"swamp" as reflexive verb -- which sense?

[Joel S. Berson]

My apologies.  Further reading of the historian who provided these
snippets indicates that the sense intended is "to hide oneself in a
swamp"!  (As the Narragansetts did in King Philip's War.)  If I can
confirm the quotations, they may be the earliest so-far-located
instances of "swamp" as a verb -- an elusive use even before the
OED's earliest, "1. pass. To be entangled or lost in a swamp" (1694).

And earlier than the "2. orig. pass. To be submerged or inundated
with water (or other liquid), as a boat, a piece of ground; hence
actively, to submerge, inundate, or soak with water, etc." (1790),
which is where I now suppose a reflexive use ("I took on water and
swamped myself") would belong.

Joel

At 12/4/2010 12:21 AM, Eric Nielsen wrote:
>On Fri, Dec 3, 2010 at 12:11 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      "swamp" as reflexive verb -- which sense?
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Which sense of "swamp" used as a reflexive verb would the following be?
> >
> > "swamped them selves in" a swamp.
> > "... before they swamp themselves".
> >
> > Joel
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> >
>Causing your boat to fill with water. Something that an inept boatman might
>do to himself--or maybe some kids having fun.
>
>Eric
>
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
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