“Granny Jane Watson was bitten on her right hand by a copperhead one summer, when she was scratching potatoes out of the hard, dry dirt in the garden. The potatoes had grown extra large that year and had pushed the dirt up, leaving cracks in the soil around them. She ran to the house and made an “X” cut on her finger where the bite was, and, with a milking motion, caused it to bleed as much as it would. By the time Ma found her, her hand was bright red and swollen almost twice the size it should be. Granny Jane told her to mix cornmeal and lye soap together and make a poultice for her hand. As the poultice dried, it drew out the poison. Her hand turned blue by morning, but they kept changing poultices as they dried, and in a few days she was in good health.”
—Dorie Woman of the Mountains by Florence Cope Bush
We didn’t see very many snakes this summer and the ones we did see were not poison. If I was to ever get bit by one I don’t think I could keep my wits about me like Granny Jane did.
Today’s Thankful November giveaway is a used copy of Dorie Woman of the Mountains written by Florence Cope Bush. Leave a comment on this post to be entered. *Giveaway ends November 7, 2023.
You can hear an audio version of the book (read by me) by visiting this playlist.
Last night’s video: The Flowers Family from Cutcane Part 2.
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I was bitten on my ankle about 23 years ago by a copperhead. Thankfully he was not able to inject the venom so it never swelled or become painful. And it did not hurt when he struck. Those 2 fangs are razor sharp & like needles, but they left the 2 bite marks right above my ankle bone. I can’t believe how I stayed calm because I am very scared of any kind of snake!
Doubtful I would survive a snakebite but would die of fright right on the spot. She was a brave woman to treat that bite.
Doris Women of the mountain was my favorite book you have read!
We don’t have snakes like copperheads where I live, and I’m a bit thankful for that because I’m terrified of snakes, of any kind of them! I enjoyed reading this, especially the part about the poultice. Just goes to show how self-sufficient people were, knowing a way to treat themselves by making something like that. I wouldn’t know what to do-I’d be headed for the ER! Would love to read this book, and really enjoy your blog and videos. Hope Granny is feeling alright.
-Rachael
I don’t run very often now but a snake can sure make me come close to running. A snake bite would probably make me pass out!!!
Few people stay calm when a snake comes into view. That reality includes viewing a video where there is no possibility of getting bit. Blind fear of snakes is the norm, unfortunately. For those who can get past that I think this video featuring a kid barely old enough to drive, explaining how to identify the venonous snakes most likely to cross paths with the folks commenting here is worth watching. It could save your life and the lives of a lot of snakes as well: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/snakes/copperhead-snakes.htm
I’m not sure I could have kept my wits about me, either! Oh my!!! What a great poultice! That is the very first time I’ve ever heard of that poultice. I will have to ask my dad about that as they have had friends bitten by copperheads on the Cumberland Plateau of Fentress County, Tennessee. Love these stories, I never get tired of them.
I also with many other followers like to hear you read about the people making their way in the mountains I would love for you to send me a list of books you have read
By the way how is granny doing I pray that everything is going as well as planned for her if you can give us and update on granny’s condition love seeing Matt taking on more in the videos bless you all
Read your blog everyday
Love it
Tipper,,you should put your blogs in book form
I absolutely adore hearing you read from the books you have discovered. This one was a definite favorite.
Wonderful story. I imagine one has to be strong to be able to survive in the woods and life of self sufficiency. Thanks . ♥️Jennifer
I absolutely loved Dorie!! I think it is my favorite of those you have read!
I grew up in the desert and have never been afraid of snakes, etc. To me they are beautiful creatures and deserve to be allowed to live their lives. They are so beneficial and will go their own way if you just leave them alone.
I’m with you Tipper. Don’t think I would stay that calm and trust and old remedy so willingly. She was a brave lady! Copperheads are plentiful in Oklahoma where my Dads people are from. Always scared me to think of stepping on one or even seeing one. Enjoy your daily writings.
Love your blog!
I adore this story, Dorie woman of the mountains, I enjoyed it so much when you read the book! I also adore your cookbook it is amazing, literally the best cookbook ever!
I got my first Postum today. I see why you love it. It’s great, a good caffeine free cool weather drink. Thanks for introducing it.
I can’t stand snakes! I don’t hang around long enough to determine if one is poisonous or not. I remember my Dad talking about mowing over a copperhead. I know they serve a purpose but they still make my skin crawl.
