The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-07-06
MRS. CAHILL'S SAD STORY
Woes of Working Woman
With a Drunken Husband.
ne LEFT HER PENNILESS
AID Weeks After Returned Intoxicated
and Frightened Her and Her
4 Children From the House.
He Is Sent to Jail.

John Cahill went to bed with his
boots and habits on Fourth of July
night. For his sins he will mourn ~
days and 30 nights in the county jail
Mrs John Cahill, his wife, told pit
iful tale when she was on the witness
stand testifying against her husband
before Judge Devine yesterday after
noon. Cahill was charged with disturb
ing the peace.
I'VE live at SOB East Front street"
said Mrs. Cahill, pale, tired, slender
woman. My husband left me three
weeks ago Tuesday. At that time we
money. l tried to get along the best
! could, but there are three children
in the family-sons by previous hus-
band-and / could get only a little
work. A lady that runs a boarding
house, she gave me all the work she
could to help me out. Then Mr.. Nor
ris, the landlord, because | couldn't
pay the rent, gave me three days no.
tice to leave the house. / had a talk
with him and he said l had better go
on the county. / said | didn't see what
else there was for me to do. Then !
went to the commissioners and told
them about it, They said If l could
provide for the family they would go
good for the rent, provided my hus-
band, who had always abused me and
treated me badly, would stay away.
But Monday night my husband
came back. He had little money.
but he went down town and spent it.
blew it all in. Then last night he came
back again to the house. ! told him
he must stay away, but he stayed
around there and finally went into Mr..
Morris house next door. Then l went
to the neighbors' and went down to the
police. Chief White came up and he
and some policemen and Mr.. Norris
had talk with my husband. Then
Mr. White and Mr.. Morris told me to
go back in my house and lock the door
and they would see that Mr.. Cahill
did not come back.
But after a while he did come back
and raped at the door, which l had
locked. Go away I said to him
through the door, you mustn't come
in here With that he showed the
door open and came in and went
through the house and then got in bed
with his shoes and all his clothes on.
By that time the children and l were
all out in the streets. We called the
neighbors and / asked Mr. Morris why
he had let my husband come back
when he and Mr. White said they
would keep him away. The police
men came then and took my husband
away"
:. Mr.. Bersansen. a neighbor, told how
he had been aroused from his sleep
by Mrs Cahill's cries for help, had put
on his clothes and gone out to find
Cahill had come home, forced an en-
trance. chased the family out of the
house and gone to bed with his boots
on,
: Cahill a shock headed, red faced
laborer, who had sat with bowed head
and shamed air, made a brief state
ment. He admitted having forced the
door, saying he guessed he was pretty
full all right" but denied that he
had chased the family out He said it
was true that he had gone to bed
wearing his boots, and declared he was
asleep when the officers came to ar
rest him.
He asserted that since last Deem
Der and until three weeks ago he had
been employed off and on at the con-
verters, but that there was no more
work and he had since been working
most of the time driving a team on
the railroad work at Silver Bow. Ca
hill declared he had always support
ed his family and that his wife always
drew his pay check while he was
working at the converters, in trade at
the Copper City store.
Mrs. Cahiiihwas called back to the
stand. She said that Cahill had never
contributed properly to the support
of the family since she married him
four years ago. Before we came here"
said she, when We were living up in
the north, he would spend all his pay
check for whiskey and l would
have to wash to support the whole
family. Since we have been here he
has laid off lots of times when he could
have worked. And then his whiskey
bill at the store every month would be
as big as our whole bill for groceries
and sometimes bigger. Yes. he would
buy whiskey at the store. In the four
years that we have been married I
have never had any peace with him.
Two years ago he began to drink hard
and has been that way ever since.
when he went away three weeks
ago he did not tell me where he was
going. That morning I got up at
O'Clock and packed his dinner bucket
and got him ready for work. He went
off, but came back about 9 o'clock in
the morning drunk He said he was
going away. l said
"'What did you quit your job for?'
There was no more work. he said.
He wanted his bed clothes. and l pack
ed them up. and he went away with
a ragged, dirty looking man that I
never saw before.
'I told him when he went away"
concluded Mrs Cahill, breaking down
as she spoke, that if he wouldn't
bother me any more / would never ask
him for a cent
Judge Devine read Cahill brief lee
ture and sentenced him to serve so
days in jail. pointing out that this was
a light sentence, but a second offense
would be punished much more severely.
There are three children dependent
on Mrs. Cahilrs labors for their sup.
port. They are aged respectively 6,
and 10 years.
If Won think of repainting YOUR housa