St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-05-11
A Remarkable Murder Case.

a Remarkable OdSc.
New England of recent years has been
fruitful in terrible crimes, but no tragedy
has eaualed IN deliberate savagery the
killing of Miss Susan j. Hanson OF
Brooktield, n. h., in November 1874
as its revolving details are now develop
ed by the confession of Charles w. Cook
of Pennington. He did the killing on
the promise OF $500 reward from Joseph
b. Buzzell, farmer of means and re-
puted responsibility, a former suitOr Oi
Miss Hauson's aud defendant at the
time in IA breach of-prumise suit brought
by her.
Susan j. Hanson was IA native and
life long resident of BroOktield, "a year,
old, attractive, amlable and cultured
above most country girls. she had
known Farmer BuzZell intimately al
ways they mad grown up near neigh
bors, were engaged before the girl had
reached her both year, and several times
he had appointed and postponed the
wedding-day. A few months before the
tragedy the lover, to everybOdy's sur
prise, married another woman. The
friends of Miss Hanson were naturally
indignant and outraged, and at thell
earnest solicitations the deserted girl
consented to bring Z breach-Ot- promise
suit against Buzzell. The legal papers
had been served, but the night before
the ii rst hearing of the case the plaintiff
was killed. She was sitting i'll the early
evening with her mother, brother aud
IA little ;ivpiIew, in their coy New Eng
land kitchen, when binding explosion
occurred, the lamp went out, aud Miss
Hanson fell dead. a hole in the win
dow and IL shot and slugs in the wO-
mans body disclosed the horrible work
of an assassin.
BuZZeil was naturally arrested and
tried. The imprint of a gun stock neal
the window through which the shot had
been fired corresponded to Il gun he had
formerly owned, but which could not
be found wagou-track from which d
man was followed through IL piece Of
plow ed land near the HansOns' CORE
sponded to his the wadding of the gun
had been from newspaper he wa
known to take-but after weeks tria
the evidence against Farmer Buzzel
was held to be not convicting. The
Hanson house was soon after deserted
10y its occupants because of its terrible
associations, and tue local public gave
over expecting that the murderer o
Susan Hanson would be brought to JUS
tice i'll this world.
Public excitement because of the muir
der was somewhat revived, however, il
the spring of 1876 by the burning of til,
fine farm buildings of one of the wit.
nesses against Buzzell in the murder
trial, and again in the fall and last win
ter by the inceEdiary firing of building,
belonging to two more men who haC
given evidence unfavoTable to the de
PENDANT. Reward of thousand dollars
was offered for the arrest of the incen
diary, and Boston detectives began tt
shadow Charles w. Cook, who haC
been Buzzell's hired man for years. Th,
officers became wOrkmen in the shoe
factory at Pennington, whittier Cool
had removed, and, Il few days ago, ar
rested him us Buzzell's accomplice il
the murder and incendiarisms. Over
come at finding agents of the law in hi
new friends, the young man has mad,
Il voluntary confession of the means
employed by Buzzell to revenge himsel
Oh Miss Hanson and his neighbors.
The gun used to kill Miss Hanson wa
Il big Queens aIm," the same tina
could not be found at the trial of Buz
zell, and it was loaded with shot ant
slugs which the man and the boy-fo
Cook was then but II Yeas old-carriet
ill their pockets and put into the barre
almost Ill sight of the Hanson house
Cook says of the shooting:-
We went across the hills and pasture
leading to the Hanson house to little
knoll where the barn used to sit, abou
three rods from the house. | thinl
Buzzell then asked me if | would xii
her, and | told him no, that had rath
er be KILLED myself. He said he would
give me $500; and that he had wit
nesses who would swear we were no
on the road. We went to the front sid,
of the house and looked into the win
dows and saw Susan, her brother ant
mother and little boy. Buzzell wanted
Inc to shoot, and said had got to do i
or he would blow my head off. | wa
afraid he would. He leveled the gun
and told me to fire it. L took it ant
fired at Susan Hanson and went bacl
of SoitIldge's barn. Buzzell went di
rectly for his house.
The wretched lad was made to testif,
to an alibi in Buzzell's favor at the sub
sequent trial, and was then sent out o
town by the farmer, who subsequent,
recalled him to burn the property o
those who had sought to justly faster
upon him the killing of Miss Hanson.
This confession of Cook NATURAL,
causes great excitement in the quie
town OF BrOoktield, and Attorney-G Gen
eral Tappan is on the ground investi
eating. While it will be somewhat diff
ticult to deal legally with man VIII
has been once tried for connection wit
the murder, there is no reason to doub
that way will speedily be found to dea
with Susan Hanson's murderers meas
urably after their deserts, though jus
tice would have been fullest served, H.
doubt, had Buzzell been hung on tn
circumstantial evidence of his first trial
The whole story newly and remarkabl
illustrates the large stupidity which al
ways attends the british cunning q
such crime.
State News.