Re: Steve Merlo: A snakebite story that will rattle your nerves

Many years ago at Deep Creek I met a man resting upstream among the trees about 100 yards from the springs. I was chatting with him when some nearby birds began to chirp loudly. He motioned for me to be quiet, listened for a short while then got up, pulled a burlap bag out of his pack along with a stick with tongs on the end. I looked puzzled and he said, "the birds tell me that there's a rattler nearby, and I'm going to catch him." He looked carefully in the brush for about 30 seconds and then used the stick-tongs to capture a very pissed-off Mojave Green Rattlesnake. The snake man then skillfully put the serpent into the bag, tying the top so that the venomous critter couldn't escape. Within about 90 minutes he caught 3 more rattlers which he said he'd sell to a lab that milked the venom to manufacture anti-venom. I don't remember just how much the three snakes were worth, but it was certainly enough to make the drive and hike worth his while.