Page 27 - a-columbia-county-boys-recollections-and-memories-of-columbia-county-florida-(2012)-lenvil-h-dicks

A Columbia County Boy's Recollections and Memories of Columbia County Florida (2012) Lenvil H. Dicks

CONVERTING MYTH TO REALITY

1 recall one day when I was a young boy, probably between the ages of 6 and 10 years old, that when my
daddy came in from working the fields one day at noon, he had a very interesting story to tell.

He confirmed something that happened to him that morning which I found to be quite interesting, and
since that day I have heard this subject mentioned a few times, and I find that a lot of people simply do
not believe it.

What he related to us was that he was in the process of clearing up the debris from a big pine tree which
had fallen over in the fence corner where our farm joined on to Edgar Dicks’ farm and my great Uncle
Joseph’s farm, and when he was cleaning up the tops from the pine tree he discovered a huge rattle
snake. He said that as soon as he uncovered the snake, that the snake opened his mouth, and there were a
whole bunch of real small snakes that ran into the snake’s mouth and down the throat. He said he had
heard that rattle snakes would do that, but he had always sort of taken that tale with a great deal of salt,
but he confirmed that he had actually seen it himself.

I know my daddy well enough to know that he would not have told us that story if it had not been true,
and I do not know why I included it in this book except that I happen to find it interesting myself.

Also, I just assumed that the large snake was the mother snake, but it very well could have been a male
snake which was assisting in taking care of the young.

My daddy killed the snake, and it would be apparent that the small snakes which had run inside the
larger snake would not have survived.

1 cannot imagine witnessing such a thing, but I really wish I had been there to see it.

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