New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-07-11
MAN DIES IN QU|CKSAND
Drawn Down in TreaCherous Pit
in Jamaica Bay.
COMPANIONS ARE HELPLESS
They Wander All Night in Swamp
and Are Rescued from
Miry Refuge.

Death came in terrible form early yes
terday morning to William Elbrecht. OF
Mount Olivet avenue and Broad street
Maspeth, when he was swallowed up in
stretch of quicksand near Old Mill, in
Jamaica Bay. He and three friends had
been fishing on Saturday, and when they
returned it was nearly midnight Rather
than buck the racing tide of Old Mill
Creek, the men decided to land near the
outlet Of the creek and make their way
through the darkness to the little settle
ment It was while they were strug-
Cling thus through the swamp lands
that Elbrecht met his death. 3,
None of the party was, acquainted
with the treacherous nature of the land
at the mouth of Old Mill Creek. and
when they found it would be impossible
to row their boat against the current
which comes through the narrow creek
like a mill race at this point. they
grounded their boat and struck out ovel
the morass. The land is composed al
most entirely of swamp and quicksand
hidden by a. high growth of snakelike
reeds After leaving their boat Elbrecht
and his three comrades, sticking close
together, struck out for twinkling light
in the distance.
The walking through the, rank sea
growth was desperately hard going, and
the men became separated. Every few
feet they stumbled into small but deep
tributaries of the main creek, and on
such occasions they would find it diff
cult to wrench themselves free from the
mire. AS the minutes grew the un-
fortunate men realized that they would
have a desperate fghI to reach dry
land and with every step they became
more exhausted.
Each man was striving grinly on his
own account now, knowing that every
added minute spent in beating about the
swamp land lessened his chances Of
esca ping its dread grip. Suddenly, from
out of the gloom, his voice ringing jubi-
lantly. Elbrecht was heard to cry out
that he had found a way out of the
dense reeds and binding marsh grasses.
Strikes the Quicksand.
Encouraged by this news, Elbrecht's
friends halted in their tracks and peered
through the darkness. in the effort to
make out his figure No sign of the
young fellow could they see, yet they
distinctly heard the sound of his pas
sage through the ooze and slime of the
marshes. The three men waited in deep
silence until they should hear Elbrechts
voice again. In the breathless interval
every sound seemed accentuated a hun
dredfold; they could hear the ripping
of the tide as it hurried cat to sea and
the blowing of the wind through the
reeds, but no sound came from Ell
brecht.
Just as the stranded men were a bout to
start out again in their quest for firm
ground they were aroused to q feeling
of horror by the agonized voice of Ell
brecht:
For Gods sake. fellows, I'm in deep
hole-Im sinking
Following this appeal Elbrechts
friends could hear him flashing about in
the darkness, making a desperate fight
against death.
Keep up your nerve and yell. so we
William Ben er. trying to put encour-
agement in his voice
Elbrecht's companions realized now
that their friend had fallen victim to
the deadly quicksands in Long Point
Creek, a spot which has claimed many
a man in the past.
With the three men trying to rescue
F,lbrecht, il was a case of the blind
leading the blind. In that gloom 1t was
impossible for any one OF them TO see
ten feet in front of him. yet they did
not hesitate. Not knowing at what
moment they might be plunged them
selves into the all-enveloping pit these
three men plodded about in the morass.
each vainIy trying TO find Elbrecht.
Mans pespairins Cries.
Through the darkness and over the
shifting sands. his voice rising high
above the moaning of the tide. by reason
Continued on third page.