On Thu, 14 May 2020 00:44:26 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/13/2020 1:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 13 May 2020 13:36:01 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 13 May 2020 10:32:23 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/13/2020 12:13 AM, wrote:


On Tue, 12 May 2020 16:25:19 -0400, John wrote:

...can be a bit dangerous!

https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-...esnake-3299773
--

===

There are a lot of opportunities here to become part of the food
chain.



Not nearly as big as the one in John's link but Mrs.E. came home to
our house in Jupiter, FL one day to find a 4 foot diamond backed
rattle snake coiled up in the entrance to our house.

It's the reason I bought a shotgun.

Also had those "pygmy" rattle snakes usually as nests in brush and
construction debris.

You need more black snakes. They tend to run the rattlesnakes off.
A black snake will eat a rattlesnake.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg

===

Black snakes tend to run my wife off for sure. :-) Next time I have
to scrape her off the ceiling I'll tell her how they're keeping us
safe from rattle snakes.



I am sorta ok if I *know* there's a snake around but I sure don't
like surprises.

I recall coming home to our house in Jupiter and opening the
garage door. I thought I saw a movement under my wife's car
but didn't pay attention until one of those black snake suckers
came slithering out towards me. When needed, I can do 0-60 in
about 1,5 seconds flat .... on foot.




We caught garter snakes as a kid. One of my 9 year old granddaughter
wants a Ball Python for a pet. She loves reptiles.

My daughter has some kind of boa for a pet. She and all the kids play with it.
Not me.
--

Freedom Isn't Free!

"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 5/13/2020 1:36 PM, wrote: On Wed, 13 May 2020 10:32:23 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On 5/13/2020 12:13 AM, wrote: On Tue, 12 May 2020 16:25:19 -0400, John wrote: ...can be a bit dangerous! https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-florida-rattlesnake-3299773 -- === There are a lot of opportunities here to become part of the food chain. Not nearly as big as the one in John's link but Mrs.E. came home to our house in Jupiter, FL one day to find a 4 foot diamond backed rattle snake coiled up in the entrance to our house. It's the reason I bought a shotgun. Also had those "pygmy" rattle snakes usually as nests in brush and construction debris. You need more black snakes. They tend to run the rattlesnakes off. A black snake will eat a rattlesnake. http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg That's OK. You can keep all your rattlesnakes, black snakes,fire ants and wild boar down there. :-)We have rattlesnakes up here but they are very rarely seen. The"Blue Hills Reservation" here used to be infested with them.-- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.https://www.avg.com

Probably still is. I have never seen a live rattler in the wild in
florida. I think i might have seen a flat pigmy on the road the
other day judging by its shape. There's some pretty big black
snakes around here. I measured one shed skin at 4 feet. They
don't bother me much as long as there is some distance between
us.
--
Warning. Use provided links at your own risk


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

Justan Ohlphart wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 5/13/2020 1:36 PM, wrote: On Wed, 13 May 2020
10:32:23 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On
5/13/2020 12:13 AM, wrote: On
Tue, 12 May 2020 16:25:19 -0400, John
wrote: ...can be a bit dangerous!
https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-florida-rattlesnake-3299773
-- === There are a lot of opportunities here to become part
of the food chain. Not nearly as big as the one in John's
link but Mrs.E. came home to our house in Jupiter, FL one day to find
a 4 foot diamond backed rattle snake coiled up in the entrance to our
house. It's the reason I bought a shotgun. Also had those
"pygmy" rattle snakes usually as nests in brush and construction
debris. You need more black snakes. They tend to run the rattlesnakes
off. A black snake will eat a rattlesnake.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg That's OK. You can keep
all your rattlesnakes, black snakes,fire ants and wild boar down there.
:-)We have rattlesnakes up here but they are very rarely seen. The"Blue
Hills Reservation" here used to be infested with them.-- This email has
been checked for viruses by AVG.https://www.avg.com

Probably still is. I have never seen a live rattler in the wild in
florida. I think i might have seen a flat pigmy on the road the
other day judging by its shape. There's some pretty big black
snakes around here. I measured one shed skin at 4 feet. They
don't bother me much as long as there is some distance between
us.