Granny Jane sure was brave! I haven’t seen many snakes, but unknowingly came in close contact with one when I was very young. My mom, dog, and I had walked right over something outside. My mother looked back and it was a water moccasin! Praise God for His protection!
I love that story from Dorie. We have seen a couple of snakes this year, including one that was in the chicken coop eating eggs. That was his last meal. My husband is terribly afraid of snakes and he freezes in place. He can’t talk or holler or nothing. He gets covered in goose bumps, too. Love and prayers to all of you and Granny too.
My cousin got bit by a pit viper (which he had illegally at my aunt & uncle’s home) and had to be life flighted to a hospital that had the anti-venom. Just one of the many bad decisions he made in his life.
Thank you for sharing all that you do !! It is a bright spot in this world !! I’m enjoying getting to know you and your family and learning more about your neck of the woods 🙂 God bless you all !!
Sure did appreciate this story. I live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on 80 acres of our family property and we have had our run ins with both Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes and Mojave Rattlesnakes. I’ve stepped on a Western Diamondback who almost got me. I jumped real high in the air and got real lucky
Thank you for the story.
Sure did love listening to you read about “Dorrie”….It would be wonderful to have the book to read and share with my family.
I remember my Granddad killing several snakes with a hoe that he always carried with him along the Little Blue River that ran near his place in Nebraska. Water moccasins and copperheads were fairly common in that area!
I love your cookbook!
Count me among those who number Dorie as one of my favorite books, my most favorite being the biography of Alex Stewart, which I liked so much I ordered a copy from Amazon.
I’ve only see one snake on my porch this year but it was harmless. My husband and I saw some harmless brown dekay baby snakes too. I don’t want to be around any snakes at all. I’ve always been afraid of them and the Lord has protected me and my family from poisonous snakes.
Some of my ancestors were snake handlers in the church. I have a picture of my great grandfather
who was a preacher with a big ole copperhead around his neck. My great grandmother was bitten by a snake in a service one night. She was in her nineties when I remember asking what made her finger crooked. I don’t belong to a snake handling church, but I have been to many meetings with my mamaw that bring back a lot of precious memories for me. I’ve never handled snakes in church myself, but I’ve seen some amazing things in the services I attended. 🙂
I saw three snakes this year. One was a copperhead. We parted ways pretty quickly.
I almost have a run away just seeing a snake! I definitely can’t imagine a bite.
By the way, don’t consider me if my name happens to appear at the drawing. I found my copy of the Dorie Story!
A copperhead bit Dad when he was a little boy and Mamaw cut his leg and sucked the venom out. He had pain in that spot for the rest of his life.
I don’t particularly care for snakes, at least not the poisonous ones, but I always try to save the little harmless ones when my cats get ahold of them. My daddy had a big black snake that lived in his tool shed out behind the house…he loved having him there to keep the rats away. My husband caught us a black snake at a job he was on and brought him home in a 5 gallon bucket. We turned him loose in the backyard hoping he’d do the same job for us but I guess our place wasn’t up to his standards because we never saw him again!
As a rule, I’ve never minded snakes, but I did come close to walking upon what appeared to be a nest of copperheads near a lake’s edge. There must have been 10 or more, and it scared me half to death. One I can deal with; more than one not so much!
I too am terrified of snakes. I try to be extra careful when working in the yard. If I were bit I’m sure I would be screaming for someone to help me.
My grandma Britt was deathly afraid of snakes which gave my uncles plenty of opportunities for pranks. If she was sitting under a tree all you had to do was tap her on the shoulder to send her screaming and running down the yard.
I inherited the gene.
I enjoyed when you read Dorie Woman of the Mountains. It was one of my favorites. Granny Jane was one tough woman. If a copperhead were to bite me, I would probably be dead before any help arrived. The fright of it would do me end.
I’ve always been afraid of getting snake bit since I was a little girl. When we’d go visit my grandparents on their farm, she’d always tell us, “Don’t get on them Pilots and get bit.” She put the fear of God in me for sure! I never have got bitten, but I can’t stand a copperhead. We actually have a black snake that lives under our house and I don’t mind, b/c they eat copperheads and mice. Thanks for sharing with us! Much love from SC, Jane
I love all memoirs about living in the Appalachians! I always loved these mountains, and when three years ago this December when my life brought me here to live with a daughter after my husband of 50 years passed from cancer, it was something uplifting for me. She and I have had adventures going up into the mountains looking at small towns, and scenery that words can’t describe, you just have to be there to really see it. My son in law warned me about snakes but I have yet to see one. I’m sure if a poisonous one were to bite me and I was all alone I would surely die. But it won’t keep me from going into a newfound land of beauty!
