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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 4 |
| 1892 | 9 |
| 1893 | 7 |
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| 1895 | 6 |
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| 1923 | 1 |
91 stories matching seeker
- The Real Estate 'Trip Hammer' of Early Kennewick
A local observer recounts how predatory tactics by a prominent land dealer backfired, costing him a sale and leaving a bitter taste for prospective homesteaders.
- Sullivan Lake's Summer Resort Dream Hinges on Roads and the Government
A new resort permit and a push to turn old trails into wagon roads promise to bring pleasure seekers to Sullivan Lake—if federal officials do their part.
- The Porcupine Rush: How an Indian Map Led Seattle Men to Gold
A group of home seekers departed Seattle for the Yukon, armed with a hand-drawn map provided by an Indigenous guide who claimed the region was rich in gold.
- The Workingman's Mayor: A 1892 Look at Labor Relations
As Seattle geared up for its 1892 mayoral election, political operatives and newspapers sparred over whether candidate John Leary was a true friend to the labor movement or just a businessman courting votes.
- The Veto That Put Outside Capital Ahead of Debt Relief
Governor McGraw kills a deficiency-judgment bill, warning it would drive investors away and leave desperate borrowers to “greedy money-seekers.”
- The Hungry Brethren: Seattle’s Post-Election Feeding Frenzy
Fresh off a resounding election win, Seattle’s incoming Democratic administration is besieged by a desperate army of office-seekers, while power brokers maneuver to clear the path for the next gubernatorial bid.
- A Rough Ride for Pleasure Seekers
A buggy ride through Spokane ends in a tumble when a team of horses takes fright.
- The Bolters: Disappointed Office-Seekers Tried to Hand King County to the Populists
An editorial savages the Republican 'insurgents' of King County — a slate of men who wanted nominations, didn't get them, and now threaten to bolt the ticket and throw the county to the Democrats and Populists. It names names.
- The Tribune Pans a Play—and a Rival Paper Pans Back
A traveling dramatic company bombed in Olympia, and the fight over who said so turned into a newspaper war over puffery, honest criticism, and who was cheating amusement-seekers.
- The City That Wasn't: Port Townsend’s Bold Pitch to Steal Seattle’s Thunder
In January 1889, the Mayor of Port Townsend published a scathing list of 'facts' in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, arguing that his town was the true commercial heart of the Pacific Northwest while Seattle remained a mere backwater.
- The Fight Over Tribal Land in the Path of Progress
Booster newspapers in 1889 editorialized against the reservation system, calling for the seizure of Indigenous land to satisfy a hungry real estate market.
- The Day Farmers Blew Up a Dam
In a bold act of agrarian rebellion on the Fourth of July, Stuck River farmers used dynamite to destroy the White River dam, draining the muck and reclaiming their land.
- The Pullman Strike hits Seattle
Striking railway workers and curious mobs gather at the Columbia Street depot, testing the city's resolve during the national railway paralysis.
- The Political Rings of Olympia
An editorial from 1872 exposes a 'carpet-bagger' political machine using public funds to bankroll a partisan newspaper and manipulate Territorial elections.
- Private Employment Agents Fight Back Against the City's Free Labor Bureau
Accused of swindling job-seekers, a Seattle employment firm blames organized labor and a union-backed city bureau for a campaign to put it out of business — and dares the city to investigate.
- The False Gold of the Klondike
A local editor warns against the 'senseless rush' to Alaska, predicting disaster for the fortune-seekers and economic ruin for the state.
- The Vagrant Preacher: An Elderly Man’s Desperate Plea for Dignity in Spokane
Paul Hoffman, a German Lutheran minister turned job-seeker, was arrested for vagrancy after collecting donations from churchgoers. In his cell, he wept as he recounted his fall from grace.
- The Great Sunday Exodus: Seattle’s Mass Migration to East Lake
In a display of weather defiance and civic pride, thousands of residents abandoned the city center for the shores of Lake Washington, turning Stern & Miller’s new development into an impromptu amusement park.
- The Skagit Land Rush: A Morning of Chaos and Cleverness
When the federal land office in Seattle opened to accept claims for the Upper Skagit river, a line of hundreds descended into a power struggle defined by military-style organization, gender politics, and shifting rules.
- The Waterfront Teeming with Global Trade
A look at the sheer variety of goods flowing through Seattle's wharves reveals a city rapidly expanding as a commercial powerhouse.
- The Vultures of the Job Market
Everett labor organizers expose the predatory practices of private employment agencies that steal from the city's most vulnerable job seekers.
- The Sinking Ship at Colfax College
An open letter from the embattled president reveals the infighting and student discontent that led to the institution's crisis.
- The Great Migration: A Boomtown at 800 People a Day
In 1889, Washington Territory experienced an unprecedented surge of arrivals, signaling the rapid transformation of Seattle and the surrounding region.
- The Political 'Boodle' That Nearly Toppled Seattle's Republican Party
A look back at the chaotic 1889 Republican primaries in King County, where internal factions, broken promises, and the 'boodle' system turned a local race for the U.S. Senate into a full-scale political scandal.
- Tragic Descent at North Yakima Fair
A Spokane aeronaut plummeted 900 feet to his death in front of a crowded grandstand.
Also about this, in other words
- The Pride of the Vagabond
A man in Whatcom chooses starvation over begging, highlighting the grim extremes of dignity and survival in the 1890s labor market.
- The Hunter and the Runaway
A determined civilian investigator tracks a suspect across the West, certain he’s bagged a notorious fugitive, while the target sits in a Seattle jail cell for the minor crime of selling liquor to Indians.
- The Trial of the Mysterious Spiritual Adviser
A defendant accused of attempted murder is charged by prosecutors with using hypnotic powers to influence court witnesses.
- A Desperate Dash from the Marshal
A United States prisoner attempts a daring escape from a carriage in Spokane, leading to a high-stakes chase.
- The Hunt for an Assassin
A violent robbery attempt in Butte, Montana, triggers a manhunt in the Seattle Chinese community, as local leaders fear a dangerous fugitive has arrived by steamer.
- The Cultist Behind Bars
Joshua Klein, held in the county jail, claims to be receiving telepathic messages from his followers in Vienna while parents demand their daughters return home.
- The Monster on the Tracks: Klondike Gold Seeker Crushed by Great Northern Freight
Peter McDonald, a wealthy prospector from the Yukon, lost his leg after attempting to walk between coupling train cars at Seattle’s White River dock.
- The Uninvited Amen
A man is hauled into court for his untimely enthusiasm during a church service in Tolt.