Sweetwater, Texas has been on the AFP radar for months. For fifty-one years, this small west Texas town has hosted the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup which has grown into what they proudly tout as “the world’s largest.” An estimated 30,000 spectators come through the doors of the Nolan County coliseum over 3 days to wander amongst the 5,000 pounds of slithering snakeness. There’s a weigh-in pit, a milking pit, a demonstration/safety awareness pit, and of course, the skinning pit. This is, more or less, the fateful final course of events of any rattlesnake that ends up near the coliseum. Then they become a pair of boots, a sweet guitar strap, a pair of dice, or a tasty snack on a stick. But the “hunters” who bring in these venomous reptiles aren’t just doing it to help control the local population. They’re making $5/pound and on Saturday afternoon one leading team had brought in $6500 worth of rattlers. With our eyes, ears, and cameras we plunged into this fascinating world of ‘living with rattlesnakes.’
Indeed, living in this land of dry heat, shallow canyons, and rocky mesas, snakes are a part of life. Not so much perhaps inside the city limits, but out in the country, you better watch your step. Locals are more likely to get spooked by the site of a squirrel than a rattler. But don’t get the impression that everyone out here in west Texas is cool at the site of a rattlesnake. Far from it, in fact, but there are some hearty men and women who can drag these snakes out of their dens and then stand in a pit of hundreds with total aplomb. With a durable pair of kevlar leg guards and some thick leather boots, a rattlesnake bite and the subsequent venom never make human contact. It’s not advised for amateurs, but with the right protection you can wear your shorts in the snake pit.
Our time in the coliseum was certainly informative and the AFP now knows more about rattlesnakes than we ever thought we would. But our time in Sweetwater would be incomplete if we didn’t go out on a real bona fide rattlesnake hunt. With crummy weather, the outlooks was bleak. Our Friday and Saturday, rain and wind canceled our hunting appointments. Sunday was our last hope. Luckily, the sun emerged and we were able to pin down Mr. Riley Sawyers who gave us a first class hunting experience. With a few other local members of the Jaycees who organize the Roundup, Riley led us to an exposed hill side that had numerous promising snake dens. Because rattlesnakes aren’t great burrowers, they slide into homes already dug out by porcupines, skunks, mice and other rodents. For the winter they hibernate, but come spring, and especially on warm spring days after a cold spell, they’ll come out on the rocks and soak up the heat. This was exactly the situation we found ourselves in. So Riley and Co. gave us the speech to “watch out.” And watch we did as the team of Jaycees pumped gasoline fumes into a few different potential holes. Sometimes the snakes will come out quickly and most often they’re pretty fired up.
Stepping back from this scene, Ross walked a few steps back to compose a photograph. Suddenly, he heard the chilling sound of shaking rattles and saw an angry rattler poised to strike if he should step any closer. He was only 3 feet away. It was a very close call. And that was the first snake we caught on our hunt. Shortly after, a few more came rushing out of the gassed dens and Andrew had the privilege to grab one and drop it in the box brought along for this very purpose. In the end, we caught 4 good size snakes to add to the 5,500 pounds turned in at the 2009 Roundup. It’s safe to say we got our fill of rattlesnakes and learned a thing or two about how to handles ourselves if we should ever encounter one again in the wild. If that day never comes, we won’t be disappointed Enjoy the photos and the video!
18 Comments
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Mark P:
That’s a tidbit creepy, I’ll admit.
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gina martin:
i will not look at these photos again. I HATE SNAKES. the photo of all the snakes in the big pit. i would have passed out. andrew – i know i was an AMAZING photo assistant with Howie Long – but i would have NEVER done this with you.
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Stephanie:
Ross, your photos are making me realize that there is so much culture in the U.S. I have not been exposed to. I honestly think I would’ve lost my lunch if I had been there, srsly! Skinning snakes?!?!?!
I really like that photograph of the woman smiling with the snake like a prize, and my favorite is the man who’s holding the snake’s mouth open and he’s got that diamond ring on of a horse shoe. I’m also really enjoying the videos—keep them coming.
