9/13/07
Word to the wise: changing seasons brings out the rattlers
By Eric Goold
 |
|
Stretching almost his entire height, farmer Scott Jackson came within inches of stepping on, and probably being bitten by this rattlesnake that was laid out by his truck. Good old country common sense set in and Jackson was able to kill the offender. |
Manning farmer Scott Jackson had an extremely close encounter last Friday afternoon that should serve as a warning to all Clarendon County residents.
Watch out for rattlers.
Jackson was working at one of his farms, the Live Oak Farm out on Old Manning Road. He walked to get into his truck when out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimmer of movement.
“It was a rattlesnake,” said Jackson. “I didn’t hear it and I don’t think it noticed I was there, because it was a hot day and they detect you from your heat. I came about six inches from stepping on it.”
Good, old-fashioned country sense took over, and Jackson said he didn’t have time to be afraid.
“It was stretched out, trying to make it into the swamp woods, but I could tell it was starting to coil,” said Jackson. “I didn’t have anything to fight it with.”
Acting quickly, Jackson grabbed a corn stalk and pulled it from the ground. The stalk was about two-and-a-half feet long, he said, with a thick bunch of roots and a dirt clod at the end.
“I remembered from when I was a boy that if you need to kill a snake, you have to hit it on the neck right behind the head,” said Jackson. “I swung down as hard as I could and was able to get it. I knew I couldn’t let it go.”
Jackson’s blow was sufficient to kill the snake before it could strike. When he held up the snake to show his son, who was in the cornfield on the combine, the snake stretched almost to Jackson’s full height.
He and his son stretched out a tape measure and the rattler measured over five feet long. It had 13 rattles and one button on its tail.
“I’ve been a farmer all my life, and have never come so close to a rattlesnake before. I’d never come this close to getting bit,” said Jackson.
Thankfully, Jackson has a snake story to tell that has a happy ending, but he cautions everybody that this time of year is snake season.
“This time before the winter is when they come out of hiding to eat as much as they can before they go and hibernate,” said Jackson. “People have got to beware and be on the look out.”
Hunters going out to deer stands and children playing in fields need to be especially cautious.
“Everybody needs to be careful,” said Jackson. “Keep an eye out, especially this time of year.”
|
