Summer of 1958--five of us went to the river bottoms of Fox Creek. An open water pit left over from oil wells was deep and full of water. It was as deep right at the edge as out in the middle. It was absolutely full of stubby tailed water moccicans. The trick was-each one would stand alongside the edge with toes of shoe or boots at the edge of the pit. Water was within 6 inches from the ground. After stationing 4 around the pit and one walking-the fun would begin. Each one would start "chunkin" clods, small stumps etc into the pit. The snakes would get mad and swim underwater to the edge of the pit and rear their ugly haids up and attempt to bite you. Each person was permitted a single shot .22 rifle or revolver with ONE shell in it. Wasn't too hard to hit'm since they looked right into the rifle barrel. The pistol was a little more difficult since the barrel had to be closer to the snake than I wanted to be with my old paw. If you missed or otherwise got into trouble the one walkin had a sawed off shotgun--single shot. He would run around to where you were and take care of Mr. snake. This one particular day we killed, dragged out and stacked 77 water mocciacans! The pile was about 5 feet high! All dead and All shot in the head with rifle shots. The shotgun was not needed that day and that cousin felt cheated! We doused with "drip" gas and dropped a match. Talk about stink! We almost got sick from that nasty smell. If the humane society had been around we would've been in trouble I suppose. Makes no difference now how many had been snake bit while working in those very bottom grounds cutting timber and pumping oil wells! I HATE SNAKES! Matt. 24:44

-- hoot gibson (hoot@pcinetwork.com), July 21, 2000

Answers

May your punishment for cruelty to animals be to live for eternity in Hell with moccasins nipping at your head.

-- Jim (catchthesun@yahoo.com), July 21, 2000.

Hoot..you have hereby received an open invitation to come up on my porch anytime.Any Eastern Diamondback or Copperhead or Cottonmouth on my property is yours to do with as you please,now and forever.The King snake and his buddies the Black Racers must be exempt from target practice of any kind.We'll listen to the tree frogs and the crickets and drink sun tea and eat some homemade ice cream,while we all sing some good old gospel songs.God bless....

-- lesley (martchas@gateway.net), July 21, 2000.

Leslie! I like your invitation much better than Jim's judgment. Oh, by the way--this snake killin thing was while I was still a heathen and had not trusted Christ for my salvation. I still hate snakes but don't go lookin for them just to kill them. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot gibson (hoot@pcinetwork.com), July 21, 2000.

Well... snakes are definately not my favorite reptiles and I tend to stay clear of them. I was attacked by a snake when I was young and the fear still remains with me. Oh... before I forget, the person who posted first, commenting on being humane to a snake: there was a man who went fishing somewhere in MD and fell overboard, he was promptly bitten by several mocassins and died immediately. His body was barely recognizabe afterwards from the venomn. I wonder... what would this person would think or feel if their loved one was bitten by a venemous snake. The bitten animal or person goes through hell if they are lucky to survive. Now I think this person could best put their care and concern to better use by doing something about Germany slaughtering all breeds of dogs in their country considered as attack, these dogs are being massacared by the hundreds, in fact I'll post an addy for a website for him to check out Heres the post on it... go do something constructive instead of critizing and JUDGING someone for something! My humble opinion. To see a listing of specific regions or districts of Germany and the laws >outlined for these: >http://www.hunde-kampfhunde.de/Hundehaltungsverordnungen.html > >For those who need a translator, the Go translator is one of the best online >right now, IMO. To use it, just copy the German URL above, with your mouse or >hotkeys, then click on this link: >http://translator.go.com/ > >Then paste the German URL into the Translate a Web Page box, select "German >to English" then click the translate button. > >There is an American petition at: >http://www.workingdogs.com/

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), July 22, 2000.

I can't be the only one who finds Hoot's thrill-killing stories offensive, but if I am, I guess that says something about all of us on this forum. Why have I bothered to read them? Guess it's the old slow-down-and-look-at-the-car-wreck syndrome. I've had enough, and won't read anymore of his posts. It's unfortunate in a way, because a lot of the stuff he writes is otherwise entertaining. Hey Hoot, check out the Commandment that orders: THOU SHALT NOT KILL.

