The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-08-24
IN AN ABYSS OF WATER.
ALBERT rAN vORHIss, hrs WIFI, AND
SISTER, fN-Ldy DIE TOGETHER.
-Four Went Bathiur In Hacxensneh. and
One Came Ou.-NIss Wells stepped Into
the Unknown nrpth. ana Me-. Wan Nor.
hIss md lIia VIII. Tiled 70 Rave Her.

the Unknown n~pta. ana Ne. yas Vor.
hiss nud Hi. WIFE Tiled e. Fave Her.
At Rivcrcdge. In Bergen county. the Hacken-
sack River is hardly more than n creek. and In
Its wiadings It forms many little hooks
skirted with dense foliage. These hooks arc
the resort Of numerous pleasure parties. On
b sunny day the sandy bottom can be plainly
seen. sloping gently from the shore. and
usually rising before Il reaches q man'sdepth.
But In places this smiling bottom Ia pierced
by black holes TINT go down many feet. and.
when the tide Is moving fast. they crcate pow
erful cddies. The depth OF these treacherons
holes varies from ten 10 forty feet. aud their
bottom can never be seen. Some OF them arc
two or three feet wido and some twenty feet
wide.
Albert Van Voorhis lived Mt RiveredGe with
his wife Mary. his six-year-old son Edmund.
and his aged parents. llo would have been &c
years old at the end OF this month: his wife
was "a. For seventeen years he had been en-
ployod by DR.. Gideon Il. Moore. Mt chemist. at
223 Pearl street. in this city. Ho began as
Office boy. then studied chemistry. and became
DR.. Mooro's chief assistant. He was Superin-
tendent OF tho Sunday school OF Riveredge.
His annual vacation began last Saturday. and
he had laid out q plan for two weeks
OF jollity. He invited his wife's two sisters.
Mrs. William Waterbury and Miss Hannah +.
Wells. who were In Jersey City. to come to his
house. They arrived at Riveredge on Sunday.
Miss Wells was ~ years old. tall. shapely. and
in rosy health. Mrs. Waterbury was accom-.
panied by her husband. but he left the place
early the next morning.
Mr.. Van Voorhis's plan wns to pitch . tent
on the bank of one o. the river's hooks. hardly
moro than 200 yards from the house. and
spend a tow days there. All became enthusi-
astic over the idea. and daybreak on Monday
found them carrying lunch and blankets and
fishing tackle OF all kinds to the river bank.
The tent was soon In place. and. after q hearty
breakfast. they rowed down the river in q fiat
bottomed boat to fish.
After their return to the tent with a string Of
Ash. Mr.. Van voorbis suggested that they 20
in bathing. Ten minutes later they were all
splasling in the water. Mrs Waterbury was
| the only one who could swim. The river at
this spot Is about sixty feet wide. and Mrs.
Waterbury found that she could swim across.
and. after ten minutes rest on shore. could
swim back. Mr.. Van Voorhis. his wife. and
Miss Wells contented themselves with walk
ing across and splashinG tho water into one
another's faces. They enjoyed themselves.
and came out very tired and hungry.
They ate their lunch under the tent and
then stretched themselves upon the grnss in
happy idlcnoss until 3ti o'clock In the after
noon. when they went in bathing again. Mr..
Van Noorhis's little son sat upon the bank
dragging his toes through tho wet gravel. His
dog. Nigser. n little moncrel. was running up
wife kept near the shore: SIrs. Waterbury was
other shore. THO tide WIS ebning fast. and
down strcum. In an obliIue direction. how
eyer. she WAS GRADUALLY nearing the shore:
6tODDRu and turnpl ne IL To sea whpr, the
others were. The tide, pulled her: she took
another step: and: with a loud scream. she
Mrs; Waterbury, was nearest to her: She did
was that her sister had been taken with
cramps. Without losing her head she turned
s spot wien wharo II tho " @atnn na h S"1 s SHH!" : si" near rsa
It and saw her sisters head a few feet away.
She reached out her arm. to seize her. at tho
same time lowering her foot to reach. the bot.
tom. She found no foothold md !olt herself
sinking down and down into the hole. Fear
overpowcred her. and she %splashed about and
Mr. Van voorliis and his wife Mt tho first
pushed their way through the water as fast rs
% Ss,{s% yie! sSaE ' isr '1 Iii ,! tfsn3 iim S hey 1 M5s;
s sIdsy I'VE ~ let let "Y Mpi f yom 3eorE Msd Ensw io 5s f5a
tide md carried. then, further down. and
wi. ~ u NV w VIZ "'Io pA
the very l,rink Of the holo. They took one
more step together. and the water stiled their
though t"ev were sc within "e easv reach Of each
other. each struggled alone. They rose to the
:Tnd y EST sGre mn, struggled n: ds 1hn npd sank s again.
The mong.cl. after running ryriledly. IN
mud down the shore. barking. had jumped into
group. He tried to seize iirst ono and then
The other: but he, was only u little dog. and
% ':nSnl lin him i"" shot Sa0F ont 8, 1 ths w Ss { WSiittS
,litifui perSistenry he returned and swan
about. lnrking and bowling.
Mrs. Waterbury sank twice. and ms she came
to the f InIn"I for i me i Tss at, time @s she s snW her
forward d, with III" tide. Sic, "Sould see nothing
Dyes. :" Sn" 49, Ion icit III" bottom under her
fcet and she stood erect. She brushed tho
M Mr: Y 'r"" ,"orhi. and ND bis STi'"'S wife s''" .i"ii
come t" thy surface TOR the second time;
They we;" within three tr@t Of each other and
end scSrsanici for MN. Sic rTn toward thes
near tho tcnt. @e,Gcd n %latchel. and smashed
Tia lock. She juIrpe'l into the boat and rowed
ren.i,cl The SPOT where tie three had sunk
and pc"rcG into the water. hut ,El,e could SEQ
NOTHING. The lido WAS still. chbing and tao
surface Of tho water vas Unrlfl",l.
Mrs; Var, Noorhis. the mother % The drowned
man: haay'i The scream and ran dow I; the
"Tncv'rn ~! crowned =" cried Mrs. watcr-
hnry. IN drowned there. Down thrr" !,
Sh. nung herself into tho hotter, "i tho hont
tool; her away. Mra. Van Noorhis was heart
broken. AMI for many lionrs she did not cry.
Int only walked about. William Bell Wiliinr,
Blair. and Other residents OF tho village began
dragging Cor tho bodies. All wero found
within nm hour. rot thirty feet from where
,hev Ind sunk, They were close together.
but did not t"i"h one another. They were re-
moved g. the horse.
Tho little boz who lost his father md mother
was too Young 70 understand. j" ,rompcd Ia
tho garden all that evening and all day yes
terday.
John Van Brunt n Lille Saver at Sixteen.
Tho four-ycnr-oll son Of Patrick Nolan. who
lives in ono Of Minister VI. ". Phelps's houses
near Tenneck. was playin: with q number OF
lInIln IN Ennl Aulnnl a fll iAtA H. i..I.Hl LII -