We have some around here. California is home to several varieties.
Prettiest one I saw was a Pacific
Coast rattler, pink in color, when I was a kid and buddies and I were in
one of the big parks catching a garter snake for Audubon days in school.
Mostly we have garter and gopher snakes locally. Had a garter snake
living in the yard last year, but have not seen it for a long while. But
the Blue Belly lizards are thick this year. Must have been a huge hatch
as we lots of little ones all,over the neighborhood. Local hospital gets
about 9 rattlesnake bites a year. Almost all consist of alcohol and young
people trying to do a Clint Eastwood in two mules for sister Sara and out
in the hills.

On Thu, 14 May 2020 09:18:27 -0400 (EDT), Justan Ohlphart
wrote:

"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 5/13/2020 1:36 PM, wrote: On Wed, 13 May 2020 10:32:23 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On 5/13/2020 12:13 AM, wrote: On Tue, 12 May 2020 16:25:19 -0400, John wrote: ...can be a bit dangerous! https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-florida-rattlesnake-3299773 -- === There are a lot of opportunities here to become part of the food chain. Not nearly as big as the one in John's link but Mrs.E. came home to our house in Jupiter, FL one day to find a 4 foot diamond backed rattle snake coiled up in the entrance to our house. It's the reason I bought a shotgun. Also had those "pygmy" rattle snakes usually as nests in brush and construction debris. You need more black snakes. They tend to run the rattlesnakes off. A black snake will eat a rattlesnake. http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg That's OK. You can keep
all
your rattlesnakes, black snakes,fire ants and wild boar down there. :-)We have rattlesnakes up here but they are very rarely seen. The"Blue Hills Reservation" here used to be infested with them.-- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.https://www.avg.com

Probably still is. I have never seen a live rattler in the wild in
florida. I think i might have seen a flat pigmy on the road the
other day judging by its shape. There's some pretty big black
snakes around here. I measured one shed skin at 4 feet. They
don't bother me much as long as there is some distance between
us.

When working at Cape Canaveral back in mid 60's, I saw several rattlers on the
roads and in the brush on the cape.
--

Freedom Isn't Free!

John wrote:
On Thu, 14 May 2020 09:18:27 -0400 (EDT), Justan Ohlphart
wrote:

"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 5/13/2020 1:36 PM, wrote: On Wed, 13 May 2020
10:32:23 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On
5/13/2020 12:13 AM, wrote: On
Tue, 12 May 2020 16:25:19 -0400, John
wrote: ...can be a bit dangerous!
https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-florida-rattlesnake-3299773
-- === There are a lot of opportunities here to become part
of the food chain. Not nearly as big as the one in John's
link but Mrs.E. came home to our house in Jupiter, FL one day to find
a 4 foot diamond backed rattle snake coiled up in the entrance to our
house. It's the reason I bought a shotgun. Also had those
"pygmy" rattle snakes usually as nests in brush and construction
debris. You need more black snakes. They tend to run the
rattlesnakes off. A black snake will eat a rattlesnake.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg That's OK. You can keep
all
your rattlesnakes, black snakes,fire ants and wild boar down there.
:-)We have rattlesnakes up here but they are very rarely seen. The"Blue
Hills Reservation" here used to be infested with them.-- This email has
been checked for viruses by AVG.https://www.avg.com

Probably still is. I have never seen a live rattler in the wild in
florida. I think i might have seen a flat pigmy on the road the
other day judging by its shape. There's some pretty big black
snakes around here. I measured one shed skin at 4 feet. They
don't bother me much as long as there is some distance between
us.

When working at Cape Canaveral back in mid 60's, I saw several rattlers on the
roads and in the brush on the cape.
--

Freedom Isn't Free!


Had a friend years ago, who was stationed at a Sage .radar side in nowhere
Oregon high desert. He said the biggest problem was the rattlers loved to
nest under the raised floor of the computer room. So, when you had to pull
flooring to move cables, made an exciting day. They probably used a lot of
CO2 fire extinguishers to calm them down.