What an adventure!
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Ross:
Thanks Stephanie! That is our intent–to expose American culture. I’m so happy to hear that you are enjoying the website. Thanks for the comments. Keep em’ coming!
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james mulry:
Ross, Andrew – this is amazing. Great work, and love the video.
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lex:
Ross, that’s pretty near to where I went to college. Same goes for Friend of Gentle Graffiti, and all-around cool person, Jamie Shelburne (she’s still living around that territory). Sadly, I actually never went to the Rattlesnake Roundup. An interesting thought, though, is the difference in perception for locals and “outsiders” towards these kinds of festivals. I can’t imagine NOT going to something like this if it was somewhere else. Make sense?
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Ross:
Lex,
Yes, makes sense. In my hometown of Salem, Va, there is a pretty rednecky summer fair that happens every year. I never thought of going to it when I lived there, but since I’ve been away for quite some time, I could go to that event and document it as an outsider and probably see it in a new way. I’m learning that there are stories right under our noses, even in our home towns.
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Ross:
James, yeah man! ‘We are the world trade center’! I still love that album. You were my savior of good music. Thanks for the comments James, and good to be in touch again. Hope you’ll follow along in the future and please let me know if you have any recommendations for NYC events to photograph!
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Ryan:
I worked at that “rednecky fair” in Salem! The roundup gets a shout-out in The Economist this week: http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13337894.
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Liam:
How could you people possibly support this? there is nothing wrong with snakes, quite the opposite, we need them to survive as we do any animal for they all have there niche in there specific ecosystems and in this world as a whole, can you people not see how cruel this is, you said yourself they flush the poor helpless animals out of there dens with gasoline, can you not see how cruel this is, your country acts as if your developed, almost ahead of everyone else but from this post ive realised how far behind you are, how could you possibly stand to let this happen all so some conceided,ignorant FUCKS could make easy money…. if you seriously agree with and support this you discust and without a doubt are a waste of life
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Tlacatecatl Tlacaxipe:
Rattlesnake roundups are an example of humanity at its lowest level. Fear, hatred, destruction, all in one big arena. Roundups are condemned by herpetological societies and researchers won’t use the contaminated venom collected under nonsterile conditions. This is just an excuse for cowardly humans to kill rattlesnakes and make hatbands out of them. The whole thing is just disgusting.
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Grant:
Wow. What backwards, desert dwelling, inbred hicks you people are. Catch up with the rest of the civilized world, Texas. Better yet, why don’t you just sucede, and not call this the “American Festival.” You are the reasons they don’t like Americans abroad.
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Ross:
Thank you, Grant. We appreciate you calling us backwards hicks, when really we were there to document the event as journalists.
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Morgan:
A respectable journalist would not mingle in such events…
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Ryan:
I agree with the last few comments and I’m a little disappointed with National Geographic for condoning such activities. While I understand a journalists place is to simply report, you went further and participated in the hunting of more critters. If there were some reason the snakes needed to be eradicated, like they were overpopulating the area, then that is one thing. But to simply remove “scary” animals from their habitat is absurd. I will think twice about another National Geographic subscription from now on.
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Larry:
Rattle snakes are over populated here in our area. The round up is to maintain the population.
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Fred:
This is disgusting, i love the U.S.A, but such barbaric “events” make me think twice.
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x CrazyTurkey x:
Wow. I only visited this site because I am working on a research paper discussing the ethics of tradtional rattlesnake roundups, but I never expected a National Geographic article to condone such atrocious behavior. Even if a person doesn’t like rattlesnakes, think about it this way: what if one day the stray shelters across America decided “Hey, why don’t we hold puppy and kitten roundups?” According to what you are saying, at least my interpretation of it, is that you would be OK with that behavior, provided they show you exactly how to hunt these defenseless creatures and make you a coat out of their decapitated carcass, maybe even donate some of their earnings to a charity? You people truly make me sick, and I really hope humanity takes a second to stop and take things into perspective before they support filth like this.