The Dickinson press., 1891-10-31
HIS ASHES TO THE WIND,
STRANGE FUNERAL RITES OVER
HENRY MEYERS REMAINS.

i 1SiN6nNe MI GO WEN
HENRY MEYERS REMAINS.
He Was Moderated to the Music of a
1sand-Hi Ashes We're Cast Into the
Air from the Statue of Liberty in New
York Harbor-AM as He Directed.
A little white cloud foated out from
the head of the Statue of Liberty at 4
o'clock in the afternoon, and in it dis
appeared in the four winds of heaven
the remains of Henry Meyer, hotel
keeper, of Staten Island.
To be buried in this singular, half
cynical fashion in midair, az it were,
was exactly as the dead man had often
directed while he lived. AS he had
wished, his body was cremated, his
handful of ashes was preserved in a box
until the next Sunday should come,
and then, with the popping of cham
payne bottles and expressions of good
will, but no grief, was cast from the top
of Liberty whenever it would go. In
the clear sunshine of the beautiful day,
looking no bigger and of no more i'm
portance than a puff of cigar smoke,
the cloud hung for a moment under the
lee of the statue. Then the sharp north
west wind caught it, whirledit instantly
out of sight in the direction of the dead
mans old home, and that was the last
of the body of Henry Meyer.
A jovial though an odd soul, and a
hotel keeper for thirty years at Port
Richmond, Mr.. Meyer was we'll known
to every Staten Islander and a good
many other people, too. From the name
of his hotel he got to be called "Puck'
Meyer, so that his real first name was
generally forgotten. He was a skeptic,
a socialist, a strenuous advocate of Gre
nation, Il pretty good liver and a man
of great popularity in spite of IA thousand
peculiarities which will be Staten Island
folk lore for generations.
No n saw "Puck" die. He was
found dead in his bed in the hotel on the
morning of Feb. IA. His wife was the
first to discover his death. AS his will,
made many years ago, directed, the body
was taken to the Fresh Pond crematory,
on Long Island, two days later and in
cinerated. A committee from the Staten
Island Schuetzen corps, of which Meyers
had been a member, accompanied the
remains in three carriages, with a brass
band.
The body was dressed in the blue uni
form of the Schuetzen corps, and after it
had been consumed the brass buttons
and other pieces of metal which the fire
had not destroyed were preserved as
souvenirs. The ashes, weighing little
more than three pounds, were of a
whitish color and as feathery as cigar
ashes. They were carefully placed in a
round tin box and put in charge of First
Lieut.. Moritz Wegerle. Then, with the
band playing Il lively air, the party re-
turned to Staten Island.
The special committee took the steam
er Bay Ridge for Bedloe's Island.
To avoid curiosity Lieut.. Wegerle had
the tin box in a brown Gladstone bag.
He swung this carelessly in his hand as
the party climbed to the top of the ped
estal. Then they went outside the statue
on the stone platform surrounding it,
and there the bag was opened and the
master of ceremonies disclosed four
brown paper bags, each containing an
equal amount of Meyers ashes. There
was a spoonful or two left in the bottom
of the case, which were saved for
"Puck's" married sister on Staten Island
at her request.
AS he handed around the bags Mr..
Rinschler made this speech:
"Here are the ashes of old Puck
Meyer. He was u good man, beloved by
all. never knew of any wrong thing
he ever did"
Each man that got a bag stuck it into
Ills pocket. Then the party proceeded
to climb the winding stairs to Liberty's
head, Their movements, however, had
been observed by Waterman Horn, and
as they began the ascent he called out:
"What have you got there: Puck
Meyer"
CONSERVATION was depicted on every
face until Horn shouted again: "It's
all right. Go ahead. You can come
up" Up they went accordingly, but in
one of the sharp turns Capt. Fink who
is a portly man, got hopelessly stuck.
He handed his bag of ashes to Mr.. Boehe
and went back to the pedestal. 1t had
been intended to throw the ashes from
the torch, but that was impossible. They
had forgotten the necessary formality of
the special permit.
Each man took his station therefore in
the head corresponding to the points of
the compass, and as each bag was emp
tied the members cried, "Here goes the
ashes of Puck Meyer. Happy days!"
"Happy days to old Puck Meyer"
said Mr.. Rinschler.
"He was u good fellow" remarked
Lieut.. Wegerle.
you're right he was" said the others
altogether, according othe prearranged
formula.
"Do you believe in the resurrection
asked one of the committee of IL brother
member as they boarded the 5 O'Clock
boat.
"Well, 1 guess there's something in
it," said the brother laconically.
"Then all I've got to say is that Puck
Meyer will find a hard job pulling him
self together when that day comes"
Meyer was Sc years old and came to
this country from Hamburg about thirty
five years ago. He was one of the first
volunteers from Staten Island on the
northern side during the rebellion. He
served through the war and got a wound
in his left leg in a skirmish in Tennessee.
He refused to let the surgeons amputate
his limb, although they said he couldn't
live unless he did, and brought the leg
and the rest of his body home safe and
sound ut the end Of the war. He never
wore IN o%vercoat, always wore q silk
hat the year round and always carried a
cane. The Staten Island children al
most worshiped him.
Meyer provided in his will that his
friends should have a champagne supper
after scattering his ashes, but it was
found that no money remained for this.
In fact, the man died a bankrupt. His
place at Port Richmond was sold under
foreclosure the day after he died. Hs
left one child, a son 3 years old, by his
present wife. His life was a fast and u
merry one, and his friends hardly knew