For whatever reason we don’t have much for snakes here on my North Idaho mountain, but you drive south about an hour and a half into the Lewiston area, which is hot, dry, desert and you’ll find plenty of rattlers. More reason to stay on the mountain.
Love hearing about all the adventures in Appalachia! It’s all so new to me but it seems so peaceful and adventurous at the same time♥️
I have long wondered how cutting an “X” on a snake bite improved the treatment as opposed to a just plain cut in any other fashion.
I once read in an outdoor magazine, maybe Outdoor Life or Field and Stream of shocking the snake bite with DC power such as engine running and using a spark plug wire. I can understand how it would be pretty easy to do this if the bite was on your arm or leg, anywhere else and there would be a problem of getting it to the compartment! I am like you why is an “X” necessary?
I remember growing up that if Daddy said get in the house quick, it meant he saw a copperhead or a rattler. I knew to run. One time on the Parkway, we saw a snake so long that it went over both lanes. I was terrified that Daddy would stop. Love reading about our past in the Mountains. I miss them so much. Our mountains in Vermont or nice but not the same. I guess it is the memories that make the NC mountains special in my mind.
We were out in chill New Mexico morning trekking around the arid, rocky terrain; reaching above us to pull ourselves up onto the rise of shelf rock to get a good look around. We started back as the heat rose looking forward to lunch. My head was on a swivel, taking in the bright, blue sky and the distant, enormous buttes that popped up in the middle of flat land as far as you could see. I thought that odd.
I looked down as the ground rose under me and watched my friend walk right by a dark brown, coiled up snake — less than two feet. It never moved, and I quit moving and called out to him. We looked around and never have I seen so many snakes in one place going about their daily business. We realized how foolish we had been that morning, climbing the rocks, reaching above our sight-line. I think the only thing that saved us was the morning temperature.
I grew up in WVa where copperheads were plentiful. My Mother was picking blackberries one time and bent over to get some closer to the ground and a copperhead struck at her face. She said she could feel the wind from it, but thankfully was not bit. I was so scared of them and still am! We see very few snakes of any kind where I lived in Ohio. I don’t even like a garter snake!!! Prayers continue for Granny and all the family
Dorie Woman of the Mountains is my all time favorite book. When you started reading it I just couldn’t wait to hear our weekly installment and had to run to the library and get the book to read ahead. I just love books like that and would treasure it always if I should happen to win it. Tipper, you and you family are such a blessing and I start my morning off every day listening and reading your story. God Bless all of you and protect you.
I hate snakes of any kind. I’m not to say I’ve not ran across them. I’ve had my share. My dad got bit by a copperhead on his finger. He took care of it himself. I think he uses one of his Moonshine. My job was to get water from the spring. I get my bucket and go off. I get to the spring and squat down and get my dipper and look to my left and there was a copperhead. All it had to do was reach right out and get me. Sill me I just kept on getting my water till it was full and I slowly raised up went to yhe house. That thing was so close. I told daddy there was a copperhead beside the spring in , he said no copperhead gonna be in the water but let’s go see. Boy was he wrong. It was hard for him to believe that. He got all over me for squatting down yhat close. He said don’t ever do that again. I would love this book to read.
Oh I would love to read this book! I love the stories and have read several Appalachian based books! Thank you for your kind offer and chance to get this book! Love and prayers for you and your family!
I have so enjoyed hearing you read Dorie’s book, and I am thankful to hear Granny is doing well! ❤️
Here in rural Maine venomous snakes are less common than Martians, but I lived in Kansas for over 40 years where copperheads (most common), prairie rattlers, massasaugas, timber rattlers. and cottonmouth (extremely rare). I have captured and photographed almost every one of the 42 snake species in Kansas. One of the first things I was taught when I began participating in the Kansas Herpetological Society field surveys/censuses is that putting a turniquet or ice or sucking on the bite or cutting into the strike site are all likely to make the situation far worst. Staying calm, washing the wound site and if symptoms warrant it, seeking medical attention are sensable. Very few copperhead bites warrant anti-venom, even when the bite did in fact “envenomate” (inject venom). Most venomous snake bites are “dry bites”. They need that venom to hunt. It takes time to regenerate sufficient amounts so unless you step on one or poke your finger into their mouth or eye, they are reluctant to waste their limited “ammo”. Gardeners, particularly those who move into rocky hillsides are natural habitat for lizards and snakes, need to appreciate that those rock gardens they tend are inevitably going to be shared with reptiles who don’t enjoy their home invasion or having fingers shoved down their throats. There are plenty of strange crazy idiots like me who are more than willing to capture and relocate the snakes that terrify you. It takes five minutes of Googling at most. It would be far better if you learned to recognize the overwhelming majority of species that are harmless. All snakes are extremely beneficial, particularly to farmers and gardeners and the folks who live in the country, where rodent populations are kept in check naturally when the snake population is not exterminated out of blind fear. We invited scouts and 4 H and as many kids as we could gather to come out with us flipping rock and learning to identify snakes. From 1974 to this day not on person among the thousands who have participated has ever been bitten by a venomous snake.
