Bad luck?

Well, I had a little run in with a rattle snake last night at work. After screaming like a 12 year old girl, and then making sure the snake would not scare anyone else in the future… I was ridiculed by my co-workers about “bringin bad luck” for killing the snake. LOL
So, I decided to look up some folk lore on the killing of rattle snakes. Yeah, I was bored…as you can tell by the 3AM post. Not much to do when you’re trying to change your hours back to the day shift. LOL

Here is some stuff I found:

Several of the most fascinating Texas folk beliefs center around creatures common to the state. Snakes, particularly, play an important role in the folk beliefs of most ethnic groups. Many of these beliefs are shared, though some are unique to specific groups. A common belief is that snakes charm their victims-birds, small animals, or even people-and exert a strange power over them to make them helpless against attack. A “snake doctor” (dragonfly) can supposedly cure an injured snake if the snake’s head isn’t chopped off; snakes mortally injured during the day will not die until sundown; a rattlesnake hung with its belly to the sun will bring rain; and horsehairs put into rainwater will turn into snakes. Specific kinds of snakes enjoy their own fanciful reputations. The hoop snake forms a hoop, rolls downhill, and stabs its prey with its tail as it hurls itself, spearlike, after uncoiling. If the barbed tail strikes its victim, the poison kills. Kill a copperhead, and its mate will seek revenge. The coachwhip whips its victims with its body. The red racer chases people. The milk snake sucks cows’ teats and makes their milk bloody. Killing a “witch snake” (chicken snake) brings permanent bad luck; it makes cows give bloody milk and causes children to die. A king snake crushes other snakes with blows of its tail, then eats them. “Joint” snakes, when struck or frightened, break into numerous pieces and then reassemble after the danger is past.

Rattlesnakes^qv are believed to swallow their young and to live in peace with prairie dogs^qv in prairie dog holes. A common cowboy belief was that a horsehair rope coiled around a camp bed would keep rattlesnakes out. The snake’s mortal enemy, the roadrunner or paisano (see BIRDS), is said to kill it by building a corral of thorns or prickly pears around it and forcing it to starve to death or bite itself in frustration. A victim of rattlesnake bite can cure himself by biting off the head of the offending reptile or by splitting the snake open and laying it on the bite. A chicken, split open while alive, is better. Other reptiles^qvqv (“horned toads”) are believed to spit blood from their eyes, and killing one will cause a person’s milk cows to go dry or give bloody milk. Some believe that a salamander can get into one’s body through conjuring or from wet grass through bare feet. The “mountain boomer” lizard, found in West Texas, is falsely believed to be poisonous. It is said to bite with its teeth, sting with its tail, and bark loudly. have their own accretions of folk belief. When snapping turtles bite, they do not let go until it thunders. Even with their heads cut off, they attempt to get back to the water. Horned lizards^qv (“horned toads”) are believed to spit blood from their eyes, and killing one will cause a person’s milk cows to go dry or give bloody milk. Some believe that a salamander can get into one’s body through conjuring or from wet grass through bare feet. The “mountain boomer” lizard, found in West Texas, is falsely believed to be poisonous. It is said to bite with its teeth, sting with its tail, and bark loudly.

Well, I do believe there was some luck in all this…I was lucky I did not get bit! Sorry for the pics…all I had was my cell phone. Glad I could once again pollute your minds with needless information. Until next time…JC