- Joined
- Mar 18, 2011
- Location
- Clinton, Mississippi
Here's an interesting account from the Weekly Wisconsin Patriot, June 15, 1861:
Thats terrible but I guess if you get bitten you'll pay any amount of money to stay aliveThe speaker at our annual Lee-Jackson Banquet, this past Thursday night, mentioned that the first fatality (from any cause) from the county was a soldier bitten by a rattlesnake in the Charleston area early in the war.
Snakebite treatment has come a long way since the war, but can be quite expensive. About two years ago a large Canebrake rattler bit a friend and the immediate past president of a neighbouring SCV camp on the leg He recovered OK, but his hospital bill was around $55,000 – it seems anti venom is extremely expensive. Fortunately he has good hospital insurance.
"First at Bethel, Farthest to the front at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox"
Thats terrible but I guess if you get bitten you'll pay any amount of money to stay aliveThe speaker at our annual Lee-Jackson Banquet, this past Thursday night, mentioned that the first fatality (from any cause) from the county was a soldier bitten by a rattlesnake in the Charleston area early in the war.
Snakebite treatment has come a long way since the war, but can be quite expensive. About two years ago a large Canebrake rattler bit a friend and the immediate past president of a neighbouring SCV camp on the leg He recovered OK, but his hospital bill was around $55,000 – it seems anti venom is extremely expensive. Fortunately he has good hospital insurance.
"First at Bethel, Farthest to the front at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox"
This is going to be out of place as two pages of posts have intervened.Great question. I have long been facinated with "mr. no shoulders" especially the venomous ones. Eastern diamondbacks are the largest of the ratlesnake species in the country and they pack the most venom which is more than capable of killing an adult human if untreated. Canebrakes have a nasty attitude and I haven't experienced it myself but people I know and trust have told me cottonmouth water moccasins "can be" downright territorial and borderline aggressive. There was a time when I considered milking snakes as I heard it was quite lucrative. Upon further investigation every one of the people I found who did this had been bitten at least once. That little fact kind of soured me on making venom harvesting a career.
I have encountered rattlesnakes and cottonmouth's but ironically very few copperheads. One must be very vigilant in gator country especially if one has cats and dogs. I remember putting in at a few well known resort/condo marinas for the night in the Carolinas and Georgia moving a boat up or down the ICW and seen photos of mostly small dogs and cats on bulletin boards announcing their "lost" status and offering rewards. I admit to experiencing an inner chuckling as we were in the middle of gator country and thinking most of those pet's owners were "not from around here" and likely lost their pets to gators.
When I was a young boy I would often kill animals if for no other reason than to get a good look at them. I was fortunate to have the benefit of responsible adults who educated me on critters and their value and place within the big picture and I quickly matured and since then I only took game that found its way to the table. Every thing (except maybe skeeters, fireants, and redbugs<g>) has a place and that should be valued and respected this includes critters that do NOT pass the "Disney test" of being cute and cuddly. Reading how American Indian tribes felt about, viewed, and treated animal life deeply impressed me as a young person. Those Americans tracking abilities absolutely amaze me. Finding and reading animal sign facinates me to this day.
All to often people today will kill every snake they come upon and that bothers me. I have captured and relocated many non venomous snakes and even a few venomous ones. I will sometimes destroy a venomous snake depending upon circumstances and the difficulty and danger involved of relocating it. Surely a few ACW soldiers fell victim to venomous snakes but I have no memory of reading about any.
Them are very scary things, David. I would have had something more scatological to say, but we do have rules here.View attachment 10520Here in Tasmania the place is packed full of tiger snakes. About number 4 in the world in venom growing up to 7ft. Puts you off bushwalking and trout fishing during summer. Have to carry compression bandages and an emergency epirb when out and about.
The cats don't really have to catch mice to live; the snakes do.Though I always keep an eye out for snakes, I still nearly stepped on what I believe was a Copperhead last summer (didn't feel like getting closer to confirm it ) . It was in the long grass by the path, and nearly impossible to see until i was almost right on top of it. I just backed away slowly, and it went merrily on it's way.
We do see a lot of black snakes around though. Occasionally we'll relocate one back into the barn by the feed barrels or hay, because they make great micers (They usually put the cats to shame in that department ).
The cats don't really have to catch mice to live; the snakes do.
Those things are creepy, and they do tend to crawl up on willow branches and hang over the water.
They also cluster together and create balls of intertwined snakes for mutual warmth. I was once walking through some brush (you know, Texas "woodlands") on a slope above a lake. I was watching the ground ahead, taking care to see where I was stepping. Suddenly, there was a crashing noise directly overhead. Yep. I had apparently disturbed a ball of water moccasins while trying to work my long legs over briars and such. Down from the post oak they came dangling, then dropping, those dark and thick bodies. In front of me. Behind me. Beside me. Thankfully, I did not panic, though my heart rate would suggest otherwise. I froze as rigid and motionless as possible. Not one of them touched me, not even a glancing brush. Each hit the ground and slithered away, down toward the lake. That my pants were dry was equally astonishing. Had one landed on me and I begun to brush it off, things could have been horrific. I have had an intense dread of those critters ever since and am extremely cautious around water.