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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1892 | 5 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1903 | 3 |
33 stories matching ruse
- The Waterfront Heist and the Chief’s Clever Ruse
A notorious 'beach-comber' terrorized Beacon Hill and Fremont, hiding stolen silverware in the mud under a dock until a detective’s staged ruse cracked the case.
- The Whatcom Widow Who Bought the Coffin Before the Death
A five-times-married former Whatcom County first lady is back in the news—and old suspicions about her commissioner husband’s death at Steilacoom have followed her east.
- An Interracial Marriage Scandal in Whatcom
A young man files for divorce, alleging his wealthy widow wife treated him as a menial servant and schemed to discard him for a new husband.
- The Estray Swindle: A Rural Confidence Game
A clever ruse targets farmers by using public notice requirements to set up a rigged animal sale.
- A Blacksmith's Desperate Act of Heartbreak
After his sweetheart jilted him for flirting with her sister, a Tacoma man attempted to end his life.
- The Mud-Bound Stash
After stealing hundreds of dollars from a mess house in Cosmopolis, a thief uses a clever ruse involving a fake fall to bury his loot.
- The Traveling Salesman’s Clever Ruse
A skeptical livery stable owner meets his match in a traveling drummer who refuses to pay for his own horse.
- The Great Butter Hoax of 1859
A classic tall tale of rancid butter, two tipsy pioneers, and an elaborate prank on a local tavern keeper in Olympia.
- County Commission Battles Northern Pacific Land Grab
King County officials call out the railroad for attempting to claim massive timber and coal holdings through fraudulent charter claims.
- The False Heir of Tacoma
A young woman's desperate scheme to secure her marriage leads to a surrogate child and a city-wide scandal.
- The Chicken Hustle
A clever local character recalls how he once outwitted a prominent grain merchant by turning a chicken trade into a public spectacle.
- The Tale of the Leschi Park 'Baby Seal'
A local newspaper mistakenly reports the birth of a sea lion pup at Leschi Park, but local fishermen reveal they actually caught a stray baby seal elsewhere and dropped it in the tank.
- The Jailer’s Blunder and a Quick Escape
Three prisoners in the Yakima county jail staged a daring, if temporary, breakout after a jailer accidentally left their cell door unlocked.
- A Machinist Committed to the Asylum
A perfectly rational machinist is sent to Steilacoom despite his protests, leaving behind a wife and child.
- The Knife in the Carriage
A young woman’s train ride turns into a life-or-death encounter with an escaped asylum patient.
- The Maid Who Stole the Hidalgo’s Gold
A young woman’s romantic deception in Quiggletown backfires when her maid decides to take the suitor, the dowry, and the partnership for herself.
- The Strange Disappearance of Nellie Holgate
A young Seattle woman reported missing for weeks is found alive in South Dakota, sparking a bizarre mystery involving insurance scammers and a grieving father.
- The Gypsy’s Prophecy Was a Calculated Ruse
A young woman recounts how a chance encounter at a local gypsy camp shaped her romantic future, only to learn the 'fate' she experienced was actually a series of elaborate deceptions.
- The Short-Lived Elopement of a Seattle Waiter
A 14-year-old girl and a theater employee wed in a rush, only to be torn apart by an incensed mother within the hour.
- The Lone Guard of Deception Pass
A maritime guard single-handedly outwits smugglers in a high-stakes standoff on the islands of the Sound.
- The Professor and the Boston Butterfly
A college professor disguises himself as a farmhand to avoid social pretension, only to be caught in a high-stakes comedy of errors after a train wreck brings his secret—and his stubborn romantic interest—to a head.
- Territorial Jobs and the Politics of Pay Cuts
Local outrage over congressional moves to slash federal salaries in Washington Territory, sparking fears of a political power grab.
- The Dramatic Downfall of a Seattle Speculator
After allegedly staging a robbery to cover his mounting financial failures, a prominent political figure and businessman took his own life in his Seattle offices.
- The Wild, Wild West of 'Africa'
A spectacular comic opera takes over the Marquam Grand Theatre, featuring a cast of seventy and a plot about a gullible college student misled into thinking he's exploring the Dark Continent.
- The Detective’s Trap: A High-Stakes Kidnapping and Coercion Plot in 1889 Seattle
A young woman, under legal guardianship after a landmark trial, is lured into a carriage by a female imposter and delivered into the hands of a desperate man wielding a pistol.