The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-16
BUCK SIMPSONS POLE VAULT

| ernest MGaffey, in Chicago Tribune
Buck Sampson was the champion
pole vaulter" in his college. OF course
l didn't know this when we started on
a quail shoot together and, in fact,
never would have thought of it if I had
known IL, for what has pole vaulting
TO do with quail shOoting2 Not mich,
generally speaking, although IL nap
pened TO cut quite figure in our hunt.
Bucks real name was Leonard, but
every body called him Buck. because
he was so big, and hearty. and had
such a rollicking laugh when anything
tickled him. To hear Buck open MS
mouth and roll out that infectious,
roaring laugh of his was something eN-
tremely enjoyable, if the joke did hot
happen to he on you.
We had started ~ that year on snipe,
along about April, and were taking our
last hunt of tie season at quail i a
rough, rolling country in the southern
part of the Prairie state. The birds
were fairly plentiful, but there had
been so much rain that all the little
branches, sloughs. and "cricks" were
filed to overlooking with taWny cur
rents that plunged through the timber
and ran down the hilisdes. making
crossing at many points a matter of
walking a long ways to find suitable
spots.
We had one dog. a liver and white
pointer, named Don. and he was one of
those pOttering, careful dogs that make
up i'm bird sense" and game finding
qualities what they lack i'm speed. Old
Don was not such a star on bevies,l but
when once a bevy was found and scat
tered he was frst-class in picking Up
the singles" and on locating cripples
or dead birds
So we were enjoying our hunt Early
that morning we had struck a little
''crick." as the natives called it. which
emptied farther away into the Okaw
river, and as there seemed to be birds
along It we decided to tunt down it
until we reached the big timber and
then cross and come back to where we
had started. The bevies had been I'M
usually small, running from nine to a
dozen birds. and invariably when they
were put up the most of them whirled
across the "criek'' and lit on the other
side.
Now. this particular stream was
deep. and the rains had swollen it out
of all shape. 1t was too wide to Jump
across and too deep to wade, and it
was tantalizing in the extreme to have
these bevies of quail dart across the
'crick," and maybe give US one shot
on our side. If we had been hunting
with a brace of dogs we could have
hunted a man apiece on each side. but
with only one dog we were handi-
capped. 1t was cold. too. biting and
nippy, and We didn't feel like taking
shots as the birds were flying across
and depending on old Don to go across
and retrieve them. Buck said: "WeTl
get 'em when we cross at the end and
come back"
When we come back" was my re-
mark. they'll all fly back on this side
They're educated birds. Buck
Our conversation was taking place
at the noon hour when we had stopped
to eat a bite. Eating a bite meant
about FIVE pounds of friend chioSen
apiece and literally tons and tons of
bread. doughnuts, and other truck. AS
for the dog. he ate bones enough to
have built Golgotha.
< X x
After we had picked our teeth-Buck
and I. not the dog-Buck said stretch
ing himself to his full height of feet
21a: DO you know ] was the best pole
vaulter at Ann Arbor while I was
there?
mo. Buck" was my reply. were
you thinking of giving an exhibition
of your powers here?"
We'll" says Buck. 81 may if these
quail keep Oh crowding me-
How so?" says l.
why" says Buck, "I'll take one of
these dead saDlings around here, and
the next time a bunch fly across the
creek I'll vault across and stir 'em up
eminent
"I'll go with YOU was my answer.