpayer money. The board fires back that the cheapest bids were unsafe and that a $25,000 schoolhouse was at risk of falling.
- A Hero at the Waterfront
An elderly boatswain risks his life in the dark to pull a man from the frigid waters of Elliott Bay.
- The Brutal Reality of 'Assumption of Risk' in the Mills
A shingle sawyer loses his hand in a mill accident, only to have his lawsuit dismissed due to legal doctrines protecting corporations.
- Seattle's Canal Gamble
Boosters asked Seattleites to pledge a weekly sum to bring the Lake Washington ship canal—and the jobs and ships they believed would follow.
- The Stranger on the Night Train
A railroad brakeman risks his reputation and job to help a stranded, elderly woman on a stormy night, only to discover a life-changing coincidence.
- The Sudden End of a Legal Tug-of-War
After facing trial on multiple charges, a defendant unexpectedly opts for prison time rather than risking a lengthier legal fight.
- The Shadow Over Seattle's Waterfront
As the anti-Chinese movement spreads through the Pacific Northwest, agitators in Seattle and Tacoma organize a campaign of expulsion, claiming the city's prosperity is at risk.
- Roslyn Relief Fund Grows as Miners' Families Struggle
Seattle rallies for the widows and orphans of the catastrophic Roslyn mine explosion, while investigators confront the reality of corporate negligence and the brutal nature of the disaster.
- The Blueprint for a Growing City
Newly proposed amendments to the Seattle city charter reveal the administrative scaffolding behind the city's 1883 expansion, including fire department mandates and tax enforcement.
- The Price of Reckless Clearing
A brush-clearing fire near Yacolt spiraled into one of the Northwest's most catastrophic blazes, incinerating 23,000 acres and destroying $200,000 in property.
- The Unjust Burden of the Geary Act
Chinese laborers in the United States face an expensive and discriminatory federal mandate to register for residency or risk immediate deportation.
- Steamboat Clallam Sinks Near Victoria in 1904
A new passenger steamer sinks in the mist of Puget Sound near Victoria, adding a somber chapter to a recent string of local disasters.
- The Open-Air Slumber of Seattle's Waterfront
When the summer heat turned tenement apartments into 'human lumber-boxes,' thousands of Seattle residents—men, women, and children alike—sought respite by camping overnight on the exposed, city-owned piers.
- The Schoolteacher vs. The Coal Baron
An outspoken Newcastle teacher risks his career to confront the Oregon Improvement Company over its brutal labor practices and the displacement of local widows.
- A Chinese Merchant Challenges Tacoma's Exclusion Laws
Years after the violent 1885 expulsions, a local merchant risks arrest to assert his right to work and peddle in the city.
- The Sea Gives Up a Member of the Ganiard Party
Four months after a storm swallowed a family of musicians bound for a dance, the body of young Wesley Ganiard is recovered near the mouth of the Snohomish River — but his mother is still missing.
- The High Stakes of the 1894 City Election
As Seattle prepares for a municipal election under the Australian ballot system, the city is gripped by political rallies, accusations of forgery, and debates over the future of infrastructure funding.
- The Receiver Cut Their Pay 2 Cents an Hour. A Judge Made Him Put It Back.
When the Rainier Avenue Electric Railway's court-appointed receiver trimmed motormen's wages from 20 cents to 18 cents an hour, the crews — months behind on pay, with houses in Columbia City bought out of their own wages — took him to court and won.
- A Near Disaster on the Waterfront
A fire in a Front Street lunch counter nearly consumes the business district after city officials neglected to enforce fire safety ordinances.
- The Shipworm Eating Seattle’s Waterfront
Wharf owners were spending a fortune fighting a saltwater pest. The fix: fill the tide flats, cut freshwater waterways, and make the harbor safe for pilings—and insurance.
Also about this, in other words
- A Risky Ride on St. Helens Avenue
A livery stable employee survives a dangerous fall after his horse slips on icy Tacoma streets.
- A Perilous Ascent on Front Street
A construction worker suffers a violent fall while building a new home, sparking a community health scare in 1870s Seattle.
- The Risks of the 'Shipper’s Order' Grain Hustle
A federal warning exposes how unlicensed speculators were clogging rail yards with hay and grain they couldn't afford to pay for.
- A Child’s Fall into a City Excavation
A young girl’s tumble into a construction pit sparks a damages lawsuit against an investment firm.
- The Deadly Cost of Ignoring Fire Safety
Tragedy strikes a Seattle boarding house as terrified residents leap from windows, exposing the city's lack of building safety regulations.
- The Only Safe Trust: Chauncy M. Depew’s Warning to Seattle Investors
Railroad magnate and former Senator Chauncy Depew tells a Seattle audience that the government must regulate trusts, predicting that 'rotten' companies will fail while others are placed on a proper basis.
- A Foreman’s Reckless Gamble with Dynamite
A Fairhaven clearing crew foreman ignores safety warnings and suffers catastrophic injuries during a stump-blasting operation.
- The Smooth Stranger’s Trap: A Banker’s Warning Against the 'Get Rich Quick' Scam
In 1920s Kennewick, local banks warned citizens that 'smooth strangers' peddling investments were likely frauds, urging residents to keep their money in trusted institutions rather than chasing phantom profits.