On Thu, 14 May 2020 20:51:26 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:

John wrote:
On Thu, 14 May 2020 09:18:27 -0400 (EDT), Justan Ohlphart
wrote:

"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 5/13/2020 1:36 PM, wrote: On Wed, 13 May 2020
10:32:23 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On
5/13/2020 12:13 AM, wrote: On
Tue, 12 May 2020 16:25:19 -0400, John
wrote: ...can be a bit dangerous!
https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-florida-rattlesnake-3299773
-- === There are a lot of opportunities here to become part
of the food chain. Not nearly as big as the one in John's
link but Mrs.E. came home to our house in Jupiter, FL one day to find
a 4 foot diamond backed rattle snake coiled up in the entrance to our
house. It's the reason I bought a shotgun. Also had those
"pygmy" rattle snakes usually as nests in brush and construction
debris. You need more black snakes. They tend to run the
rattlesnakes off. A black snake will eat a rattlesnake.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg That's OK. You can keep
all
your rattlesnakes, black snakes,fire ants and wild boar down there.
:-)We have rattlesnakes up here but they are very rarely seen. The"Blue
Hills Reservation" here used to be infested with them.-- This email has
been checked for viruses by AVG.https://www.avg.com

Probably still is. I have never seen a live rattler in the wild in
florida. I think i might have seen a flat pigmy on the road the
other day judging by its shape. There's some pretty big black
snakes around here. I measured one shed skin at 4 feet. They
don't bother me much as long as there is some distance between
us.

When working at Cape Canaveral back in mid 60's, I saw several rattlers on the
roads and in the brush on the cape.
--

Freedom Isn't Free!


Had a friend years ago, who was stationed at a Sage .radar side in nowhere
Oregon high desert. He said the biggest problem was the rattlers loved to
nest under the raised floor of the computer room. So, when you had to pull
flooring to move cables, made an exciting day. They probably used a lot of
CO2 fire extinguishers to calm them down.

While working with a National Guard unit at Ft. Irwin, CA (out in the middle of
the Mojave) our jeep broke down as we were headed in after dark. We had no
radio, and cell phones hadn't been invented yet. We were probably ten miles from
the post. We decided to walk back to the last intersection which had some
traffic. Got out of the jeep and hadn't gone 20 yards when we see a snake on the
asphalt road. We weren't sure what it was, too dark, but we decided to stay in
the damn jeep and sleep there if necessary. Before too long we saw some
headlights coming down the road. The car would move, stop, move, stop, and so
on. Finally it got to us. The man got out and offered to help. We asked what he
was doing. "Collecting rattlers," he said. Then he showed us the back end of the
station wagon, where his son was sitting with a forked stick. He point to two
burlap bags full of rattlers. He would drive over them, without hitting them,
and his son would pin them down. Then he'd collect it and bag it. He had about
20 in the bags. Lots of rattlers in the Mojave, and they like hot asphalt at
night.
--

Freedom Isn't Free!

On 5/14/2020 5:06 PM, John wrote:
On Thu, 14 May 2020 20:51:26 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:

John wrote:
On Thu, 14 May 2020 09:18:27 -0400 (EDT), Justan Ohlphart
wrote:

"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 5/13/2020 1:36 PM, wrote: On Wed, 13 May 2020
10:32:23 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On
5/13/2020 12:13 AM, wrote: On
Tue, 12 May 2020 16:25:19 -0400, John
wrote: ...can be a bit dangerous!
https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-florida-rattlesnake-3299773
-- === There are a lot of opportunities here to become part
of the food chain. Not nearly as big as the one in John's
link but Mrs.E. came home to our house in Jupiter, FL one day to find
a 4 foot diamond backed rattle snake coiled up in the entrance to our
house. It's the reason I bought a shotgun. Also had those
"pygmy" rattle snakes usually as nests in brush and construction
debris. You need more black snakes. They tend to run the
rattlesnakes off. A black snake will eat a rattlesnake.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg That's OK. You can keep
all
your rattlesnakes, black snakes,fire ants and wild boar down there.
:-)We have rattlesnakes up here but they are very rarely seen. The"Blue
Hills Reservation" here used to be infested with them.-- This email has
been checked for viruses by AVG.https://www.avg.com

Probably still is. I have never seen a live rattler in the wild in
florida. I think i might have seen a flat pigmy on the road the
other day judging by its shape. There's some pretty big black
snakes around here. I measured one shed skin at 4 feet. They
don't bother me much as long as there is some distance between
us.

