Omaha daily bee., 1885-07-06
BACKED HER EYE.
| Domestic Eruption al Valentine That
Has Created Great Excitement.
James Morris, Registor Of the U. 8,
Land Office, Strikes Mrs. Morris
in the Eye With his Fist-Par.
ticulars of the Affair.

The little town of Valentine is lust
now revealing In the scsndslous details
of q domestic eruption, there, which has
slnoe its occurrence created considerable
excitement, and furnished an unlimited
supply of sensational matter for the PEG.
pie to gossip upon. Last Wednesday
night n special dispatch was received at
this office stating that James Morris,
register of the United States land office
at Valentine, had struck his wife in the
cye with his fist, and briefly gave the de-
tails Of The affair. That dispatch, how
ever, was not published, because II came
from an enemy of Morris, nnd also
because the BEE Is loath TO print nows of
this kind without first being cure of Its
truthiulnesa, and rot even then unless 1t
becomes u matter of court record. Since
then, however, several letters have been
received from reliable parties who verify
the report and also give extended state
ments of the facts. Among the letters
received is one from Mrs. Morris deny
ing that any trouble had existed between
herself and her husband, but, no doubt
her only desire was to shield him from
exposure.
Morris Is a public man, holding
a responsible government posi-
ton, aud 1t has baen charged by aev.
eral citizens of the upper Elkhorn coun.
try, that the BEE would not publish any
IlE,r ,hot,N Iia, l,a,ran ln 1on ~ o-o
time the private secretsry of Senotor
Saunders, and through that gentlemen's
influence, assisted by Senator Van Wyck,
received his appointment, therefore the
affair is given publicity in these co..
umns as matter of news.
The facts as they have
been detailed may DO noted as follows:
On the afternoon CT June 30, Mr.. Nor
Iis said his wife wanted to geo Judge
Tucker, In his (Morria) private office.
On entering, Mrs. Morris stated that she
had come there to protest
against her husband employing
a certain man from AinBworth,
charging as her reasons therefore, undue
intimacy between her husband and this
mans wife. BY way of p%arenthesis it is
asserted that Mrs. Morris has been
driven almost to distraction, by reason of
her husbands intimacy with other
women, but the BEES informant declares
that she is entirely mist in her accu-
sation against the lady referred to, be-
csuse she is looked upon as being en-
tirely above reproach. 1t seems that
matters were temporarily settled at the
office, but when Morris went home in the
evening, go the story goes, he proceeded
to chastise his wife by striking
her in the face and eyes
with his fist. After being
thus assaulted, Mrs. Morris went
down town, ihree-quarters CT a mile,
after the sheriff to arrest her husband,
but she wac followed by her son Alfred,
who, with his pleadings and tears, finally
succeeded lin inducing her to return
home, without having Morris arrested.
At the time Morris struck, his wife their
daughter, Mrs. w. E. Waite, was pres
ent, and demonstrated with him for
the disgraceful act, whereupon, In his
anger, he ordered her to leave the house.
Mr.. Waite, who is a cattle man, was out
at his ranch when all this occurred. On
returning the next day and learning the
situation he took his wife and baby,
and through a drenching rain, rather
than live in the Morris house any longer,
moved tn another home.
1t Is said that the popuIace of Valen-
tine Is very Indignant OF Morris, and
denounce him in unmeasured terms.
Mr.. Waite arrived In Omaha Saturday
ard is the guest of Mr.. Truman Buck
the city treas1rsr. They are partners In
the cattle business. A BEE reporter
called on Mr.. Waite last night aud asked
him for O statement of this affair, but
having given his promise before leaving
home not to do go, he refused to say q
word, either to confirm what has been re-
lated above or to deny 1t.
TheEe are the plain, unvarnished facts
as they have been furnished to the BEE,
and ON account of the social and political
prominence of the parties, the affair has
created the greatest excitement in Valen-
tine of any thing that ever occurred
there before.