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1. A Winter Expedition Saw Steam on Rainier—and Asked if the Mountain Was Awake

   In December 1895, a Post-Intelligencer party climbed to 9,000 feet, reported smoke and steam from the summit, and left the public demanding proof that Washington's sentinel was an active volcano.

   Jan 18, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

2. The Ghost of the Cascades

   A surveying party deep in the mountains unearths an 'enchanted' sentinel—a booby-trapped cache of Russian gold and goods left behind by a doomed expedition from 1816.

   Nov 19, 1880The Daily IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyTrue Crime

3. Under the Provost Marshal: Seattle’s Martial Law

   When the city was placed under military rule during the anti-Chinese riots of 1886, residents faced a new, forced reality of curfews, passes, and armed sentries on every corner.

   Feb 10, 1886Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerFront Street, Seattle, King CountyExclusion & Resistance

4. Spokane Falls Denounces the Legislator Who Would Keep the County Whole

   At Cannon's Hall, citizens passed resolutions demanding that the Territorial Legislature ignore Jacob Stitzel and split Spokane County in two.

   Oct 27, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyCity Hall

5. The Ice Water Gambit: How a Seattle Drifter Was Framed for Theft

   A local vagrant was doused in freezing water and coerced into a false confession by a cunning runner, only to be caught red-handed on Third Street.

   May 23, 1877The Daily IntelligencerThird Street, Seattle, King CountyTrue Crime

6. The River That Swallowed a Steamboat: A Brave Attempt to Reach Snohomish Falls

   Twenty-five passengers and tons of freight battled the treacherous Snoqualmie River on the steamer *Columbia*, only to be stopped by a massive landslide just miles from their destination.

   May 20, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

7. The Lonely Sentinel of Deception Pass

   Federal authorities place a single, ill-equipped sailor on Smith's Island to guard against opium and immigrant smuggling.

   Mar 26, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerAnacortes, Skagit CountyStrange But True

8. A Weather Station on the Roof of the Cascades

   A scientist's proposal imagined a summit hut on Mount Rainier, heated by volcanic steam and measuring what might be the windiest place on earth.

   Apr 6, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

9. Two Miles Perched on the Lower Circle of a Rainbow

   A Shelton legislator's private letter describing a steamer passage up Hammersley's Inlet becomes the best prose in the paper — a circle of prismatic color, starfish, glaciers and one awestruck captain.

   Nov 9, 1891The Olympia TribuneHammersley Inlet, Shelton, Mason CountyStrange But True

10. A Sinking Buggy, a Borrowed Team, and a Reservation About to Open

    In 1892 a newspaperman packed his wife and infant into a rickety buggy to cross the soon-to-open Colville Reservation, fording the Kettle River and leaning on Native families along the way.

    Aug 22, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerOsoyoos Lake, Oroville, Okanogan CountyExclusion & Resistance · Strange But True

11. The Forgotten Wives of the Front

    While the nation cheered the return of soldiers from the Philippines, the women left behind in Seattle organized to secure the future of the volunteers.

    May 24, 1899The Seattle StarBoren Avenue, Seattle, King County

12. The Scandal of the Masquerade

    A local Catholic publication condemns the 'burlesque' of religious habits at public costume parties, threatening to publicly name and shame attendees.

    Mar 13, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyNightlife

13. The Sentinel of the Sound

    A citizen’s poetic tribute to the indispensable role of the press in the frontier life of 1880s Seattle.

    Apr 23, 1882Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

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