Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-02-04
Fact Stranger Than Fiction.

California has 4 compound perpleXlty
composed of person named Oades, who
is described rs n gentleman of good edu-
cation and address, who has proved him.
self to be more practical than romantic,
and who finds himself justified by the new
law code of the State, by which polygamy
has been lawfully established to the as
tonishment of the lawyers and the scandal
of a bucolic community. The story of
Oades has excited great interest in the
State where the incident occurred, and it
cannot fail to prove equally interesting
everywhere rs n striking proof of the way
in which the law proposes and man dis
poses.
Two years ago Oades settled i'll San Ber-
nardino county, and, realizing that it is
not good for man to be alone. fell in love
with and married n young widow. The
pair prospered and We're happy, but after
ten months of welded life Il startling
change occurred. \ woman, wrinkled
with years and hardships, and accompa-
MED by three children, appeared in the
county town. She made particular inqui-
ries for Oades, and was directed to his ad-
iacent farm. She went there with the
children and was received in the farm
house, San Bernardino was happy in the
possession of mystery which might prove
a mystery. The strange woman and chill
dren remained in the Oades house day
after day, week after week. Rural neigh
borhoods in California are like such neigh
borhoods generally, and everybody knows
everything about everybody else. SO it
happened that everybody speedily knew
that Oades was husband and father to the
strange woman and children, no less than
/ to the woman he had lately married and
her infant. There was an instant commO
ton. Everybody agreed that something
must be done about it without delay.
Something was done. A criminal plant
was filed charging Oades with living un
lawfully with the strange woman. Wher
the trial came on, he astonished San Ber
was his lawful wife, to whom he had beer
married twenty years before in England
There being no doubt of the fact when hi.
proofs were submitted, the complaint wa.
dismissed, and Oades returned to his home
to enjoy the society of his two wives. Bu
the busybodies returned to the attack, anC
had him again before the court on charge
of unlawfully living with Mrs. Oades No
2 Oades took refuge in shrewd lawyer:
and the new civil code. Admitting all the
facts, he asserted that conviction coulc
not be had, because the sixty-first section
of the code declares that " the marriage
of person having a former husband OF
wife living is void, unless such former
husband or wife was absent, and no
known to such person to be living for fiv,
years Immediately pr, ce ling such subse
quent marriage-in which case the subse
quent marriages. void only from the time
its nullity is adjudged by-a proper tribu
nal" Oades easily proved the requiret
fact, in doing which a most romantic his
tory was narrated The complaint wa
necessarily dismissed, and again Oade
departed in triumph.
But Oades was indicted for bigamy
When the case came on for trial, we ar,
told everybody was present with his wife
while Oades was present with his tw,
! wives. The district attorney attacked tn
jury with moral homilies and Latin quota
tions. He admitted that the accused wa
ignorant of the existence of number on
when he married number two, but argue,
that his voluntary cohabitation with bot
was proofof Il guilty intent ab initiO. Blu
all the learning and eloquence of the dis