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SAM PATCH: THE HIGH, WIDE AND HANDSOME JUMPER by

SAM PATCH: THE HIGH, WIDE AND HANDSOME JUMPER

By

Pub Date: Feb. 15th, 1951
Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin

An unsuccessful attempt to capture the tall-tale flavor of the folk legend in this story of a Bunycnesque young man famous for jumping. Sam Patch, the Spurner of Heights, competes the country 'round with Hurricane Harry, the Kaskaskia Snapping Turle, in high diving feats. The two are evenly matched until the day Harry spirits away the damp bath mat into which Sam was to Dive, and wrings it dry. Then a final jumping contest takes place with the ownership of Harry's mistreated bear at stake. Sam jumps the canyon -- three-quarters over and three quarters back -- and bands play. Too thin in folk background to compete with the stories of Irwin Shapiro ( Jones), the Jack tales of Richard Chase and these authors' The , and the jumping device wears rather thin until Sam is allowed to jump horizontally. Very amusing sketches by Paul Brown, although very different from the type of thing he usually does and may not interest collectors. Tiny type.