In a book I just finished reading the author mentioned being bit on the leg by a rattlesnake when she was young. On the way to the doctor in a wagon, her mother had her keep her leg in a bucket of kerosene. She eventually recuperated from the bite.
I enjoyed reading Dorie Woman of the Mountains last summer. I had to get it through an interlibrary loan. Would love to have my own copy.
I was bitten by a water snake at 4-H camp when I was about 12-13 years old. The counselor said it was non poisonous and even if it was the snake was the only one in danger. I think he either didn’t like his job or me one. (Or maybe both.) I’ve seen and killed a lot of snakes since then but luckily been able to avoid any more bites. My Dad was bitten once, lanced the place and got blood poisonings from the knife he used.
Snakes of all kinds scare me. Scared of mice too when they come inside looking for a warm place to be, I suppose.
I am so glad that Granny Jane recovered well from her snake bite. It’s amazing how resilient she was given both the toxin and the treatment.
It would be a treat to read more of Florence Cope Bush’s stories in “Dorie Woman of the Mountains.’ But it is an even better treat to listen to YOU read it to us. Thanks!
P.S. how is ‘our’ Granny doing today? And the rest of you?
Whew, makes me think of the copperhead that I almost stepped on in the front yard!!! I started to step across a hosta plant and heard something move and saw it from the corner of my eye. It was a big copperhead and it slithered up against the house. I jumped back and then froze. My husband was around back and I didn’t want to leave for fear the snake would disappear and we wouldn’t know where it was. A friend was working in the yard at the neighbors house (I believe that is where it the copperhead came from, she was digging up some ornamental grass) and I yelled for her. She came running with her shovel and held it while I got my husband. He ended up killing the snake. I almost hated to kill it because it was really pretty and didn’t seem aggressive, but we then would have a copperhead loose in the yard and couldn’t have that. Also years ago my grandparents lived up in the Unaka and Copper Creek area. My grandpa stepped off the porch just fine but when my grandma stepped down and copperhead got her. They said she was really sick and almost died but pulled threw. I am terrified of snakes, and I have a granddaughter who loves them and has them as pets!!!
One year in March we were preparing for company to celebrate St. Joseph’s Day with prayers, food, and fellowship. In the evening after everyone had left, my husband said, “ I have to go down the basement and get that snake out.” What??? He told me he had seen one there earlier in the day, but didn’t have time then to deal with it. We looked everywhere. No snake. Hopefully it got out the same way it got in! Don’t know if it was harmless or harmful. I do know that prayers to St. Joseph, the patron saint of families, kept us safe.
I’m deathly afraid of snakes and when I am down south I always go walking looking down at where I am stepping. I was taught to do that as a young child and told quite a few scary snake stories. If I ever got bit by one I would most likely die of fright before the poison ever got started in my veins:)
I enjoyed hearing the Flowers family talk about their growing up times. I’ve listened to my Mother’s family, she was one of seven daughters and four boys, growing up with oil lamps to read by, and I always admired the love, laughter and stories they would tell on each other. Their love for each other and their parents always shown bright.
My son was about 18 months old was bitten right above the knee by a copperhead, I ran and called the hospital and told them what happened, I was almost up-chucking I was so upset, by the time we got to the hospital they had his pediatrician and a herpatologist there, I had called a pray warrior and told her and she started a prayer chain. I’ve never been so scared in my life. They wanted to give him the snake bite serum but also said it could be dangerous, suddenly a calmness came over me and I told them no, no serum that he was going to be alright, I believe they thought I was crazy but the Lord had intervened and I knew. The Drs put him on a broad spectrum antibiotic and we had to put a cold pack on his leg, 15 minutes on then 15 minutes off, we did that all night. The herpatologist told us that a snake’s doesn’t always throw their venom if they had recently eat. Where he was bite turned really red but the fang marks were white. I know God saved my baby. I put loads of mothballs around our place and that seems to work.
