Wow. That's terrible! I can't imagine the feeling of helplessness while the kid was screaming. The only safe way to get him would've been with a boat or canoe, which probably wasn't handy. I can understand seeing that as a kid probably caused many nightmares ... and respect for the harm they can cause.
It was horrible. No boats, not even a tube. It was a calm spot in the river so you could see the snakes boiling up around him a good forty feet out. When Rescue came they brought a John boat and fished him out with a pole about a hundred yards downstream. Poor kid, what a horrifying way to go. Hell, it was horrifying to witness.
Some years later when Lonesome Dove came out their was that scene when crossing the Red River a young cowboy got caught up in a nest of those bastards. That didn’t help none in forgetting about what I’d seen. Yeah buddy, snakes terrify my ass!
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