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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 1 |
| 1895 | 3 |
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21 stories matching sneer
- The 'Sawdust Swamp': A Public Health Warning for Seattle
A century and a half ago, the Intelligencer warned that Seattle's lack of proper drainage was not just a civic embarrassment, but a lethal threat to the growing population.
- Indigenous Opposition to the Squire Bill
Jonas Stannup warns against the theft of tribal land by government commissioners, citing the suspicious nature of the 'Squire bill'.
- The Thankless Grind of Seattle’s Territorial Delegate
In 1877, Judge Jacobs faced a barrage of local criticism for his D.C. lobbying efforts—a precursor to the modern frustrations of representing a growing, isolated Northwest in the halls of federal power.
- Turning Sawdust into Stone
An innovative German industrial method promises to transform Aberdeen's abundant sawmill waste into fireproof, durable building bricks.
- The Adultery Scandal at the Denny Block
A public courtroom spectacle reveals an illicit domestic arrangement in downtown Seattle.
- The Mayor's Boast and the City's Quiet Grumbling
Mayor Hartley claims he could easily win re-election, but labor organizers and local residents aren't buying the bravado after a year of utility rate complaints and industrial inaction.
- The Miracle Cure-All
A traveling medical practitioner claims a bloodless breakthrough in Everett, drawing crowds and skepticism.
- The Women Who Refused to Look Away
Tacoma’s most prominent ladies rally behind a betrayed young woman in court, challenging Seattle’s apathetic society to stand with her.
- The Last Ride of the 'Paper Railroad'
When Seattle’s homegrown lifeline, the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern, was absorbed by the Northern Pacific, the city lost its independence—but gained its seat at the table of transcontinental commerce.
- The Last Laugh of Charles Nordstrom
As the Seattle Star reports on May 15, 1899, condemned murderer Charles Nordstrom sits in his cell, seemingly indifferent to the death warrant signed that morning. While the legal machinery grinds toward his execution for the murder of a police officer, one man’s sarcastic smile and contemptuous silence speak louder than any final prayer.
- The Unlikely Heroism of 'Old Yesler'
Derided as a 'hog' and a 'dog-in-the-manger' for years, Henry Yesler silences his critics with a massive financial commitment to Seattle’s future.
- Forty-Three Old Soldiers at Orting — and the Olympia Women Furnishing Their Rooms
The state soldiers' home that legislators once laughed at now shelters 43 Civil War veterans, and cities across Washington are racing to outfit their quarters — Olympia's Relief Corps is fitting up an 'Olympia room.'
- He Walked 600 Miles for Work—Then Seattle Called Him a Tramp
In a letter to the editor, Harry Wright defends the men sleeping at the City Mission, tracing his path from a Missoula hotel job to six weeks broke in Seattle.
- The Seattle Postmaster's Inbox Woes
A satirical poetic complaint from 1885 captures the frustration of a growing city struggling with mail delivery, box rent, and the perceived indifference of the local postal bureaucracy.
- The Great Road War: How Kitsap County Bribed Its Way to Steal Seattle’s Trade
While Seattle merchants sneer at their neighbors, a secret fund has been raised in Olympia to build a direct road from Olalla to the Sound, bypassing Tacoma and threatening Seattle's commercial dominance.
- Seattle’s First Fire Company: A Half-Hearted Start in a City That Needs It
In October 1876, Seattle’s citizens are debating the formation of a volunteer fire engine company. While some jeer at their 'small beginnings,' the paper argues that even a half-hearted effort is better than no defense against the city's greatest fear: fire.
- The Pig That Pays the Bills: How Swine Became Puget Sound’s Secret Wealth
In 1876, while Seattle looked to timber and fish for its future, a local article argued that raising hogs on wheat stubble was the most reliable path to prosperity.
- Dr. Fall Spent Christmas With Another Woman, His Wife Charged
Sarah S. Fall's cross-complaint accused the Seattle physician of adultery, secret letters, drunken cruelty and failure to support—and demanded the Nebraska property she said paid for his education.
- At Green Lake, Nobody Had a Reputation Quite Like Rev. Parker's
A Seattle estate hearing turned into a neighbors' referendum on a minister's honesty, with testimony that he was called a liar, a hypocrite and worse.
- Who Gets to Rewrite Seattle's Charter — the Council or the People?
A crowded, argumentative hearing at City Hall: the Chamber of Commerce is accused of a 'somersault,' a lawyer sneers at 'the people,' and Dr. Ramsey answers a councilman with a line of Latin.
- The Seal Pup Wars: A Local Naturalist vs. The Smithsonian’s ‘Sense-Keeper’
James G. Swan, a long-time Neah Bay resident and customs inspector, challenges Henry W. Elliott’s decades-old claim that newborn fur seal pups sink like stones, offering eyewitness testimony from Captain Elijah McAlmond that they swim.