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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 8 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 14 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 8 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1917 | 2 |
88 stories matching stun
- A Bolt Out of a Clear Sky Passes Inches From a Sleeping Man
Lightning hits the flagpole of the Walla Walla Athletic Club on West Alder at seven in the morning, tears a hole in the roof, rips an American flag down through the building — and leaves manager S. S. Bettman untouched in his bed.
- Two Men Asked to Test a Seattle Schooner. Then They Tried to Kill Its Captain.
A would-be buyer and his genteel companion lured Capt. Jud La Moure into Puget Sound, attacked him with a lead sounding weight, and demanded his gold watch—until he produced a hidden revolver.
- The Audit Office Face-Off
A taxpayer stands her ground against a city commissioner over property tax hikes, leaving the local government bureaucrats stunned.
- A Breath of Fire-Damp Killed Twenty-Three Blue Canyon Miners
A coal-mine explosion near Lake Whatcom wiped out nearly an entire shift just before it was due to change, leaving only two survivors to tell what happened underground.
- The Man Who Wouldn't Die: A Seattle Gallows Horror
In a gruesome spectacle that shook the young Territory of Washington, Francis Epps survived his own hanging by mere inches, crying for mercy as the crowd watched him dangle in agony before being cut down.
- The Judge Who Was Both Defendant and Accused
In a stunning legal double-header, Judge Wickersham is convicted of seduction in one court, then immediately indicted for perjury by the federal grand jury in the very same day.
- The Iron Giant Lands: Moss Bay Steel Chooses Seattle Without Asking for a Penny
In a stunning victory for civic pride over corporate bribery, the massive Moss Bay Iron and Steel Company has selected Lake Washington as its site, rejecting lucrative bonuses from rival cities and the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Judge Who Played Faro: Port Townsend’s Bar Association Moves to Impeach Morris Sachs
In a stunning display of civic outrage, local attorneys and property owners present sworn affidavits to the state legislature alleging that Superior Court Judge Morris B. Sachs regularly gambled on illegal faro games and prejudged cases before hearing them.
- The Judge Who Drank: A Local Magistrate’s Confession to the Grand Jury
In a stunning display of candor, Seattle Justice of the Peace John Mercer admits to his courtroom that he was frequently intoxicated while on the bench, blaming 'political enemies' for his drinking and accusing the city of turning a blind eye to saloon owners who ruin working men's wages.
- The Rapid Transformation of Grays Harbor
A traveler returning to Aberdeen after ten years finds the town unrecognizable amidst an industrial boom.
- The Capitol Betrayal: Olympia’s Seat of Power Shipped to Vancouver
In a stunning political maneuver, the Territorial Legislature has voted to move the capital from Olympia to Vancouver and the penitentiary to Port Townsend, sparking outrage among local editors who see it as a betrayal of trust.
- The Confidence Man of Madison Street
A charismatic stranger built a house in Seattle, charmed local investors, and pulled off a sophisticated bank fraud that left the city stunned.
- The Axe That Struck the Root of Corporate Greed
A landmark 1885 federal land order threatens to forfeit the Northern Pacific Railroad's vast land grants for failing to meet its building requirements.
- Tragedy at the Portage: The Frozen Waters of Lake Union
A young immigrant worker drowns in the icy canal connecting Seattle's lakes, leaving his brother to mourn in a community built on the promise of infrastructure development.
- A Boiler Explosion on the Steamer Monticello
A fireman is fighting for his life after a high-pressure steam pipe failed mid-voyage near Kingston, marking the second such accident for the vessel.
- Orchard Owners Stunned by Federal Loan Ruling
A new appraisal standard effectively excludes orchardists from the benefits of the farm loan act, threatening the stability of Yakima Valley agriculture.
- A Tragic Afternoon on Lake Washington
A young boy is struck down by a sailboat boom during a sudden squall, and his father's grim prophecy about the lake is chillingly fulfilled.
- The Bread and Butter Vote: How the Custom House Ring Rigged Port Townsend Politics
In a stunning display of patronage politics in September 1876, federal employees in Port Townsend marched in lockstep to defeat local opposition, proving that government jobs were still the ultimate political currency.
- The Gilded Union: A Chorus Girl and a Chinese Actor Defy Convention in Seattle's Chinatown
In a scandalous departure from social norms, Jessie Kitchie and Ah Bock exchanged vows in the opium-scented apartments of Jackson Alley, marking a rare public union across racial lines in 1889.
- Brutal Waterfront Robbery Leaves Swedish Laborer Penniless
A night of drinking at a Washington Street saloon ended in a violent alleyway ambush that stunned the local community.
- The Bookkeeper Who Played Lawyer
A former insurance company clerk, accused of forgery, stunned the King County courtroom by ditching his defense counsel to argue his own case.
- Daring Escape from the County Jail
Two prisoners blinded the jailer with a chemical powder before stealing his weapon and vanishing into the woods.
- The Tragic Shooting of Edward Minach
Frank Minach is bound over for trial after shooting his brother in a local incident that stunned witnesses.
- A Murder Trial Ends in Tears and a Whispered Verdict
After eighteen months in a felon's cell and a second trial, William Wilcox walks free — and a courtroom erupts.
- A Fireman's Long Injury Ends in Tragedy at Headquarters
Assistant Fire Chief George H. Leggett, still suffering from a railroad wreck injury, took his life at department headquarters—a death that stunned the men who slept nearby.
Also about this, in other words
- The Shadow of a Workplace Grudge
A Public Works Commissioner pleads for police protection as he fears a discharged laborer may seek a violent revenge.
- Brutal Assault Outside City Hall
A man is left in a stupor after a vicious attack by a suspect who claims his victim stole his wages while he slept in the immigrant house.
- The Crackdown on G Street
Local law enforcement targets a house of ill fame in an effort to scrub the city of undesirable characters.
- The Predator on the Streets of Tacoma
A young woman narrowly escapes an encounter with a persistent street harasser in the South End, fueling police concerns about local safety.
- A Scantling Scuffle at the Boom
A simmering dispute over local timber booms erupts in violence at Chenoise Creek.
- The Miracle Man of the Tremont House
A Seattle sawmill worker recounts his miraculous recovery from a mysterious 'general nervous debility' thanks to a touring medical lecturer.
- A Warning Ignored, a Blast That Broke Four Ribs
A Great Northern worker was badly injured near Newport when a heavy blast threw a rock into his chest, despite warnings to move.
- Solidarity in the Face of Sickness
When a local shingle weaver fell ill with tuberculosis, his union brothers stepped in to ensure his care at a state sanatorium.