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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1904 | 1 |
9 stories matching rougher
- Hanged on a Doubt: Washington Territory's First White Execution
When John Thompson was hanged in Seattle in 1877, many believed he was guilty of manslaughter, not murder. The Dispatch made the case that the law had taken a life it should have spared.
- Death in the Ring at the People's Theater
A sparring match at a downtown variety hall turns fatal, sparking a city-wide crackdown on brutal 'glove contests'.
- The Fevered Eve of the 1892 Election
Thousands crowd into Seattle’s armory for a final show of political might as Republicans and Democrats stage competing rallies on the eve of the presidential vote.
- A 1.5-Million-Acre Taking: The Colville Reservation Was About to Be Thrown Open
Federal officials and land agents anticipated a rush of white homesteaders into the southern half of the Colville Indian Reservation, framing Indigenous land as 'closed' and state growth as its natural destiny.
- The Rowdiest Port in the Pacific Northwest
An 1872 report describes the brutal realities of the maritime labor market in Port Townsend, where sailors were coerced into service and returned to shore battered and bruised.
- The Steamer That Vanished Into a Puget Sound Gale
A bitter cold snap and northeast gale kept boats at their wharves and raised fears that the Tolo had foundered between Eagle Harbor and Seattle.
- The Road to Riches: Seattle’s $33,000 Gamble on the Snoqualmie Pass
In March 1877, local editors urged citizens to fund a toll road through the mountains, arguing that the vast grain fields east of the Cascades were Seattle's only true economic future.
- The Homesteading Debutantes
Two young women from Spokane reject the domestic sphere to stake a claim on the rugged Washington frontier.
- Brutal Attack on Seattle Gas Worker
A workman assaulted by a gang of drunken sailors in front of a local hotel, marking a tense night in the city's rougher quarters.
Also about this, in other words
- Drunken Brakeman Crushed on Northern Pacific Line
A railroad worker is killed near Meeker after falling between cars while intoxicated.
- A Rough Ride for Pleasure Seekers
A buggy ride through Spokane ends in a tumble when a team of horses takes fright.
- The Price of a Violent Temper
A town roughneck learns the limits of his reach after an unprovoked assault on a farmer in downtown Colfax.
- The Unlikely Enforcer of a Party Game
A jealous husband at a frontier social insists his young wife receives equal attention—or else he will settle the matter with his fists.
- The Fugitive Foreman of Franklin
A man working at the Oregon Improvement Company’s stables in Franklin is revealed as a wanted fugitive for a fatal land dispute in Indian Territory.