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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1916 | 1 |
25 stories matching wateri
- The Narrow Escape in Whitechapel
After a laborer was robbed and tossed into the frigid tide flats of Seattle's waterfront, an unlikely group of rescuers saved him from a watery grave.
- The Lawyer and the Rubber Coat
A Seattle attorney pulls a local government worker from a watery death in the harbor by the tails of his coat.
- The Ghost Ship of Puget Sound
While a steamer crew vanished into the waves, Port Townsend customs officials sat in their offices waiting for 'official notification' before launching a rescue, fueling public outrage.
- Hanged on a Doubt: Washington Territory's First White Execution
When John Thompson was hanged in Seattle in 1877, many believed he was guilty of manslaughter, not murder. The Dispatch made the case that the law had taken a life it should have spared.
- The Hangman's Verdict: John Thompson Convicted of Murder in Snohomish
A trial that captivated the entire Territory ends with a death sentence for a man accused of killing his friend during a drunken brawl over a card game.
- The Pilot Who Dropped Dead at the Helm
A seasoned navigator suffers a fatal stroke while guiding a British ship through the Golden Gate, only for the crew to be extorted by a tugboat captain who demands an 'exorbitant' fee to save them.
- The Mud-Trap at the Old Seattle Gas Works
A young delivery driver narrowly escapes a watery grave after his team sinks into the treacherous quicksand of the tide flats.
- The Perilous Daily Commute at the Cedar River Mines
For miners in a remote Seattle-area coal camp, getting to work meant risking their lives on makeshift bridges and slippery footlogs, all to feed their families.
- The Narrow Escape of Aberdeen
A pre-dawn fire in a downtown barber shop threatened to raze the young city, but a swift response from the local hose company stopped the flames before they reached the business district.
- The Patent Medicine Suicide Hoax
A supposed farewell note found on Yesler Wharf turns out to be a clever, cynical advertisement for a health elixir.
- The Man Who Returned from the Grave
A shipwrecked man’s family burned his belongings and went into mourning, only to be shocked by his miraculous return.
- The Canal That Would Make Seattle an Island
In 1883, surveyors proposed locks and canals linking Lake Union and Lake Washington to tidewater—so coal could move by water and Seattle could 'practically stand on an island.'
- Four Drown at Wild Goose Bill Ferry
A ferry accident on the Columbia River leaves four men dead as their wives watch helplessly from the shore.
- The Cry That Came Too Late on the Pend Oreille
A deck hand fell from the steamer Ione near Locke Landing while trying to catch a wind-blown parcel. His crew heard the cry but could not reach him in time.
- Seattle Begins Filling Its Tide Flats
Surveyors lay the base line and piledrivers start a brush-and-earth bulkhead along Railroad Avenue, turning watery flats into buildable ground.
- The Ill-Fated Voyage of the Steamship Mexico
A bustling Puget Sound steamer, laden with coal and passengers, runs aground in the thick fog near Nanaimo, leaving the crew and longshoremen to face a watery disaster.
- River Rescue at Pasco
Captain Brown of the Hanford Flyer saves a drowning child from the Columbia River.
- Steamer Cascade Lost Near Edmonds
A stern-wheeler meets a watery end after a labor dispute leaves it stranded on the beach during a windstorm.
- 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.
- The Professor Who Rowed Himself Into the Lake
A local athletic instructor's intense workout on Lake Union ends in a watery disaster when his boat literally falls apart.
- The Relentless Fate of the Tug Blanche
For the fourth time in a single year, a local tugboat has met a watery end at the Seattle Lumber company wharf.
- The Sad Tale of the Professional Mourner
A gray-haired swindler working Seattle's Second Street cigar shops finds that his heart-wrenching sob story—and his prop bandana—only work once per merchant.
- A Near-Drowning at the Mill
A young man is saved from the water by a mill employee who has a reputation for bravery.
- Daring Sea Rescue at Port Orchard
A squall nearly capsized a rowboat near Port Orchard; a Nipsic crew rescued Minnie Ketcheson and a captain's son.
- A Swedish Immigrant Built Seattle's Clean-Milk Dairy One Gallon of Cream at a Time
Alfred Kristoferson arrived to find a booming city where cream came watery and milk carried disease. His answer — pasteurization, doorstep delivery, and a health officer's endorsement — became a one-man public-health campaign.