First True Quicksand Scene in Written Fiction

[Fred588]

I am asking this in the hopes of tracking down the earliest written fiction depicting what I think we would agree is a quicksand scene. I have a candidate for that but would be at all surprised if there are some that are earlier, perhaps MUCH earlier.
My candidate is from the novel "The Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins, published in 1868. Surprisingly, although the scene is not erotic it IS an intentional act, done by a character who is earlier depicted as fascinated with the quicksands. The novel is also recognized as the very first full-length detective novel. Many people here are likely to be familiar with the British television versions (originally in 1972 and again much more recently. I have not personally seen the new version.

I am aware there are reference to quicksand in earlier literature and there is an image within the Bayeaux Tapestry, but it is my intention to limit this to written descriptions to what we would recognize as a quicksand scene.

[JSample]

I remember checking out "The Moonstone" from the public library more than thirty years ago just to find and read the quicksand scene you spoke of.

[mudxdresser]

Yes, Moonstone beats the scene in Lorna Doone (1869) out by a year. How about Victor Hugo's Les Miserables (1862) description of the mud in the sewers of Paris?

[Fred588]

Yes, Moonstone beats the scene in Lorna Doone (1869) out by a year. How about Victor Hugo's Les Miserables (1862) description of the mud in the sewers of Paris?

I have never read Les Misérables although I tried to find the description once. That is to say I have a copy of the book but have not read it. But that sounds like it might fit here and would be the earliest, so far, if so.

[mudxdresser]

The quicksand portion starts here and goes on intermittently for several more chapters...

http://www.online-literature.com/victor_hugo/les_miserables/329/

[Fred588]

Not knowing the size of the file linked to I will wait until after midnight (when they turn the data meter off) to look at it. Thanks.

[mudxdresser]

Just looking at the the dates involved and reflecting on how popular Victor Hugo's Les Miserables was, I would offer the conjecture that the quicksand scenes in both Lorna Doone and Moonstone might well have been inspired by Les Miserables.

[DangerGirl]

The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott, 1819. Perhaps not a true quicksand scene by this group's standards, since the actual sinking is not described. The person is seen riding in the distance, then disappears in the area known for quicksand. The book makes it apparent the character had perished in it, that's about it.

The gold fell unheeded on the pavement, for the old man ran to observe the course which was taken by his master, who turned to the left down a small and broken path, which gained the sea-shore through a cleft in the rock, and led to a sort of cove where, in former times, the boats of the castle were wont to be moored. Observing him take this course, Caleb hastened to the eastern battlement, which commanded the prospect of the whole sands, very near as far as the village of Wolf's Hope. He could easily see his master riding in that direction, as fast as the horse could carry him. The prophecy at once rushed on Balderstone's mind, that the Lord of Ravenswood should perish on the Kelpie's flow, which lay half-way betwixt the Tower and the links, or sand knolls, to the northward of Wolf's Hope. He saw him according reach the fatal spot; but he never saw him pass further.

Colonel Ashton, frantic for revenge, was already in the field, pacing the turf with eagerness, and looking with impatience towards the Tower for the arrival of his antagonist. The sun had now risen, and showed its broad disk above the eastern sea, so that he could easily discern the horseman who rode towards him with speed which argued impatience equal to his own. At once the figure became invisible, as if it had melted into the air. He rubbed his eyes, as if he had witnessed an apparition, and then hastened to the spot, near which he was met by Balderstone, who came from the opposite direction. No trace whatever o horse or rider could be discerned; it only appeared that the late winds and high tides had greatly extended the usual bounds of the quicksand, and that the unfortunate horseman, as appeared from the hoof-tracks, in his precipitate haste, had not attended to keep on the firm sands on the foot of the rock, but had taken the shortest and most dangerous course. One only vestige of his fate appeared. A large sable feather had been detached from his hat, and the rippling waves of the rising tide wafted it to Caleb's feet. The old man took it up, dried it, and placed it in his bosom.

The inhabitants of Wolf's Hope were now alarmed, and crowded to the place, some on shore, and some in boats, but their search availed nothing. The tenacious depths of the quicksand, as is usual in such cases, retained its prey.

[mudxdresser]

Seems like the Bride of Lammermoor scene counts as the author definitely seems to have been trying to invoke the terror of quicksand. This is an early work and the scene is not as good as what came later, however, I think it meets the criteria and is the oldest scene presented so far.