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280 stories matching sailor
- The Waterfront Tug-of-War (Feb 18, 1894)
A bitter labor battle erupts on the Seattle waterfront between the Sailors' Union of the Pacific and an alliance of ship owners and the Sailors' Home.
- The Sailors' Strike and the Scab Sailors
Tensions rise at the Seattle waterfront as the Sailors' Union strike continues, with shipowners bypassing union halls to hire non-union crews.
- The Seamen's Union and the Dynamite Scare
A wave of paranoia hits the Pacific Coast as authorities hunt for a fugitive sailor linked to a fatal San Francisco bombing.
- The Tyrant of the High Seas: A Sailor’s Knife vs. a Mate’s Revolver
In a dramatic trial before U.S. Commissioner D.S. Smith, witnesses describe how the first mate of the brig *Sampson* beat a sailor into paralysis with an iron bar and revolver, sparking outrage over maritime abuse.
- The Brutal Reality of the 'Sailor's Home' in 1886
A local reporter exposes the predatory labor practices and 'blood money' schemes targeting sailors in Seattle's waterfront boarding houses.
- The Unruly Sailor: A $27.20 Lesson in Maritime Discipline
Henry Walstron, a sailor aboard the schooner Dora Bluhm, is arrested for assaulting his mate and pays a fine for his liberty.
- The Sailors' Union Defends Its Cause
Agent E.C. Thiel responds to business interests blaming union sailors for shipping delays and commercial friction.
- The Waterfront Cold War: Seattle's 1888 Seamen's Strike
Tensions boil over on the Puget Sound as sailors fight a planned wage reduction, leading to a massive standoff in Port Townsend.
- The Hardware Heist Ends in Betrayal
Two young burglars thought their sailor friend was the perfect fence—until he walked them straight into a police ambush.
- The Sailors' Union Fights Back Against the Waterfront Crimps
Seattle's Sailors' Union answers charges from two boarding-house men, calling them crimps and accusing them of drugging and shanghaiing sailors onto ships.
- The Waterfront Brawl
A drunken knife fight among sailors leads to a mysterious disappearance, leaving the Seattle police baffled.
- Riot in Port Townsend: Citizens vs. Sailors on the Verge of Violence
A tense standoff erupts as local citizens arm themselves to prevent Coast Seamen's Union members from boarding the steamer Sumatra, leading to arrests and imminent bloodshed.
- The Sailor's Forgery
A maritime worker's quick attempt to cash a fake order ends in an arrest.
- The Great Sailor Shortage: Why Seattle’s Labor Market Was Starving for Hands
In December 1876, the city faced a paradoxical crisis: despite the suspension of summer logging work, sailors were vanishing from the docks. Commissioner Ballou reported that a single crewman was worth more than a pair of jacks in poker, as wages had to be inflated just to secure basic maritime labor.
- The Tragedy of a Sailor’s Train-Hopping Gamble
A penniless traveler, desperate to reach San Francisco, attempts to ride a moving freight train through the Washington wilderness—with fatal consequences.
- The Collapse of the Sailors' Union
After a fierce labor battle along the Pacific Coast, the Sailors' Union of the Pacific concedes its inability to maintain wage standards against the shipowners.
- Sailors Sue the Ship Challenger Over Abuse at Sea
Eight sailors sue for wages and damages after allegedly being beaten with clubs and belaying pins during a voyage from Philadelphia to Tacoma.
- Seattle Sailors Defy Shipowners in 1887 Union Standoff
When the Coast Seamen's Union descended on the barkentine George Perkins to pull sailors from their posts, it sparked a tense confrontation that threatened to shut down local shipping.
- An Indecent Display at the Coal Bunkers
Seattle residents take offense as sailors from the barkentine Modoc turn the public waterfront into an impromptu swimming hole.
- Union Seamen Defeated at Port Townsend
A bitter strike of sailors on the Puget Sound ends in failure after boarding house tactics and non-union labor break the blockade.
- The Struggle of the Sailors' Home
While Seattle’s churches held regular Sunday services, a pressing plea for a new facility on the wharves highlighted the neglect faced by the city's waterfront laborers.
- The Waterfront Standoff
Striking union sailors are outmaneuvered when non-union crews are covertly transported to a ship at Port Blakeley.
- Governor Grants Pardon to Sailor
After serving time in the state penitentiary, a sailor convicted of robbery is released following a petition for innocence.
- A Shipboard Altercation at Port Blakely
A sailor is hospitalized with a broken leg following a mysterious scuffle in the forecastle of a ship docked at Port Blakely.
- The Heroine of North Beach
How Martha White, a solitary woman on the storm-lashed coast, braved mountain-high waves to pull dying sailors from the surf.
Also about this, in other words
- The Forgotten Sailors: A Call for Reform in the U.S. Navy
A seasoned veteran of the U.S. Navy writes from Port Townsend in 1886 to lament the decline of practical seamanship and the lack of decent pensions for sailors who have served their country for decades.
- Sailor Jack Escapes City Jail Through Sawed Window
A prisoner known as 'Sailor Jack' saws through the bars of his cell and vanishes, leaving a gaping hole behind.
- The Unsinkable Seaman
After losing his leg in a shipboard accident, an American sailor invents a wooden limb that keeps him working the high seas.