Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1876 | 9 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 16 |
| 1893 | 18 |
| 1894 | 21 |
| 1895 | 12 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1916 | 3 |
| 1928 | 1 |
138 stories matching trick
- The Sheriff’s Shabby Costume: A Prisoner’s Trick to Escape the Penitentiary
In a bizarre twist of early Washington Territory justice, a sheriff attempted to smuggle a prisoner into the territorial penitentiary by disguising him in shabby clothes. The trick failed, but not before the warden made a memorable quip.
- The Great Mill Street Wagon Prank
A local hotel runner learns the hard way that the boys of Mill Street have a penchant for mechanical mischief.
- The Streetcar Decoy Scam
When the local transit company tried to goose ridership by planting actors on the streetcars, Everett's working class saw right through the performance.
- Master Magician Laurant Dazzles Opera House Crowd
Laurant's performance of illusions and tricks at the Colfax opera house last night left the audience delighted, with comparisons to Hermann and Keller. The magician announces a new program for tonight.
- The Lamp-Explosion Racket at Snoqualmie
Confidence men peddling a miracle powder to stop lamp explosions are run out of town after a local skeptic replicates their 'scientific' trick without the product.
- The Professor Who Escaped the Shackles: A Seattle Spiritualist’s Audacious Escape
In July 1876, Professor S.S. Baldwin drew a crowd at Yesler’s Hall not for his spiritualist tricks, but for his daring escape from handcuffs and leg irons—a feat that left the audience gasping and proved he was no fraud.
- The McKinley Tariff Sham
A political critique on how proposed protectionist duties on farm goods served industrial monopolies rather than the rural population.
- The Oldest Trick in the Book
A grifter in Seattle's city jail has a penchant for a classic pocketknife switch that leaves tourists penniless.
- The Bunko Men Who Got Away
A rare conviction for 'bunko' card-trick swindling hits a dead end as the culprits flee the state and the extradition fund runs dry.
- The $40 Forgery That Fooled Seattle’s Hardware Elite
A dashing stranger with a dark mustache and bare chest walks into W.P. Boyd & Co., flashes a forged check from the Seattle Hardware Company, and vanishes with $40 in cash—leaving behind only a single typo that saves the victim from total ruin.
- Shanghaied in Tacoma
A waterfront boarding house keeper is caught in the act of kidnapping a sailor in Tacoma.
- Exposition Jewelry Heist
A thief disguised as a farmer tricks a clerk during the Tacoma Industrial Exposition to steal jewelry.
- The Alarmist Officer
A Seattle patrolman's attempt to slack off duty by pulling a fake fire alarm led to a public scandal and the end of his career.
- The 'Smuggled Goods' Confidence Trick
Two men were jailed after attempting to sell cheap, domestically-sourced goods to the local postmaster under the guise of smuggled contraband.
- The Dice Game Heist
Two con-men swindle a logger out of his savings using a loaded dice game in a downtown Seattle saloon.
- The Sluggers of Pacific Avenue
A saloon’s security force takes street justice into their own hands after a customer tries to cheat a slot machine with lead slugs.
- The Old 'Freight Bill' Con: A Waterfront Warning
A traveler bound for the Klondike Gold Rush finds himself relieved of his cash by a 'friendly' stranger and a well-timed shakedown.
- A Close Call in the Kitchen
A man’s attempt to dry his dynamite in a kitchen oven ends in a deafening, structure-leveling blast.
- The City Employment Bureau’s Fight Against Job Scalpers
Tacoma’s municipal employment manager implements a new in-person policy to block local rivals from poaching public job leads.
- The Pure Food Ordinance Trap
Tacoma women leading a campaign for food safety are blindsided by a missing provision in a new city ordinance.
- The 'Citizens' Ticket' Plot in San Juan County
A Friday Harbor editor claims Democrats and Populists will skip their own nominations, then run a fusion slate disguised as a nonpartisan citizens' ticket.
- The Prize Apple Was Stuffed With Shot
A judge's suspicion at the Spokane fair exposed a prank that briefly put a Wilbur exhibitor's reputation on the line.
- The Patent Scam That Ended With a Frenchman's Last $3
A Seattle detective's account of a fake invention scheme shows how confidence men worked—and how the law let the swindlers slip away.
- The Seattle Dry Goods War: A 19th-Century Boycott
When local merchants began using circulars to undercut their competition and 'boycott' a local newspaper, the P-I fought back by calling on the moral, law-abiding citizens of Seattle to take a stand.
- Walla Walla Man Attempts Suicide; Gamblers Cheat Visitors
A tragic attempt at suicide in Walla Walla sheds light on the toll of addiction and the harsh realities of frontier life.