- Sep 14, 2011
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I'm watching a documentary called Hillbilly Venom, about the practice of handling snakes (serpents, as the bible thumpers call them) and I've got to say, this just fascinates me. I really like snakes and have caught zillions, including rattlesnakes. When I lived outside Tucson, I would have to move several away from the house every season. There was one Mohave rattlesnake that I saw every year for maybe 10 years.
Anyway, watching these people -
There's one guy who keeps venomous snakes and takes them to the church to be handled. They seem just as aggressive as if he had just now caught each one for the first time. As he and his friend are loading them up, one of them says he feels "anointed", that the hand of God is upon him and he drops his snake stick and is handling this enormous r'snake, barehanded. The other one does the same and actually holds the snake up to his face.
If I were to do that, I would get nailed for sure. More than 100 handlers have died and the documentary shows one preacher being bitten. As he gets sicker and sicker, they pray louder and then care for him at one of their homes. Five days of suffering and he recovered. A few years later, he died of a snake bite as his father died before him.
Its illegal in all states but West Virginia and the believers say that's the devil's way of getting power.
Needless to say, I don't believe that their god has anything to do with it. When the two were handling snakes outside one's house, you could see the snake's behavior change from being defensive and scared, rattling and moving around. When the two of them were holding them, the snakes were calm and not struggling.
In handling snakes, I've learned that if I don't grasp the snake hard, if I don't hold onto him, he will almost always relax. One exception is the coachwhip/racer. They're just very flighty and nervous snakes and very bitey. I caught one the other day and got bit.
In any event, the way they handle them surely contributes to not being bitten and I suspect the snakes can sense the mood or pheromones or something but, I have no real explanation for the people not being bitten every single time they handle a snake.
Interesting.
The guy who keeps snakes goes hunting for them in the areas that will be strip mined. He saves and relocates them. Some species are very territorial but I admire that he tries to save them.
Anyway, watching these people -
There's one guy who keeps venomous snakes and takes them to the church to be handled. They seem just as aggressive as if he had just now caught each one for the first time. As he and his friend are loading them up, one of them says he feels "anointed", that the hand of God is upon him and he drops his snake stick and is handling this enormous r'snake, barehanded. The other one does the same and actually holds the snake up to his face.
If I were to do that, I would get nailed for sure. More than 100 handlers have died and the documentary shows one preacher being bitten. As he gets sicker and sicker, they pray louder and then care for him at one of their homes. Five days of suffering and he recovered. A few years later, he died of a snake bite as his father died before him.
Its illegal in all states but West Virginia and the believers say that's the devil's way of getting power.
Needless to say, I don't believe that their god has anything to do with it. When the two were handling snakes outside one's house, you could see the snake's behavior change from being defensive and scared, rattling and moving around. When the two of them were holding them, the snakes were calm and not struggling.
In handling snakes, I've learned that if I don't grasp the snake hard, if I don't hold onto him, he will almost always relax. One exception is the coachwhip/racer. They're just very flighty and nervous snakes and very bitey. I caught one the other day and got bit.
In any event, the way they handle them surely contributes to not being bitten and I suspect the snakes can sense the mood or pheromones or something but, I have no real explanation for the people not being bitten every single time they handle a snake.
Interesting.
The guy who keeps snakes goes hunting for them in the areas that will be strip mined. He saves and relocates them. Some species are very territorial but I admire that he tries to save them.