-- Shannon (Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary) (gratacres@aol.com), July 22, 2000.

I suspect I'm soon to be added to Shannons ignore list. Thanks Hoot! Reminds me of my semi rural childhood. We lived within walking distance of South Milwaukee. We'd cross thru a five acre woods, across a 10 acre pasture, across the tracks to the city dump. A bunch of us from the trailer park where we lived would go rat hunting with our Sheridan pellet rifles or 22 with cb caps which are very quiet. We'd pull an old, discarded couch out from the piles to sit on and wait. Soon the rats would come out and start feeding and the shooting would begin. Great fun and excellent target practice.

Think of it this way Shannon---hoot and us were performing a public health service.

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), July 22, 2000.

OK, maybe I was a tad harsh on Hoot. It really makes my blood boil to see animals wantonly destroyed. There is no justification for it in religious or secular beliefs. Yes Bernice, I would attempt to kill a snake that was harming a loved one or any other person. That's far different from what Hoot described in his story. Many people enjoy the "sport" of fishing, but almost no one considers shooting fish in a barrel to be a sport. There is a difference. I have already read about the fighting dogs in Germany being destroyed. That is an unfortunate situation. These beasts are an unnatural species. They did not evolve to fill a niche in our environment, neither were they created by God as a necessary species such as water moccasins. These animals were bred by people who enjoy seeing animals tortured. The same folks who enjoy shooting fish in barrels. The dogs have no right to live and endanger the lives of human beings. There are hundreds of docile breeds that can fill the need of security dogs for law enforcement and others. What does everyone else think? Should the dogs live or die? Do we need dangerous dogs when we have thousands of breeds that are friendly?

-- Jim (catchthesun@yahoo.com), July 22, 2000.

I'm with Lesley, you can come to my place and kill as many poisonous snakes as you want. The garter snakes, kings, blacks, browns, rubber boas, and all others are to be allowed to carry on!

I deplore snakes. I won't kill 'em for fun, but if I come across a poisonous one or one that has a triangulated head and I am unsure, sorry, but they must go. I like myself, my dogs, cats, chickens and goats too much to let the poisonous ones live when we have NO shortage of snakes at all. Besides, if Hoot killed 77 with his friends in one day and there were still plenty in the hole, don't you think that the area was out of balance?

As for the dogs, that's a pretty sick thing. I can understand taking action as far as dissuading people from breeding them and if an animal is unnecessarily violent I can understand destroying them. In Germany, people can take their dogs every where with them. It's really neat, and most of the dogs are very well socialized, and even though they will protect their master, they don't balk at a non-threatening approach. It is most likely more of a people problem than an animal one....I agree with Jim on the breeding of these animals to be viscious. A terrible thing, and completely "humanity's" fault. I absolutely love dogs, but I won't have one that is pitbull or rottie mix, because I have seen them just snap for NO reason and almost kill other dogs.

The only dog I ever would have shot was (still is) a pitbull/lab mix. He belonged to an ex-friend. Sent me to the vet with my dogs 6 times and one of my dogs had to have a $250 operation because of this pit mix. The ex-friend didn't feel any responsibility financially nor disciplinary. Hence, the ex-friend.

Anyhow, Hoot you just keep killin the nasties as they present themselves!

-- Doreen (livinginskin@yahoo.com), July 22, 2000.

Well! I didn't intend to start world war three but something happened I guess. I'm not a cold hearted killer as some might paint me. We were asked to help thin out the snakes down there. Oil well pumpers and timber cutters were being attacked almost every time they went down there. These nasty serpents were very aggressive and would come after you for no reason at all. I was, as I said earlier, a heathen then as all of us were, but still would do the same thing today if asked to do so. I wonder just how many would lets rats, mice, scorpions, poisonious spiders etc live. In my humble opinion they do not have the right to take a human life. Most people will kill those nasty things too and not feel too bad about doing so. I don't condone killing for the reason of just killing. I also deplore the taking of human life before birth and especially partial birth abortion. I'll not open that can of worms nor will I open the discussion of religion on here. Nothing gets solved by doing so and besides--thats' not my job for him. If you're offended by what I write and enough want me to quit-then I'll stop posting. The choice is entirely yours. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot gibson (hoot@pcinetwork.com), July 22, 2000.