When working at Cape Canaveral back in mid 60's, I saw several rattlers on the
roads and in the brush on the cape.
--

Freedom Isn't Free!


Had a friend years ago, who was stationed at a Sage .radar side in nowhere
Oregon high desert. He said the biggest problem was the rattlers loved to
nest under the raised floor of the computer room. So, when you had to pull
flooring to move cables, made an exciting day. They probably used a lot of
CO2 fire extinguishers to calm them down.

While working with a National Guard unit at Ft. Irwin, CA (out in the middle of
the Mojave) our jeep broke down as we were headed in after dark. We had no
radio, and cell phones hadn't been invented yet. We were probably ten miles from
the post. We decided to walk back to the last intersection which had some
traffic. Got out of the jeep and hadn't gone 20 yards when we see a snake on the
asphalt road. We weren't sure what it was, too dark, but we decided to stay in
the damn jeep and sleep there if necessary. Before too long we saw some
headlights coming down the road. The car would move, stop, move, stop, and so
on. Finally it got to us. The man got out and offered to help. We asked what he
was doing. "Collecting rattlers," he said. Then he showed us the back end of the
station wagon, where his son was sitting with a forked stick. He point to two
burlap bags full of rattlers. He would drive over them, without hitting them,
and his son would pin them down. Then he'd collect it and bag it. He had about
20 in the bags. Lots of rattlers in the Mojave, and they like hot asphalt at
night.


Don't they make the antidote for a snake bite from the venom? Seem to
remember guys like those you described collect them for that purpose.

--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com

On Thu, 14 May 2020 18:29:19 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/14/2020 5:06 PM, John wrote:
On Thu, 14 May 2020 20:51:26 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:

John wrote:
On Thu, 14 May 2020 09:18:27 -0400 (EDT), Justan Ohlphart
wrote:

"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 5/13/2020 1:36 PM, wrote: On Wed, 13 May 2020
10:32:23 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On
5/13/2020 12:13 AM, wrote: On
Tue, 12 May 2020 16:25:19 -0400, John
wrote: ...can be a bit dangerous!
https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-florida-rattlesnake-3299773
-- === There are a lot of opportunities here to become part
of the food chain. Not nearly as big as the one in John's
link but Mrs.E. came home to our house in Jupiter, FL one day to find
a 4 foot diamond backed rattle snake coiled up in the entrance to our
house. It's the reason I bought a shotgun. Also had those
"pygmy" rattle snakes usually as nests in brush and construction
debris. You need more black snakes. They tend to run the
rattlesnakes off. A black snake will eat a rattlesnake.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg That's OK. You can keep
all
your rattlesnakes, black snakes,fire ants and wild boar down there.
:-)We have rattlesnakes up here but they are very rarely seen. The"Blue
Hills Reservation" here used to be infested with them.-- This email has
been checked for viruses by AVG.https://www.avg.com

Probably still is. I have never seen a live rattler in the wild in
florida. I think i might have seen a flat pigmy on the road the
other day judging by its shape. There's some pretty big black
snakes around here. I measured one shed skin at 4 feet. They
don't bother me much as long as there is some distance between
us.

When working at Cape Canaveral back in mid 60's, I saw several rattlers on the
roads and in the brush on the cape.
--

Freedom Isn't Free!


Had a friend years ago, who was stationed at a Sage .radar side in nowhere
Oregon high desert. He said the biggest problem was the rattlers loved to
nest under the raised floor of the computer room. So, when you had to pull
flooring to move cables, made an exciting day. They probably used a lot of
CO2 fire extinguishers to calm them down.