Blessings to all
I don’t like snakes of any kind but we had one 3-4 years ago come on our porch and had crawled high enough it was looking in the window, this was 10:00 pm, the cats were watching it and when my wife Harriett saw it she woke me up to get rid of it, it was a garter snake and I took it across the road and turned it loose and I think it came back to visit the following year and insisted that it wanted on our porch.
That is terrifying
Come to think of it I didn’t see any snakes this past year either except a few of those little worm snakes that live mostly in the ground.
I have been a snake-handler since I was a boy, but never in church as a test of faith, as some do. Luckily, I have never been bitten by one in my hands, but I have come close more than once when encountering a venomous snake unexpectedly. I’m thankful for the rattler’s warning, which once prevented me from walking near an unseen rattlesnake in high weeds. When old buzztail started singing, a cousin and I instantly started a tactical retreat. We recognized the sound only because an uncle of ours owned a set of rattles that we’d heard him shake to demonstrate. He often carried them in his pocket and would rattle them when standing close behind some friend or neighbor, just to scare them a little. To my knowledge, nobody ever smacked him.
Many nonvenomous species of snakes have evolved the habit of shaking their tails in dried leaves to scare off predators, or perhaps simply to alert folks who are distracted with the pretty scenery or focused on hunting deer or spotting birds in the trees or finding tasty chanterelles instead of watching where their feet are about to land. The rattles in your uncle’s pocket were not attached to their owners, and your uncle is not the only one who knows how to play that joke.
I guess I’m lucky. Since moving here in 2010, I’ve only seen one copperhead. And one is enough! Dorie certainly knows how to tell a story. I love it when you post excerpts from her book.
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I’m like you Tipper. If I’d got bit by a snake I’d not be able to keep my wits about me.
Most snake bites occur when one is disturbing it in someway, often when trying to kill it or pick it up or by totally surprising the animal. There are NO poisonous snake bites only VENOMOUS. In essence if YOU bite it and you die; it’s poisonous. If IT bites you and you die; it’s venomous. God Bless the birds and the bees and the snakes.
I’ve been wanting to read this book.
I absolutely loved listening to you read Dorie to us! To have the book would be so nice.
Thank you for sharing. DB
My husband and I vacationed in Arizona several years ago. We thought that we had found the perfect spot at a small town motel turned B&B, near several day trip destinations. When we checked in, the owner told us to be careful going in and out of our room because rattlesnakes might crawl in! Also, told us to be careful stepping out of our car and walking across the graveled parking area.
Talk about uncomfortable! We decided to check out earlier than planned. When we explained how uncomfortable the warnings made us, the owner laughed and said that she understood but was confused…” Don’t you have those terrible copperheads in North Carolina? I didn’t think a rattlesnake would worry you”.
I’ve always heard black snakes will kill copperheads, but after overturning a fake rock well cover one spring and seeing one next to the other, I don’t quite believe that story! Since last summer there is a pair of hawks nesting way out back and I have not seen any snakes since the hawks have been around. My friends all know if I was surprised by a snake I would either have a heart attack or sprout wings and fly.
This is for Mr. Darrell Cook, I am human would not let me leave a reply the normal way. I live in southern Greenville County near Princeton. Through the news and other ways I know a little about west Greenville. It is one of Greenville’s poorest areas. We more often hear of the bad, but I am sure many good, honest, hardworking people also live there. Your story touched my heart, I would like to say “thank you” for doing what you did for this old gentleman. I think God will richly bless you for doing this.
My mother told me she was bitten by a “ pilot “ snake as a child working in the cotton field. Her older brother picked her up a ran with her to the house where they did some home remedy. I don’t know what a “ pilot” snake is but it must have been poisonous.
Pilot is another name for copperhead. I have no clue how that name came to be.
The “pilot” snake is an old time name for the black snake (definitely NOT venomous) is Appalacia. That name came from the myth that black snakes guided, or piloted (this was before airplanes existed) other snakes to wintering places. Someone posted about witnessing black snakes and rattlesnakes in the same wintering den. That does happen. Snake do winter together, even snakes who eat one another in other seasons. It is another example of how so many wonders of nature are far more unbelievable than the myths we humans tell each other (and are so ready to believe) about snakes and other wild things. https://www.chattnaturecenter.org/visit/experience/wildlife/animal-facts/black-rat-snake/#:~:text=Old%2Dtimers%20sometimes%20refer%20to,denning%20areas%20in%20the%20forest.