Don't stop writing Hoot! You know the great thing about America is that even though I don't always agree with you, I still enjoy your writing. I respect your opinions, and I would go to war and fight for your right to freedom of expression. Don't let some silly little curse like those moccasins nipping at your head silence your opinions:)

-- Jim (catchthesun@yahoo.com), July 22, 2000.

Like Jim said, don't worry about it Hoot. I've lived long enuf to know you can't please everyone so theres no point in trying. Just keep them cards and letters comin because they're a piece of rural history!

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), July 22, 2000.

Hoot, I really enjoy your stories. I am so interested in the way things were done in the past. We live in quite a world. Somehow it's almost impossible to believe how animals have been elevated to the position that they are more important than people. It is interesting to me how Bible verses can be thrown every which way when we want to defend certain things. "Thou shalt not kill" was obviously talking about the indiscriminate murder of people. Ask all those lambs sacrificed upon the altars to God. Praise the Lord that you were able to get rid of those snakes, which protected who knows how many people. Some people have just endowed animals with the souls of people, which they don't have. Too much Bambi I guess.

Little Bit farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), July 23, 2000.

Hoot, what you did was good then and would be good now. Bless you Little bit for your post.

-- Don (hihilldon@yahoo.com), July 23, 2000.

Hoot, don't worry about possibly upsetting someone. You make many more people smile and they can relate to your stories and enjoy your refreshing writing style!

Water moccasins are probably the meanest snake on this continent. They will chase a person for a quarter mile if the person has upset them somehow. Thinning a population is not a bad thing it is a service to others.

LilBit, I have just a tinge of disagreement on the animals and "souls", I do not believe they are equal to people, but read Genesis Chapter 9. They will be held accountable for shedding of a man's blood. Accountability implies judgement to me. Don't want to turn this into a doctrinal debate, though.

God Bless you Hoot and please keep your stories coming!

-- Doreen (livinginskin@yahoo.com), July 23, 2000.

Quit killing just to kill.

Star Wars Episode 1:1

-- J.J. (Haha@tlc.prg), July 23, 2000.

"Some things just need killin'!"

-Reality 1:01-

-- Guy Winton (guyiii@home.com), July 25, 2000.

Just a comment about the dogs in Germany being killed. It started from a viscious dog attacking and killing a three year old boy and from there it escalated to we have to rid Germany of every large/potentially dangerous dog there is. This means your Great Pyranese livestock and other large herding breed dogs as well as a multitude of other large breeds. Most of these breeds are not problem breeds but have individual dogs which a person has made mean and dangerous. Since a mean large dog can do a lot of damage to a person, especially a child, they want to get rid of them all. It's kind of like if one person commits murder lets get rid of all humans because this one was a bad apple.

The only dog in my opinion which this should apply to across the breed, and keep in mind I own eight great danes, is the pitbull. And the only reason I say that is although pitbulls are not inherently a nasty breed but are made that way by their owners, the problem is their method of biting is too dangerous. They were bred to grab onto bulls and not let go and just shake their heads to do as much damage as they can until they kill the bull. Unlike other dogs which will bite and let go and an adult under attack can usually fight them off, a pitbull is very difficult to defend against. Their jaws are so strong that they will crush bone. I absolutely love dogs but will go way out of my way to avoid coming in contact with a pitbull, friendly or otherwise, because of that fact. This is the only dog that I truly feel needs to be outlawed.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), July 26, 2000.

Remember the original 'Our Gang' movies, the kids and their dog ~ a Pit Bull. I just saw some Disney movie on TV ~ kids and a Pit Bull. I know several families with kids and several dogs in the house ~ some of the dogs are Pit Bulls. I never think twice about walking into their homes. I wouldn't hesitate to have the breed. There are two types of Pits ~ the line raised for fighting and the line raised for pets. People don't research or don't care. I would definitely have the dog from the pet line. A lot of dogs bite, but the media seems to think it's only news if it's a Pit.

