St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-08-11
Suicide.


Early on Saturday morning it was
reported that Robert II. johnson, Il
well-known character residing in Sum
merville, had committed suicide, which
report subsequent developments con-
tirmed. Various rumOrS were rife as
to the cause and the manner of his
death, and a representative of the Cal
edORidn called on Mrs. johnson and
elected the following particulars :
peddling tour having in his possession
some three hundred dollars. Taking
it with him he went away and in five
weeks returned with only two dollars
in money. Abandoning the peddling
business he went to a town in a neigh
boring state to do haying. On Friday
he returned about four o'clock i'll the
afternoon very much depressed in
spirits, telling his wife that he was in
trouble and that he wanted her to help
him out of trouble, as she says she has
done very many times. She told him
that she was not going to help him out
of any more scrapes. This so enragcd
him that he drew IA pistol and threat
ened to shoot her. She grasped his
arm and succeeded in wrenching the
pistol from him and ran out of the
house, closely followed by her husband
who caught her in the yard and re-
gained possession of the weapon. He
then adopted a more conciliatory
course toward her, and persuaded her
to return to the house, saying that he
was not gOiTg to kill her. He said he
was in trouble and wanted her to help
him ont. He finally induced her to
endeavOr to find help for him, and
about eight o'clock she hired a man to
drive her to her brothers, who lives in
Sutton, the driver leaving her and re-
turning. Her nephew, young man,
brought her back, reaching home about
four o'clock on Saturday morning. AS
she entered the house Mr.. J. said $50
you've got back" He then asked her
with what success she had met and she
told him that her folks refused to dc
anything for him again, they having
rendered assistance on previous occa-
siOns. Without making any words
about the matter he went out of the
house, his wife paying no attention to
the fact because she supposed that he
I.had gone to speak to her nephew who
was preparing to return to Sutton.
She soon heard the report of a pistol
and she knocked at the door leading to
the tenement i'll the other part of the
house to awaken them. She rushed
out and found him lying on the floor in
an outbuiiding with discharged pis-
toll and hole in the right temple. She
raised him to a sitting posture. think
ing he could be saved. The man liv-
ing in the other tenement came hur-
riedly out and he was removed to the
house, but their combined efforts failed
to succor him. He uttered no word OF
groan, save a slight gurgle in the
throat, and died in about an hour anG
three-quarters.
She says that for the past two year.
he had been at times very much de,
pressed in spirits and had several time.
threatened to shoot himself and t.
drown himself in the river which flow.
a short distance in front of his house
For a corresponding period he haC
maltreated her, had threatened her life
had chOked her and had broken IA chat
over her, although she says she hac
never done a wrong thing since sh,
married him and had always endeav
ored to treat him as a wife should trea
her husband. He had never left he
before this summer without providing
for her support, except for six week
last summer.
r His brother residing in Danville an
a cousin living in st. Johnsbury-th