Snake Bit! not sure where to post this

[iron bender]

I hunt (not to kill) copper heads on my land, right by the river here in Dallas. Find lots of them this time of year. I've spent a year sleeping in the dirt in Louisianna and Mississippi. Not one snake I can remember. Any stories of snake bit Rebs or Yanks? Seems the guys in the field would have dealt with them regularly.

 

[iron bender]

Copperheads love the previous years oak leaves

 

[John Hartwell]

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/snake-bites-in-acw.43405/

Snake Bites | Civil War Potpourri

Has anyone ever read an account of horses or soldiers getting bitten by snakes or alligators while traveling in some of the rough woodsy areas and swampland? I have never heard of any

civilwartalk.com

Augusta’s First Fatality of the War | Four Footed Friends

Courtesy Wikipedia On May 31, 1861 Augusta’s first fatality of the War for Southern Independence occurred—not from bayonet or bullets—but from snake bite envenomation. Pvt. Hugh H. Parkyn, a bugler in Co. A, 5th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, known as the “Clinch Rifles,” was mustered...

civilwartalk.com

 

[Doc_Ralph]

They blend in well in Spotsy also …

 

[Championhilz]

This is pre-war but I thought you might find it interesting - from the Vicksburg Whig, December 13, 1854:

 

[nc native]

I hunt (not to kill) copper heads on my land, right by the river here in Dallas. Find lots of them this time of year. I've spent a year sleeping in the dirt in Louisianna and Mississippi. Not one snake I can remember. Any stories of snake bit Rebs or Yanks? Seems the guys in the field would have dealt with them regularly.

View attachment 506435

If you like hunting copperheads or snakes in general, you can come stay with me for a week. I've got a patch of thick hardwoods behind my house with English Ivy all over the place that runs along a small branch. I'm sure you will find plenty. I see at least one or more in my yard every year. I don't enjoy killing them but I've had so many close calls that I take no chances whenever I see one. The German Shepherd I had before adopting the pit bull I own now got bit at least five times. She lived to be fourteen years old. There are plenty of different species of harmless snakes too.

I just read where the official medical records report around 2,000 hospital admissions for venomous bites during the war but no fatalities were reported. Knowing how venom works on the human body, I wonder how many amputations were performed because of these bites.

 

[Elliot Crumblemuffin]

Cool pictures! I love seeing snakes in the wild, it takes a particularly keen eye to see them. I'm not saying I wouldn't "dispose" of a Copperhead if I didn't have any other option, but seeing them in their natural habitat is cool to me.

A long time ago, I was friends with the local herpetologist who worked for animal control. While relocating another snake that was captured, my friend got bit by a Copperhead. Didn't seem to bother her, though. She pushed through the discomfiture, then went out with us for a few drinks we had planned later that evening. She said "this isn't the first, or last time, I've been bitten by a Copperhead." That was one tough lady

 

[Belfoured]

My view of rattlers is that they serve one purpose - they are great eating (cooked in cumin, peppers, beer, other options). Otherwise, I'm not into cold-blooded forms of life and think herpetologists must have a psychological disorder.

 

[iron bender]

My view of rattlers is that they serve one purpose - they are great eating (cooked in cumin, peppers, beer, other options). Otherwise, I'm not into cold-blooded forms of life and think herpetologists must have a psychological disorder.

I lived in the panhandle for a decade. Went to the Rattlesnake Roundup one time (Sweetwater). Really good info and lessons on being around them. Basic rule of thumb is don't pay attention to them and they'll likely ignore you. I remember in hunters ed the instructor saying you walk past way more snakes in the woods than you'll ever know

 

[iron bender]

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/snake-bites-in-acw.43405/

Snake Bites | Civil War Potpourri

Has anyone ever read an account of horses or soldiers getting bitten by snakes or alligators while traveling in some of the rough woodsy areas and swampland? I have never heard of any

civilwartalk.com

Augusta’s First Fatality of the War | Four Footed Friends

Courtesy Wikipedia On May 31, 1861 Augusta’s first fatality of the War for Southern Independence occurred—not from bayonet or bullets—but from snake bite envenomation. Pvt. Hugh H. Parkyn, a bugler in Co. A, 5th Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, known as the “Clinch Rifles,” was mustered...

civilwartalk.com

That's interesting. A coral snake? First I've heard of anyone being bit by one. Other than deer or birds I shoot in season, I don't mess with wildlife. Just like to take pics

 

[Belfoured]

I lived in the panhandle for a decade. Went to the Rattlesnake Roundup one time (Sweetwater). Really good info and lessons on being around them. Basic rule of thumb is don't pay attention to them and they'll likely ignore you. I remember in hunters ed the instructor saying you walk past way more snakes in the woods than you'll ever know

True, but I worked one summer on a ranch where they got themselves in places to pose a hazard to stock and to guys working around them. And "likely" is definitely not "always". Not every snake bite is the result of human error. I get what you're saying but it doesn't change my personal view. And if you've ever eaten rattler you probably know what I'm talking about.

 

[iron bender]

True, but I worked one summer on a ranch where they got themselves in places to pose a hazard to stock and to guys working around them. And "likely" is definitely not "always". Not every snake bite is the result of human error. I get what you're saying but it doesn't change my personal view. And if you've ever eaten rattler you probably know what I'm talking about.

I have a good friend who lived on a massive ranch south of Midland. He had a snake crew come out to clean up his ranchhand houses/equipment barns/and his personal house. They removed hundreds of rattlers. It was very unsettling

 

[SethJ]

As somebody who had always feared being bit (especially by the many rattlers up here)...

I can confidently say that those images are going to keep me up tonight.

 

[Belfoured]

I have a good friend who lived on a massive ranch south of Midland. He had a snake crew come out to clean up his ranchhand houses/equipment barns/and his personal house. They removed hundreds of rattlers. It was very unsettling

The rancher I'm referring to believed that proper rattler removal involved the use of a Model 88. As I said, though, excellent eating.

 

[Belfoured]

As somebody who had always feared being bit (especially by the many rattlers up here)...

I can confidently say that those images are going to keep me up tonight.

That may be one reason why I like Teton County and my climbing haunts at elevation in the RM of the US and Canada - no rattlers. There's something to be said also for Maine and Alaska.

 

[Doc_Ralph]

View attachment 506437

They blend in well in Spotsy also …

Good size specimen … a bit grumpy after being caught and relocated. I maintain that the nuke power plant at nearby North Anna makes wildlife larger….

 

[Kurtlg]

In Michigan the only venomous snake we have is the massasauga rattler. It is not common and fatalities are extremely rare. It is in the same genus as the pygmy rattlers down south. I have always loved wildlife and that includes reptiles. Sometimes a venomous snake will give a dry bite in which no venom is injected. I completely understand folks who are uneasy in areas where venomous snakes are common and I wouldn't want any around my house. Also please note that they are venomous not poisonous. If they were poisonous you couldn't eat them. It seems to me that they wouldn't have much meat on them but I see some members have eaten them.

 

[Kurtlg]

The rancher I'm referring to believed that proper rattler removal involved the use of a Model 88. As I said, though, excellent eating.

Are you talking about a Winchester 88 ? That is what I used for years as my deer rifle.

 

[JackADriscoll]

I used to give safety talks and my line about snakes always way do you know where most birds are? On the hand. Leave them alone

 

[Belfoured]

Are you talking about a Winchester 88 ? That is what I used for years as my deer rifle.

Yep.