I had two brothers that was snake bit when we was young, mom doctored them with coal oil and I don’t remember what else she may have used, I am terrified to death of snakes and I am always looking when I go into a building , I thank God he has always protected me from getting bit ,
Copperheads are called highland moccasins in some places.
As opposed to the water moccasins or cotton mouths of the lowland swampy areas. The name suggests a folk belief that the white patch on a black snake’s throat and the characteristic white inside the cottonmouth’s mouth means these unrelated species might be “cousins”. https://animals.howstuffworks.com/snakes/water-moccasin-cottonmouth.htm#:~:text=Although%20Beane%20has%20studied%20the,feet%20are%20sheathed%20in%20moccasins.
I always wondered how poisonous snake bites would be treated when no modern medicine was available. Not fond of snakes at all.
I don’t remember if it was poisonous or not, but my mother had killed a snake during a dry spell like we are having now in Alabama. She said I killed that snake and hung it belly side up and it didn’t even thunder. I reckon that was supposed to bring rain. Another precious story to pass down to my grandchildren.
As I have said before, Dorie Woman of the Mountains is my favorite book you have read. I’m so glad Granny Jane knew what poultice to use for her snake bite.
Thank you for having the November giveaways and I’m sure the winner of this book will enjoy it as much as I did!
Praying for your mother, Israel and our country. Blessings to all.
I love all of your suggestions for books to read!
Would love to have a copy of that book to read.
I am always watching out for copperheads because I’m sure I couldn’t keep my wits about me, either!
I do not think I could ever be so calm. What a story!
I have always wanted to read this book since you have mentioned here on the blog. Mountain folks are special folks.
I enjoy these old stories and would cherish this book.
I have never seen a copperhead snake up close and never want to! But if I do hopefully I would be as calm and level-headed to get treatment started as quick as possible! So interesting to hear of the old ways that were used for medicine.
I have only ever seen one snake in my yard and that was a non venomous very small one, but I have always had pets — cats and dogs — so I expect my place is too active for them to be happy. When I lived in Tallahassee, Florida we had a huge blackberry patch in the back of my property, so I was very cautious when I went to pick, as it was a favorite place for the snakes to hide while hunting the birds that came to eat there.
True story here: 3 friends went canoeing in the Bluestone River State Park near Pipestem State Park. The water was low and they pushed the canoe a great deal. As they got it out of the water for the day, the first friend passed safely by the copperhead den made in brush heaped up by river’s edge. The other 2 got bit in the lower leg one after the other. It rained. They had no lighter, no food, no clothes except for the light summer stuff they had on. My friend said all night he took them to the water and soaked their legs. One friend told me he covered himself with a literal shrub and waited for death. He said he came to some conclusions that night. Before light, my friend left them and hiked up to the Ranger Station at Pipestem. He said the rangers saw him coming and immediately knew there was trouble. It took 2 teams of about 20 men to get them extracted and to a hospital. They didn’t die and indeed got well completely. My friend said his dad cursed him all the way home and told him it was his fault because he was unprepared. I’d have to agree, but let’s keep it between us. I have cats galore and these babies will kill a snake- any snake! Get a few cats and see if y’all don’t believe me. Ain’t seen nor heard a poisonous snake up here on this rocky terrace covered in trees and bushes for about 4 years. Cats are worth their weight in gold for all the varmint killing they do!!! My granddad wouldn’t touch a cucumber and claimed they smell like a copperhead.
Snakes really scare me, I can hardly stand to even think of them out there slithering around!
My husband’s grandmother, when she was a child, was bitten on the hand by a copperhand while digging sweet potatoes. Her family immediately killed a chicken and split it open; she put her hand inside the chicken and it drew the poison out. She raised a large family and lived to a ripe old age.
Where we live now we’ve not seen any copperheads, but we have the perfect place for copperheads and rattlesnakes. They are found not too far from here, but are rare.
When I was a kid I once had a baby copperhead that I picked up thinking it was a milksnake, until I looked it up in a book we had when. It was than I realized I was holding a baby copperhead! I threw out into an old road bed that ran along side our house. For a baby copperhead to be there, there had to be an adult snake somewhere, but through the years we never ran across it. I’m not afraid of snakes, but I know what species we have here. My husband is another story, he’s afraid of them, but I’m proud to say he does allow them to live and doesn’t go on killing rampages anymore.