While working with a National Guard unit at Ft. Irwin, CA (out in the middle of
the Mojave) our jeep broke down as we were headed in after dark. We had no
radio, and cell phones hadn't been invented yet. We were probably ten miles from
the post. We decided to walk back to the last intersection which had some
traffic. Got out of the jeep and hadn't gone 20 yards when we see a snake on the
asphalt road. We weren't sure what it was, too dark, but we decided to stay in
the damn jeep and sleep there if necessary. Before too long we saw some
headlights coming down the road. The car would move, stop, move, stop, and so
on. Finally it got to us. The man got out and offered to help. We asked what he
was doing. "Collecting rattlers," he said. Then he showed us the back end of the
station wagon, where his son was sitting with a forked stick. He point to two
burlap bags full of rattlers. He would drive over them, without hitting them,
and his son would pin them down. Then he'd collect it and bag it. He had about
20 in the bags. Lots of rattlers in the Mojave, and they like hot asphalt at
night.


Don't they make the antidote for a snake bite from the venom? Seem to
remember guys like those you described collect them for that purpose.

Yes they do and milking rattle snakes is a job someone does. There are
videos on You Tube I imagine but they stretch a rubber cover over the
lip of a bottle, hook the fangs over the lip, through the membrane and
screw with the snake until it pumps out all of it's venom.

Wrote in message:
On Thu, 14 May 2020 18:29:19 -0400, "Mr. wrote:On 5/14/2020 5:06 PM, John wrote: On Thu, 14 May 2020 20:51:26 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote: John wrote: On Thu, 14 May 2020 09:18:27 -0400 (EDT), Justan Ohlphart wrote: "Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message: On 5/13/2020 1:36 PM, wrote: On Wed, 13 May 2020 10:32:23 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On 5/13/2020 12:13 AM, wrote: On Tue, 12 May 2020 16:25:19 -0400, John wrote: ...can be a bit dangerous! https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-florida-rattlesnake-3299773 -- === There are a lot of opportunities here to become part of the food chain. Not nearly as big as the one in John's link but Mrs.E. came home to our house in Jupiter, FL one day to find a 4 foot diamond backed rattle snake coiled up in the entrance to our house. It's the reason I bought a shotgun. Also had those "pygmy" rattle snakes usually as nests in brush and construction debris. You need more black snakes. They tend to run the rattlesnakes off. A black snake will eat a rattlesnake. http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg That's OK. You can keep all your rattlesnakes, black snakes,fire ants and wild boar down there. :-)We have rattlesnakes up here but they are very rarely seen. The"Blue Hills Reservation" here used to be infested with them.-- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.https://www.avg.com Probably still is. I have never seen a live rattler in the wild in florida. I think i might have seen a flat pigmy on the road the other day judging by its shape. There's some pretty big black snakes around here. I measured one shed skin at 4 feet. They don't bother me much as long as there is some distance between us. When working at Cape Canaveral back in mid 60's, I saw several rattlers on the roads and in the brush on the cape. -- Freedom Isn't Free! Had a friend years ago, who was stationed at a Sage .radar side in nowhere Oregon high desert. He said the biggest problem was the rattlers loved to nest under the raised floor of the computer room. So, when you had to pull flooring to move cables, made an exciting day. They probably used a lot of CO2 fire extinguishers to calm them down. While working with a National Guard unit at Ft. Irwin, CA (out in the middle of the Mojave) our jeep broke down as we were headed in after dark. We had no radio, and cell phones hadn't been invented yet. We were probably ten miles from the post. We decided to walk back to the last intersection which had some traffic. Got out of the jeep and hadn't gone 20 yards when we see a snake on the asphalt road. We weren't sure what it was, too dark, but we decided to stay in the damn jeep and sleep there if necessary. Before too long we saw some headlights coming down the road. The car would move, stop, move, stop, and so on. Finally it got to us. The man got out and offered to help. We asked what he was doing. "Collecting rattlers," he said. Then he showed us the back end of the station wagon, where his son was sitting with a forked stick. He point to two burlap bags full of rattlers. He would drive over them, without hitting them, and his son would pin them down. Then he'd collect it and bag it. He had about 20 in the bags. Lots of rattlers in the Mojave, and they like hot asphalt at night.Don't they make the antidote for a snake bite from the venom? Seem to remember guys like those you described collect them for that purpose.Yes they do and milking rattle snakes is a job someone does. There arevideos on You Tube I imagine but they stretch a rubber cover over thelip of a bottle, hook the fangs over the lip, through the membrane andscrew with the snake until it pumps out all of it's venom.