I have quite a few Old English Game chickens. You know, the breed where cocks are put on 2 foot chains under little tents, raised for fighting. Now are y'all gonna get excited 'cause I'm raising fighting cocks?!! Well, I'm not! Altho mine free range during the day, the roosters (yes, more than one), hens and chicks all sleep together in the same pen. The man who gave them to me is more particular about breeding than I am. ALL HIS ROOSTERS ARE KEPT IN THE SAME PEN, and there's no fighting.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), July 27, 2000.

So some of you don't think we should kill those cute little mice. Well, folks, they are killing us. Have you heard of Hantavirus? The disease is transmitted thru their saliva, urine and feces. It is also airborne. I remember one gal who died. She was sweeping out her motor home on a camping trip. A mouse had invaded. She didn't know about the virus as she swept.

More and more, the human is moving into critter territory. Some critters we can live with peacefully; others, it's them or us. The rancher will always protect his stock and family. If it's a protected species, the 3 S's have always been used and always will be....shoot, shovel (bury), and shut up. Where I live, it's legal to shoot ANYthing molesting my livestock. But I'll go to jail if I shoot someone molesting my child. What a country!

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), July 27, 2000.

Killing mice/rats and other undesirable critters. I don't know of anybody that condones those filthy things living around them but I for one hate them more than snakes. I find that poison does a good job on'm as does traps. With poison put out of the way from pets, kids etc, I don't need a stinkin old serpent a slitherin around. I DON'T like being startled and especially by something that I hate-- like snakes. If they stay hid and out of the way, I won't go lookin for'm just to kill'm. If they are persistant in coming out around the house then they're dead meat. Somebody had posted about shoot'n rats at the city dump. Thats a good deal-we used to too-but now there's no dump around anymore. We've been asked by farmers to help eliminate rats for'm around grain bins. On cold winter days when the sun is shining is the ideal time to do so. Settin in the p.u. with a .22 rifle a body can kill bunches if you're just a little patient. We used to use those "caps" which we called fluberts but can't find'm anymore. Guess they're not made now. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot gibson (hoot@pcinetwork.com), July 27, 2000.

I like spiders, snakes, rats [ had a pet rat I took everywere]Had to teach my husband not to kill spiders[ thats ok dear Ill get a jar and take it out side]put a black widow in the empty lot down the street once,But now I kill any black widows I find around the house[ 5 yearold son makes a world of diference]. I dont belive in killing for sport! but my grandfather was a hunter and that is a good way to feed your family as long as your using the animal for food and not wasting it ok. protecting your family ok!The indian nations have the right Idea live in harmony with nature. Every thing is here for a purpose, Its just when the balance gets out of wack and you get to much of one thing that you have problems [ and putting up houses every were is compounding the problem] And yes I have a pitbull! told my self I would never own one, couldnt be trusted,turn on you ect and then came gracie, found her as a pup by a busy road just before dark [ she is pure black so she would have been toast]took her home and kept her [ animal shelter puts pits down here]she is 3rd level obedience trained, and she was temperment tested and passed with flying colors so I used her in the share a pet program were she visited nursing homes.Husband use to say she was lovable but not a gaurd dog, use to tell him any well loved dog will try to protect you. One day he forgot his keys and was wearing a new hat jumped on the fence and met a whole new gracie until she realized who it was.our son learned to walk hanging on to her.She is the greatest dog and Iam so glad she came into my life to teach me a life lesson! BUT they are not for every one,I would never own one that hadnt been spayed. also would want to make sure the parents wernt used for fighting, a couple of generations of breeding for aggression would skrew up any dog breed, and there jaws are dangerous, but they have the sharpest sense of smell,would make great search dogs [gracie can find food no matter what its wraped in and makes putting her on a diet a chalange]and there might be less crime if a few would be police dogs[who would want a 100lb pitbull chasing them?]but they need to be raised by responsible people who can take on the responsibilty of such a powerful animal, not the flakes who abuse them and fight them.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), July 27, 2000.

Hey Hoot. Me and my father used to work with a Hoot Gibson. My dad was the Midland Texas County Auditor and I worked for the probation department. Anyway, I happened onto this website (I subscribe to Countryside Magazine) and saw your name. If this isn't the same Hoot, well, I enjoyed reading your story.

-- Valerie Schlagal (schlagal@yahoo.com), July 28, 2000.