Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-28
The MAN OF
MANY Wives
sweet on Trial Bef IRE Justice
Harrington.
A MATRIMONIAL TANGLE
Mrs. Sweet Tells of the Much Marrled
State in Which She UnWit-
ting!y Placed Herself

The trial of Charles Sweet, alias Court
ney. Swift, and several other names, Tor
assaulting Mrs. Clara Sweet, one of his
numerous wives, began in Justice Har-
rington's court this afternoon. Inc
charge of assault was preferred against
him about a non g by his Butte Wife,
who, it seems, is one of the principals OF
an interesting matrimonial tanSle, out
side of her connection with Sweet. About
six weeks ago she went to the county at
torney's office and told a story not unlike
that of Enoch Arden. She said before she
met and was wooed and won by the ire
sistible Sweet she was married to a man
named Bennett, who went away several
years ago, and the news came back TO
her that he was dead. Then she met
Sweet and married him, and about two
months ago her husband, like the cat,
came back and she found herself embar-
raised by the possession of two husbands
and no divorce. The attorneys could give
her no advice, and the woman went away
and about six weeks ago caused q war
rant to be issued for Sweets arrest, on the
charge of assault. He was not found IN
til about a week age, when one OF ms
many eastern wives, q MIS-. tleS ,
came out in search of him.
Sweet would not take a prize at a
beauty show. He has a modern bullet
shaped head, with the point at the top
of his Uranium, from Which his closely
cropped. coarse hair stands out not uh-
like the stubble of a wheat field. His eyes
are small and green, and his face IS re-
pulsive beyond description. How he mas
managed to captivate so many women
=. J1@ Voc ,an1HCantnd nv
Burt Marsh. while the states interests
were looked after by Cornelius Kelly.
The Jury was sworn and examined, ana
Sweet said he was satisfied with the men
who would sit unon his case. 1T looks
like a workingman's jury" said he, with
a smile that was meant to be captivating
but which was just the reverse.
Mrs. Sweet was the first witness. She
said her name was Mrs. Clara Bennett;
that she resided at 425 East Granite
street. and was a dressmaker. Then she
told the story of the assault. She sald
Sweet came 20 her house after she
had requested him not to do so, and be-
cause she would haVe nothing to do with
him. era bbed up a bed Stat and struck
at her with sufficient force to dash out
her brains, but she lodged and managed
to get out of the way.
On cross-examinatiOn Mrs. Sweet, or
Bennett, said that Swift shook her, and
after he struck at her with the bed Stat
ran out of the door. She could not eX-
actly remember what happened, she was
so excited. She said she left him last
August on account of his brutal treat
ment. She said she married him three
years ago, when she was under the i'm
preston that her former husband was
dead, and hat his treatment of her at
all times was most brutal. She said that
when she learned that her former hus-
band was alive she begged Sweet to go
to work and get enough money to en-
able her to get a divorce. from Bennett,
and marry her again. She did not o
slider that she was Sweets wife. Sweet
told her he would kill her if she called
herself Bennett, but when she heard that
Bennett was alive she considered her
self his wife.
The hearing had not been concluded
when the Inter Mountain went to press.