My husband built our house back in the 80’s. One day, after that, he was scattering a bale of hay on freshly planted grass seed. (We couldn’t afford straw back then). As he was walking along, and tearing the bale apart, he felt something —he pulled out his hand with a snake attached to his thumb! He immediately shook his hand so hard the snake went flying and got away so quickly we didn’t see what kind it was. I made him let me take him to the hospital. It was so long ago that I don’t remember what they said or did. All I know, is thank the good Lord, it was not a poisonous snake!
That would be frightening since I’m allergic to bee stings, I can’t imagine how quickly my throat would swell with a snake bite! So glad for the happy ending! I am so grateful for modern medicine, we are blessed. God bless you and yours❤❤
Growing up in East Tennessee,I had the opportunity to meet a mountain man living in Dennis Cove community. While helping the local game warden with his cabin construction he ask if I would like to meet his neighbor who caught rattlesnakes and copperheads for the TWRA display at the Appalachian fair each year. Upon arrival at his house I was surprised to see over 100 snakes in what I thought was elevated rabbit cages. He had black marks on his legs and arms from where he had been bitten. He told me it didn’t bother him anymore, he had become immune.
I was barely ten years old when my little sister got bit by a copperhead. We were picking black raspberries behind Grandpap’s workshop and one rolled into a small hole. My sister put her finger into the hole to get it out and got snake bit. We lived in the back end of nowhere and my mom kept her wits about her. She put a tourniquet on my six year old sisters wrist with a rag and a marble. Then she gathered all of us (6 kids) and we walked to my Uncle Walt’s house. They had a phone and called an ambulance. My sister was in the hospital for over a week and they say her whole arm turned black and for a while the doctor didn’t think she would make it. That was when, as a child, I first realized the power of prayer.
I would love to read this book.
Pam, if you’re a winner I can assure you will fall in love with Dorie and her mountains!
This is the first year in many that I’ve not seen a copperhead around my house. The only snake this year has been the harmless garter snake.
I wondered if y’all ever see many poisonous snakes in your area, especially in your garden. They say they have made their way to the county south of us and some say they are here. I don’t know, but gardening would be scary with them being about. Momma always talked of their encounters with snakes. So scary to me.
Interesting story. I love hearing of the old remedies!! Thank you!
We do have copperheads here in Southern Maryland, but thankfully I’ve never run across one. I’m told always to beware of nests of babies when you are digging in your garden. They can look like little worms with a small yellow tip on their tails. While they may look harmless, they aren’t.
I would not be calm either if I got bitten by a copperhead, I would be in the car headed to the emergency room immediately or maybe just call 911 and let the EMT’s handle the situation. You get in to the a doctor quicker if your brought in by ambulance has been our observation. But at my age, I’m not very likely to be bitten by a poisonous snake, unless I just happen to step on one on my way to get into the car. If any of Tippers followers ever do get bitten by a poisonous snake please let us all know, THERE IS POWER IN PRAYER…and I know there are thousands here that would pray daily for our mutal friends or family in need!!!
I would not be as calm either. Gives me the willys just thinking about it..
I would not be calm either if I got bitten by a copperhead, I would be in the car headed to the emergency room immediately or maybe just call 911 and let the EMT’s handle the situation. You get in to the a doctor quicker if your brought in by ambulance has been our observation. But at my age, I’m not very likely to be bitten by a poisonous snake, unless I just happen to step on one on my way to get into the car. If any of Tippers followers ever do get bitten by a poisonous snake please let us all know, THERE IS POWER IN PRAYER…and I know there are thousands here that would pray daily for our mutal friends or family in need!!!
What a brave woman, to be able to keep herself calm enough to provide her own first aid!! I doubt seriously that I could have done the same. Very interesting story.
Oh goodness I’m just scared to death of snakes. I have enjoyed your 2 part vlogs on the Flowers family they are what this ol world needs more of especially in the schools because they are definitely full of American History and they just don’t teach it anymore. I’m always holding yall up in prayer.
A Thankful November
Many years ago I owned 10 small apartments in west Greenville SC. One of my new tenants was an older gentleman. The man disclosed shortly after I rented to him that he had lost his job. The gentleman said that he worked for a concrete contractor and that the owner of the company was retiring and closing his business. The tenant said he also was at retirement age and that in time he
would start to receive his monthly check. The apartments were in a rough section of town and I had to
collect rent on a weekly basis and also I had to take care of all utilities for the tenants. They really did live “week to week.” The old gentleman got much behind on his weekly rent. I was considering eviction. I always collected on Fridays. One Friday I visited the old man and was going to tell him that he was going to have to move out. I saw that the old man was very emotional and he pulled out a Bible. He said, “Mr. Cook I know that God sent me here. You have been very patient with me. Also on Thanksgiving Day someone left a basket of fruit and this Bible on my front porch and I have been studying God’s word. I have accepted Christ as my savior.” I did not evict him. Weeks passed by and one evening the old man called me and stated he had all the rent money to catch himself up. The old man soon moved away to be with family, but he left me a very special Thanksgiving memory.
