New-York tribune., 1903-04-27
OPENHYM'S BODY FOUND.
SEARCHERS LOSE $4,000.
Rezoard for Health Boat Captain
Who Vas Inspecting Has Craft.

The body of AdoIphe Openhym. the silk mer-
chant, who jumped from High Bridge on March
80 was found yesterday in the Harlem River
at One-hundred- and-fifty- -seventh-st. and to
Captain John Meehan, of the Health Depart
ment boat Ella Jane who was looking about
the deck with thought of the body, will go
the So 900 reward which had led men to patrol
the Harlem in steam launches from High Bridge
and Spuyten Duyvl day and night for nearly
four weeks. Two hours before one of these
launches had passed up the river.
What at first seemed remarkable was the
absence of decomposition in the body. This was
explained by the supposition that it had been
held in the mud at the bottom until Saturday
or yesterday. when the formation of gases
caused it to rise. The trousers were torn to
shreds and the belief that the graphing irons
of the searchers did this serves to show how
firmly imbedded in the bottom the body was and
how near the searchers were to gaining the
5000 reward.
The Identification was made positive at once
by the finding In the pockets of several of Mr..
Openhyn1's cards and an invitation to the din
ner for District Attorney Jerome at the Hotel
St Denis, which Mr.. Openhym attended on the
night preceding the morning he jumped from
High Bridge.
The family was informed at once. and the
identification made beyond question by repre-
sentatives of it.
There nothing found in the clothes to
give any indication of the cause of Mr. Open
hym's act, and his friends are convinced
that ii was the result of dementia, which came
on him like flash.
The Ella Jane not being in service, was
moored at e-hundred-and-f1fty-s -seventh-st.
Following his CUSTOM Captain Meehan, on aris-
ing yesterday, looked over his craft to see that
everything was shipshape. The boat lay ABOUT
two feet from the wharf. AS Captain Meehan
was looking at the hawsers he noticed an object
in the water between the boat and the pier. be
thought at first that it was the body o. a dog.
Then he decided it a bundle of old rags
But after scrutinizing the object more carefully
he decided that it was the body of a man. With
a boathook he towed the body around the stern
of the boat stepped the wharf and dragged
the body into shallow water alongside.
His son August as soon he saw the body,
said:
WHY that's the body of Openhym.
Il don't believe it," replied the captain.
I am sure it is his body, and 1 going to
inform the family said August and he ran to
a telephone, called up the Openhym home, at
No. 352 Riverside Drive. and told Mrs. Openhym
her husbands body had been found
In the mean time Captain Meehan hao called
Policeman Francis, of the West One-hTndred-
and-ffty- -second-st- station from Central Bridge.
Francis waded out in the shallow water. and on
searching the clothing found the Identifying
cards. In purse in one pocket was $o9 6Z; IN
another pocket gold watch on the back OF
which was the monogram "A. o.; in the scarf
was a pearl stickpin Other articles found were
a heavy gold chain, which was attached to the
watch; a gold encased lead pencil gold PEN
knife, gold cuff buttons and gold shirt STUDS.
The face was vivid red There was DrulSe
or the forehead which might have been caused
by Mr.. Openhym striking the water or the DOT
tom of the river head foremost Inc handS
It is CAPTAIN Meehan's opinion that when suf-
ficent gas formed in the body to float 1t, the
food tide carried it down the river ana the eDD
tide carried it back. 1t probably would have
foated by the boat had it not been for fender
from humping against the dock.
AS soon as Mrs. Openhym received the word
from young Meehan. she telephoned to William
Rolph of No. 81 West One-hundred- -and-forty-
second-st., who has had charge of the work that
has been done recover the body. and her
brother. Robert D. Kohn. of No 1ol West Nine
tv-ffth-st Before they reached the pier the
patrol wagon from the West observation-disclosures
fifty y-second-st. station, containing wooden
coffin got there. So bloated the body that
it could not be put in the coffin until one of the
sides had been knocked out
Coroner Scholer was at the station when the
hodv arrived and after making examination
issued a permit for it's removal to the rooms of
the Campbell Burial and Cremation Company,
at No 241 West Twenty-third-st-
As a guarantee to Captain Meehan that he
would get the reward of $4,000 Mr. kohn gave
the captain his card, and on the back or 1t he
wrote
This card is given to Captain John Meehan
who found the body Of Adolphe Openhym"
Captain Meehan is seventy years DID, and has
teen working in one capacity another around
the waters of New York since ne ten years
old.
1t was said that as soon as word went around
the neighborhood that the body had been found
all the telephones there were kept busy for some
time by men calling up the Openhym home and
telling Mrs Openhym that they had found the
body. A dozen, it was said claimed the reward
II was stated at the undertaking establish
ment that the body would be cremated at ,
o'clock on Wednesday at Fresh Pond. Long ISL
and The body will be kept in tn, chapel of the
undertaking establishment until Wednesday
morning After a brief service il will be re-
moved to the Openhym home where Professor
Felix AID err of Columbia University. will
duct services The body will be placed in a
Theoretically sealed metallic coffin