Whipping the Snake

    Earl used to tell us some great stories. I don't remember a lot of them, but a few stick out in my mind. One of them, in particular, is permanently burned into my memory. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Earl told it to me every time we went on a roundup. It was the perfect horseback story and Earl loved to tell it… over and over and over.

     Earl was a younger man, back in the 1800s I presume, and had been out on a roundup. As he and the other cowboys were returning to the main headquarters, they took to challenging each other, trying to best one another in their rope throwing accuracy and spitting distance. Redneck Olympics. 

     At some point, Earl must have been losing. He saw a rattlesnake tunning next to a bush. He whirled the end of his rope around in a circle and launched it toward the snake. He had evidently done this before, either killing or stunning the viper. This time, though, was a tad bit different. The rope hit the snake just as it began to coil and when the dust had settled, the snake had disappeared. There was no hole or sufficient cover for it to be hiding in, so it was a rather puzzling experience. The mystery was solved rather quickly when the silence was shattered by an ear-splitting buzz, the rapid tail-shaking rattle of a very pissed off viper, right behind him! 

     Earl dove off the horse without a thought as the horse peered around to find not only a very empty saddle, but a rattlesnake sitting not too comfortably on his derriere. A few quick leaps and bucks was all it took to dislodge the snake from its perch.

     Earl had a hell of a time catching and quieting his horse, followed by a very jittery ride home. He had won the contest. No other cowboy was crazy enough to try and repeat that trick.

     He always ended the story with a warning:  “Never try whipping a snake with your rope! It isn't worth the heart attack or the embarrassment!”