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I do remember this bit of information from camp... still his attitude is more in line with 1876 than current ideas regarding non-poisonous snakes or even snakes not within your back yard...

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I would disagree, people back then would have understood the importance of letting wild creatures remain wild to keep the balance. It is today's world that says if it bothers YOU get rid of it, or if it is scary get rid of it. Back then if someone killed a snake like that they would prolly eat it and then make a belt out of it.

A creature that is trapped in the urban surroundings does need to be removed or destroyed. Wild animals in the city usually cause more harm than good. Look at the cost of the deer trapped in Austin. Deer ticks, cars hitting deer.

I am all for balance, and I would never kill an animal that I would not use or consume its parts. But animals don't have souls and I do not "FEEL" for them, so if they are going to cost someone money because they are trapped or we have grown to the fringe of their environment, the animal/creature should be removed or destroyed.

Soap box put up.

[This message has been edited by djalk (edited 6/16/2010 9:24a).]

I was playing golf once. A snake was by the creek at the end of the tee box. In the middle of my backswing, the snake came up on to the tee box. I hit a bad shot. So I killed him.

Dont distract me and you wont get dead.

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I'm pretty sure some people are just always going to hate snakes, me being one of them. Call me ignorant, or whatever else makes you feel better about yourself; i'm not going to lose any sleep over it either way.
I'm glad at least some people around here aren't so full of themselves that they realize it was just a snake, & that the world has kept turning.

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I am pretty sure that it was not just the fact that you killed a harmless snake that got people interested in the topic. I think it has more to do with the fact that you chose to post it on a forum for bragging rights, as if you deserved a pat on the back for it.

Wow, this thread is still going!?!

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I would disagree, people back then would have understood the importance of letting wild creatures remain wild to keep the balance.

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yeah, you know, like they did with the buffalo, the carrier pigeon and the Dodo....

Don't use historical examples if you don't really know history. Despite romantic ideas about the past, most people weren't exactly ecologically concerned.

[This message has been edited by TxElsie (edited 6/16/2010 5:05p).]

Hey frog kissers, it's not like he killed EVERY snake. He just killed that one. Now go nag someone else.

OK, here, maybe this will satisfy everyone and we can finally kill this thread!

Coming soon to Arrington Road...

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OK, here, maybe this will satisfy everyone and we can finally kill this thread!

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Not without this....



Now it can die...

[This message has been edited by TooTall 06 (edited 6/16/2010 9:13p).]

For those critical of the anti-snake, even anti-animal, sentiment represented here, just remember it could be worse:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qbc2J0zZr8

[This message has been edited by Mark Coppock (edited 6/16/2010 9:42p).]

TxElsie, I just meant that they wouldn't kill it and just leave it there, they would use what they killed.

I knew that... and I meant they wouldn't... All three of the examples that I gave were of animals that were killed, and in most cases, left to rot where they fell... carrier pigeons and dodos were shot for sport, while the buffaloes were mass exterminated to push a political agenda and make things easier for the railroad. Here is a period account -

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On either side of the track of the two lines of railroads running through Kansas and Nebraska, within a relatively short distance and for nearly their whole length, the most conspicuous objects in those days were the desiccated carcasses of the noble beasts that had been ruthlessly slaughtered by the thoughtless and excited passengers on their way across the continent. On the open prairie, too, miles away from the course of legitimate travel, in some places one could walk all day on the dead bodies of the buffalo killed by the hide-hunters, without stepping off them to the ground.

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http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-buffaloplight.html

couhttp://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/aboutbuffalo/bisonslaughterhistory.html

Cliff Notes: While I have no issue with someone killing a snake (I personally can't stand the buggers) - as a historian, I do object to people romanticizing the past. Our forefathers were not particularly interested in conservation... They might use what they had at hand to make stuff, but they didn't really have a problem with wantonly destroying things they had no use for. I see your point, but your example is flawed.



[This message has been edited by TxElsie (edited 6/17/2010 10:04a).]

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What on god's green earth happened to you in the past to give you such an overwhelming and irrational fear of all snakes?

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Really, you don't know? There is a reason why snakes are one of the most common phobias. It's called evolution. Maybe you hoilier-than-thou sophisticated wine-drinkers should look it up.

Sure it's irrational. But really, killing some snakes isn't going to devastate the snake population or the ecosystem the way you think it is.

Hey! I'm a wine drinker and I can appreciate a dead snake at least us much as the next guy can!

What about the buzzards? They got a meal at least. And it could have been a cottonmouth. It's not uncommon for them to be 4 or 5 feet long. I don't think anyone is going to care if you use the term "poisonous" or "venomous" if you get bit by a snake that has venom. All of these self appointed experts on snakes and the ecosystem need to get a life. For full disclosure I must admit I'm one of the uneducated rednecks. I probably killed over 20 snakes (cottonmouths and copperheads) when I was a kid.

Glad you woke up and contributed to this thread...Better late than never as they say.....