Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1839-05-17
REMARkABLE SUICIDE.
,rom ,he New York journal Of Commerce.

Suicide. of t,co or three Persons concerned
in he BraSanza A6air.-Joseph Yer Brug..
zen. who was on Wednesday last convicted
of the murder of Captain Turley, OF the brig
Bra panza, and James Davys another oil the
crew, who gave evidence on the trial. nave
both committed suicide. :,
On Friday evening, Mr. Coggershall' me
keeper of the prison, visited Yer Bruggens
cell. and took considerable pains 10 impress
upon him the necessity of making due prep,
aration for that death which so nearly and
inevitably awaited HIM. Yer Bruggen, how
ever, received Mr. CoggeshalPs kind and
christian advice with sullinness and disdain,
and replied that he "nether feared death, or
wanted to be bothered with priest" Mr.
Coggeshal then leG him. and he was short
~ afterwards supplied with such temperate
Indulpencics as are never refused TO persons
in his situation. and was left alone for the
night
AT an cariy hour on the same night, n
prisoner named Ezra White, who was con
fined on charge OF murder, in the cell ad'
Joining Yer Bruggen, conversed with him
through the wall, and informed him that
Hans Kneudson who had been subsequently
tried on tie same charge as Yer Bruggen,
was acquitted In the course oil their con
ycrsaion, Yer Bruggen complained that
gross injustice had been done himself, but
he did not state in what particular He al
so said that the lad Davys, who had testified
against him land who has since committed
suicide) was as guilty as any OF the others, q
had also acted most ungratclully to him. For
that after the crew obtained possession OF the
brig, they had a quarrel with Days and
would have thrown him overheard, had he
not intcrlered and saved him. In relation
to his approaching DEATH Yer Bruggen said
that as regarded himself it was matter Of
indifference to him but that when he renec-
ted on the digracc and distress OF mind.
which il must bring upon his fine sisters
whe were in Belgium the idea Of il aliogeth-
err unnamed him, and made him almost in
sane.
Shortly after this conversation, about ten
o'clock, White heard Yer Bruggen remov-
ing or making some other disposition OF the
stats Of his bedstead and heard no further
noise in his cell during the night
On Saturday morning, the engineer,
whose business 1t is to cleanse the water
pipes which run through all the cells, found
an obstruction in the pipe Of one ofthe cells,
near that in which Yer Bruggen was confin-
ed, and in order to discover where it was, he
unsuccessfully searched the pipes OF the diE
!erent cells until he became 10 Yer Brug-
gems, and on opening the door Of ii he be-
held him hanging from the windows Of his
cell, in which position he had apparently
been several hours, as he was then stiff and
life totally extinct Besides the Stat from
which he was found hanging, there was al
so another slnt found at the grating. with
another rope attached TO il, which had evil
IDENTIFY broken. from which it would appear
that the unfortunate wretch had made one
unsuccessful a,ieupt to destroy himself, and
only succeeded in the second
Yer Bruggen was native Of Antwerp,
about thirty years old. in person rather be-
low the middle size, compact and well made.
and possessed eountenance indicative OF
much intelligence. and the mos, determined
resolution He is said 10 have been most
respectfully connected, and that his brother
inlaw is a colonel in the service Of King
Leopold
After the inquest was held. several surge
ons, under the impression, we suppose that
the old English law in relation olhe bodies
Of murderers who are executed applies also
10 the bodies of mnrderers who execute
themselves, asked the coroner for permission
TO dissect the body Of Yer Bruggen. But as
the coroner did not consider that there was
any legal obligation on him to thus dispose
fthe body, he did no, wish by doing so TO
increase the affection of the murderers in
nocent relatives, and therefore refused the re-
quest Of the surgeons and ordered the body
to be buried in Po,iers Field
Suicide Of James Darys-James DAVIS,
a lad about eighteen years old, was one OF
the crew OF the Braganza, and according 10
his own account had taken no part in the
murder or piracy, but after il had been eiiec-
ted was obliged TO assist in navigating the
vessel. On the trial of Yer Bruggen. he
gave evidence on the part of the United
States, and his evidence was perhaps the
most effective in procuring the conviction Of
the murderer. AS it was deemed necessary
10 keep him in prison until the different tri.
ais would be over he was confined at the