We went to a place where they do that. They brought out a couple
of non venomous snakes so we could handle them. One was an
indigo. Very docile and relaxed around humans. I forget what the
other one was. Then they milked a few different kinds of venomous
snakes behind a glass window in the next room. Anyway, one
interesting takeaway was that once the venom is collected it is
shipped to, I think, Pfizer where they blend all the venoms from
different types of snakes together and purify it to make
antivenom.
--
Warning. Use provided links at your own risk


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On Thu, 14 May 2020 18:29:19 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 5/14/2020 5:06 PM, John wrote:
On Thu, 14 May 2020 20:51:26 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:

John wrote:
On Thu, 14 May 2020 09:18:27 -0400 (EDT), Justan Ohlphart
wrote:

"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 5/13/2020 1:36 PM, wrote: On Wed, 13 May 2020
10:32:23 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On
5/13/2020 12:13 AM, wrote: On
Tue, 12 May 2020 16:25:19 -0400, John
wrote: ...can be a bit dangerous!
https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-florida-rattlesnake-3299773
-- === There are a lot of opportunities here to become part
of the food chain. Not nearly as big as the one in John's
link but Mrs.E. came home to our house in Jupiter, FL one day to find
a 4 foot diamond backed rattle snake coiled up in the entrance to our
house. It's the reason I bought a shotgun. Also had those
"pygmy" rattle snakes usually as nests in brush and construction
debris. You need more black snakes. They tend to run the
rattlesnakes off. A black snake will eat a rattlesnake.
http://gfretwell.com/wildlife/Blacksnake2.jpg That's OK. You can keep
all
your rattlesnakes, black snakes,fire ants and wild boar down there.
:-)We have rattlesnakes up here but they are very rarely seen. The"Blue
Hills Reservation" here used to be infested with them.-- This email has
been checked for viruses by AVG.https://www.avg.com

Probably still is. I have never seen a live rattler in the wild in
florida. I think i might have seen a flat pigmy on the road the
other day judging by its shape. There's some pretty big black
snakes around here. I measured one shed skin at 4 feet. They
don't bother me much as long as there is some distance between
us.

When working at Cape Canaveral back in mid 60's, I saw several rattlers on the
roads and in the brush on the cape.
--

Freedom Isn't Free!


Had a friend years ago, who was stationed at a Sage .radar side in nowhere
Oregon high desert. He said the biggest problem was the rattlers loved to
nest under the raised floor of the computer room. So, when you had to pull
flooring to move cables, made an exciting day. They probably used a lot of
CO2 fire extinguishers to calm them down.

While working with a National Guard unit at Ft. Irwin, CA (out in the middle of
the Mojave) our jeep broke down as we were headed in after dark. We had no
radio, and cell phones hadn't been invented yet. We were probably ten miles from
the post. We decided to walk back to the last intersection which had some
traffic. Got out of the jeep and hadn't gone 20 yards when we see a snake on the
asphalt road. We weren't sure what it was, too dark, but we decided to stay in
the damn jeep and sleep there if necessary. Before too long we saw some
headlights coming down the road. The car would move, stop, move, stop, and so
on. Finally it got to us. The man got out and offered to help. We asked what he
was doing. "Collecting rattlers," he said. Then he showed us the back end of the
station wagon, where his son was sitting with a forked stick. He point to two
burlap bags full of rattlers. He would drive over them, without hitting them,
and his son would pin them down. Then he'd collect it and bag it. He had about
20 in the bags. Lots of rattlers in the Mojave, and they like hot asphalt at
night.


Don't they make the antidote for a snake bite from the venom? Seem to
remember guys like those you described collect them for that purpose.

That's what these guys were doing. They milk 'em and then release 'em.
--

Freedom Isn't Free!