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31 stories matching ruffian
- The 'Citizen's Meeting' Takes Control of Seattle
A reform-minded coalition unseats the previous administration, pledging to clean up the city and install respectable leadership in the police department.
- The Newspaper Editor and the Political Bruiser
A brutal street assault in Olympia reveals the volatile intersection of frontier politics and an independent press.
- Fighting Whisky and a Free Fight in Steilacoom's Streets
A dozen strangers brawl outside Jerry Dennis's house, prompting the editor to demand the disorderly den be closed.
- The Land Office Commissioner Caught in a Crossfire of Corruption
When Commissioner William Sparks began fighting land-grabbing monopolies, the corporate press launched a smear campaign calling him insane, ruffian, and incompetent.
- Crackdown on Illegal Liquor Sales in Puyallup
Deputy U.S. Marshals arrest two men caught selling whiskey to Indigenous workers during the harvest season.
- White Mob Hangs Innocent Teen at Nooksack Crossing
A white mob dragged Jimmie Boole from his bed at Nooksack Crossing and hanged him from a tree to force a confession for a horse theft he was innocent of, cutting him down before he died.
- A Violent Attack on a Chinese Laborer
A Chinese man working for Sheriff McGraw was mobbed by hoodlums on his way home from errands, prompting a call for justice.
- A Daring Rescue at the Waterfront
A young boy pushed into the water from a wharf is saved by a quick-thinking mate from a nearby steamer.
- The Shadowy World of 'Railroad Spotters'
A scathing editorial exposes the brutal tactics of private detectives hired by corporations to intimidate workers.
- The Ambush on Black River
A quiet evening walk turns into a violent confrontation as a local man narrowly escapes a pair of disguised highwaymen.
- The Chloroform Attack: A Seattle Woman’s Narrow Escape from a Robber’s Grip
Julia Torrillia fights back against an assailant who tried to drug her on Washington Street, leading to the arrest of a local baker.
- The Laundress's Life Savings Stolen
A young immigrant woman working in a Centralia laundry was robbed of three years' worth of wages by two men who threatened her at gunpoint.
- The Test of Conscience for Seattle’s Citizen Militia
Company E implements a rigorous questionnaire for recruits, aiming to filter out labor unionists and drinkers in an era of intense industrial unrest.
- A Death Threat Pinned to the Door of a Tide-Land Official
While Col. Will L. Visscher was in Olympia on public land business, someone beat his dog and left a note warning that his Fairhaven house would burn.
- They Robbed the Dead as the Surf Came In
A Pacific County newspaper condemned beach scavengers who stripped bodies and trunks after a shipwreck—and recalled the shame of the Grace Roberts disaster.
- The Political Brawl at the Territorial University
A scathing editorial from 1872 exposes a 'Klux clan' of government officials caught in a web of corruption, bribes, and public dishonesty.
- The Riot at the Agricultural College
A call for police intervention after students mobbed the incoming college president and a regent.
- The Lawless Frontier
Violence on the Northern Pacific railroad line signals a looming safety crisis as massive construction crews arrive in the Cascades.
- The Fight Against Classroom Brutality
After the conviction of two teachers for beating a student in Chewelah, the P-I condemns corporal punishment as a 'relic of a dolorous age.'
- The Deadly Farce of Frontier Justice
When a Whatcom jury ignored the law to acquit a man who murdered his wife and her lover, the press decried an epidemic of 'momentary insanity' defense.
- Vigilante Raids Target Chinese Vegetable Gardens
Armed men terrorize Chinese laborers in outskirts of Seattle, burning property and driving families from their homes.
- The Siege of the Waterfront Hoodlums
A wave of unprovoked violence by organized gangs of youths in Seattle reaches a breaking point when a young girl is struck by a thrown stone.
- The Cynical Toll of Local Politics
A satirical diary of a man who wins a nomination for public office, only to be ruined by the exorbitant financial and social demands of his supporters.
- Whose Ox Gets Gored: Kennewick Draws the Line on County Bridge Bonds
A Prosser editor's jab over a Columbia River bridge bond prompts the Kennewick Courier-Reporter to deny it ever sought a bridge — and to attack commissioners' power to borrow without a vote.
- The Perilous Steam Bath of 1876
A Nevadan visitor to a Seattle Turkish bathhouse finds himself in a comedic, sweltering hostage situation over the reputation of his famous family name.