There was nothing Zander and I loved doing better than going fishing down at the Big Creek on the edge of the property. We called it Big Creek because it was nearly the size of a small river, and it had lots of trees and things around it. Going down there was always an adventure.
Well, one day I grabbed my fishing pole and Zander and I took off down there. I decided to head up to a place I called The Cliffs because it was where Big Creek came down through some big rocks in a row of pools. It wasn't really cliffs, but when I was that age it sure seemed like it to me. I liked to climb up there next to where the water came tumbling down and sit in the sun on a summer day. Sometimes I would take a dip in one of the pools.
On this particular day I was climbing up them rocks with Zander nosing around sniffing everything, as usual. My pole got caught in a bush along there, and I had the devil's own time trying to get it lose. I didn't want to break my pole, but it was really caught and I was getting frustrated, so I finally gave it one big tug. Suddenly it broke lose out of there, and I went tumbling off the rock I was on right into a spot where my leg got caught in between a boulder and a dried out old tree stump. I looked up and saw Zander standing where I had just been, looking down at me with his head tilted sideways like he liked to do when he was really curious about something.
Right when I got enough presence of mind to wonder what the heck he was looking at, I heard a weird sound. I looked down near my leg, and right there was the biggest, meanest-looking rattlesnake you ever did see. Well, I tell you what, I panicked! That thing was too close. I yelled and tried to jerk my leg out of there, but my foot was jammed. The only way I could see to get it out was to lower myself right where that rattler was.
Now that rattler was none to pleased that I was there disturbing his peaceful day. He pulled back his neck like an "S" and was shaking his tail rattle like it was the end of the world. That was the weird noise I was hearing. For a moment I forgot all about Zander as I wiggled and squirmed for all I was worth trying to get my leg out of there as quick as I could, but nothing doing, and I knew that rattler was fixing to bite me.
When it happened, I knew it was only the quickest moment, but it was like it was all in slow motion. As that rattler shot his head at my leg to bite me, Zander was already jumping down those rocks like lightning. He lept right at that striking snake like a missile with whiskers, and caught it in his teeth not three inches from my leg.
He had it right by the neck, and I tell you I ain't never seen nothing so perfectly timed in all my life, but Zander was good like that. He never stopped moving, but took another quick jump down to the ground right below where I was and shook that dang snake back and forth like he was tearing up an old rag. That snake never knew what hit him, and his neck was broke.
Well, after I quit shaking I finally got my leg loose and ran home to get my dad. We came back to where the dead snake was, and my dad cut off the head and rattle with a hatchet. He buried the head right there and put a rock over it so nothing would dig it up. He gave me the rattle, and I still have it in that jar right up there over the fireplace.
We didn't waste that snake neither, because we didn't waste anything in those days. My dad cooked it up and we had it for supper, and it was better than I ever thought it would be. Zander got some too of course, because he earned it! I really loved that dog, and he saved my life.
