Snakes - Rattlers - Predators

The Woods and Streams north of Jasper found a dubious honor in the natural
history of Indiana a few weeks ago when two men who were canoeing a flooded
stream spotted a large snake swimming uncomfortably close to them.

After whacking it into oblivion with a paddle they took it to a conservation
officer who identified the 42-inch-long serpent as a western cottonmouth,
so-called because of its white mouth. Indiana suddenly became identified as the
home of a fourth

The western cottonmouth
joins the timber rattlesnake
and copperhead of southern
and central Indiana and the
massasauga, found in
northern Indiana swamps.

The western cottonmouth, or
water moccasin, has long
been suspected to inhabit
southern Indiana. One was

reported in Gibson County in 1887, but its existence wasn’t confirmed. Persons
who want to look for cottonmouths might note its dark brown coloring under
black markings, a triangular head and a heavy body. One way of telling it from
the non-poisonous copperbelly is to look it in the eye. If the pupil is round the
snake is safe. If it is slit-shaped like a cat’s, it is venomous.

Experts say that of the four poisonous Indiana snakes, only the rattlesnake’s
bite is usually fatal. There is only one sure test of this rule of thumb.

Fortunately, or unfortunately--depending on your interest in snakes--residents
of most of the Wabash Valley will have to go a ways to find one of the
poisonous species. A recent issue of Outdoor Indiana reported that poisonous
vipers seem to give Sullivan, Daviess, Knox, Pike and most of Gibson counties a
wide birth.

A visitor to Vincennes in 1816 attributed the lack of snakes to the Indian
custom of burning off the tall grass of the prairie each Fall to make spotting
game easier. Also, the flat, rolling plain of Knox County is not the sort of
topography rattlers prefer. They like hilly timbered land.

A century ago stories of a giant rattlesnake were striking fear in the hearts of
the area. Big Jim was reported as the terror of the Wabash, a monster rattler
10 feet long (or longer in some estimates). He made his home at Rattlesnake
Bluff on the Little Wabash, 12 miles north of Carmi, Ill., although he
reportedly ranged up and down the Wabash Valley.

The snake was first noticed in the spring of 1881 when loggers went to log the
Skillet Fork bottoms.

According to the story of this confrontation, told with grand detail in 1908 by
the Vincennes Commercial, the loggers were driven to shelter in rain to the
bluff overhanging the river. A black man in the crew was sent for firewood,
but he came back, terrified and empty-handed. The logger, who was named Big
Jim, reported seeing a great demon prowling the bluff. Capt. Ed Ballard, in
charge of the crew, angrily ordered the man back to his task.

Minutes later a scream was heard from the top of the bluff and Jim hurtled
down the bluff and into the flooded river. He was never seen again, though an
extensive search was made of the river the next day. More men ascended the
bluff but heard what they said sounded like a thousand rattles. Rain or not, the
survivors boated to the Illinois bank of the Wabash in record time.

The Commercial, looking back, said the logging business in the area was set back
by stories of the giant snake. Also, other excursions of this of this monster
rattler, now called Big Jim in honor of his victim, were reported in succeeding
years. Near the bluff one farmer looked into his chicken yard and saw his best
Plymouth Rock rooster staring eyeball to eyeball with a giant snake. He
emptied a shotgun at the snake, and it disappeared. He said his rooster was
never the same again.

Then a group of turkey and squirrel hunters, including Knox County Sheriff Lee
Staley, saw what they said was Big Jim on a log sunning himself. They blasted
away at him, interrupting his nap but apparently not hurting him.

A country school four miles from Rattlesnake Bluff was the next site of a
report. Big Jim was spotted nearby, and the frightened teacher gathered the
students inside the school, shut the blinds and hid out until evening when
parents came to see what the problem was. School was dismissed for the rest of
the year.

One are farmer reported the snake’s love for his blackberry patch. The
farmer, William Ude, said his bull tried to horn the critter and came out the
loser to the snake’s fangs.

A large cage put over the hole to what was supposedly Big Jim’s lair was found
bent and twisted. A price was put on the snake’s head, and fearful farmers
began wearing high boots to ward off attacking snakes. A snake, Big Jim, of
course, frightened a team of stagecoach horses near Centerville, Ill., sending
one frightened traveler up a tree.

Dynamiters blew holes over Rattlesnake Bluff, maybe sending thousands of
snakes to their deaths, but reportedly not Big Jim. In 1908, after more than a
quarter of a century there still was a rattlesnake mania north of Carmi, and all
reports of snakes were attributed to the legendary serpent.

Big Jim finally was put to rest, shortly after the latest account of his history
had been told in the Commercial.

On the W.H. Thompson farm in southwestern Sullivan County, farm hand John
Bascomb heard a commotion in the pigpen. A boar had a giant rattlesnake in his
jaws, close enough to the head that the snake couldn’t get in a knock-out punch.
By the time he had returned with a rifle the other hogs in the pen were in the
fray, stomping and biting at the writhing snake. Bascomb finally got a clear
shot, and the snake was finished.

Bascomb mounted the skin, which measured 12 feet five inches and had 29
rattles. Whether Big Jim or just a big rattler, the legend of the terror of the
Wabash died in a Sullivan County pigpen.

THE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO
POISONOUS SNAKES is a full-color
guide to these dangerous but often
misunderstood creatures. Originally
issued by the U.S. government, this
book is filled with practical
knowledge and interesting facts. It
is a must-have for homesteaders,
campers, climbers, and snake lovers.

This great DVD that
brings you face to face
with some of the
deadliest snakes on the
planet, renowned snake
experts guide you in
the hunt and handling of
these slithery
creatures and give
insights on their biology
and behavior.

The real draw of Rattlesnake is
the more than 250 full color
photographs that capture both
the beauty and the power of
these reptiles. Whether it is a
picture of a diamondback
posed to strike or of
snake-handling religious sects,
the illustrations are not for the
squeamish. This book will hold
the attention of both recreational
readers and budding
herpetologists.

* A note from
Ozarkguy: Since
backwoods my dog is
usually in front and
more likely to be
bitten by a snake, I
have a sidesaddle
backpack on him with
water, food and a
snakebite kit (aside
from the one I always
carry). Might want to
get one for the house,
car, kids, etc.