Two things I couldn’t abide growing up on a small dairy farm in the foothills of the beautiful Appalachians—skunks and snakes. Had a few run-ins with both. But my favorite memory is of one Sunday afternoon. We were sitting around the table after grandma’s dinner (lunch to some) of chicken and noodles. A little garter snake came up through the register and down the hall towards grandma’s chair. She, despite her fairly advanced age, ended up on top of the table with the leftovers. Mom and I just ran out the door. My daddy (and hero) just grabbed the little thing and took him to the garden. Then we had to get grandma down. That story brought laughs for years. Miss those days in the country. I have so enjoyed discovering you, Tipper, and your stories and musings. Much love and prayers to granny and for a healthy grandbabby.
When I was a child, my parents were always cautioning me to look where I was walking as I went all over the home place many times” barefoot” in summer. I still am hesitant to walk in tall brush except in winter and always look first as we have many snakes here that are finally becoming less visible as it gets colder although no freeze yet at the coast.
P.S. We do have a 4) coralsnake. Quite colorful! Then also the 5) Eastern Diamond back but nothing compared to the west or even TN.
I haven’t seen a copperhead around my home in PA for years, but recently saw a small one at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. This refuge is home to a small red wolf population and many black bear. Prayers for Granny.
Can you just imagine living close enough to this family to visit like you would any neighbor. I love to their accent and what they did daily. The stories they tell would fill a book, but you have to hear them say the words. ThanksTipper. Praying for Granny, God bless you guys.
Once, as the story goes, my family went fishing. My sister was just a little girl, she was playing near the water when a copperhead started slithering over her foot. Dad was a few feet away gently told her to stay still and not move. She so trusted dad that she did what he said. She was so little and dad said it was one of the scariest moments of his life.
Here in FL, we have 3 types of poisonous snakes. 1) Cottonmouth, 2) Copperhead, and 3) Rattlesnakes…2 of those. Pygmy and Timber. I’ve seen Cottonmouths and few years back at the children’s daycare, a Pygmy Rattle. That was scary as it laid in a coil inches from the sidewalk to the building on a warm afternoon. Thankfully, it didn’t hurt anyone before being relocated.
Tipper, I agree with you. I don’t think I would be able to keep my wits about me if I ever got bit by a snake like Granny Jane! Thank you for allowing us to win a copy of the book.
I am sure I wouldn’t keep as calm as she did. My cousin and I when yound had countless opportunity to get snake bit. Today I would panic.
Thank you for this opportunity to win a book.
Dorie Woman of the Mountains was my favorite book that you have read so far. Couldn’t wait for each Friday to roll around for the next installment and was sad when it ended. Still enjoy your readings so much so please don’t stop.
Prayers for Mrs Wilson.
This was my absolute favorite of all the books you’ve read to us, the fact that these people were real and all the details she gave about their lives were fascinating to me.
I would be a chicken when it came to trying to treat my own self if bit by a copperhead or cottonmouth. I am hardheaded about going to a doctor but that would have me going quick, fast, and in a hurry. I know of several neighbors and even some family members being bitten by copperheads and they all were in the hospital for several days. I once picked up a copperhead in my arms in a bunch of grass but didn’t get bit, he was badly hurt by being ran over with the tractor and plow. I did drop the grass in a hurry. A black snake sometimes called chicken or rat snake stays in one my outside buildings each summer, I never have a rat problem in that building. My granddaddy tried to keep a black snake or king snake in his barn to help keep the rats out. Unlike some, I don’t panic when I see snakes and will catch a black snake by hand. I have more respect for bees than anything else but still don’t panic. I have never came across any of Tipper’s friendly bees. I have been blessed to have never been bitten although I am sure there has been many times I was in danger of being bitten but was unaware of it.
Cleaning out a flower bed and picked up an armload to carry to compost barrel. Pitched it in and a snake wiggled out of it! Gave me the cold shudders even though it was small and non poisonous. I am very careful picking us any garden refuse and it still gives me the creeps to think about.