We had a Communications Technician on the Santa Fe, at Brownwood, Texas, and part of his assignment was to inspect each radio tower and its transmission equipment, at prescribed intervals. The radio equipment was in a metal bungalow supported off the ground by short, concrete pylons, just like is seen at CTC control points, except that many of these are not on the railroad right of way. Instead, they are located on hills and bluffs to give maximum transmission and reception distance.
One of these was up on a hill, in the cross timbers region, grassland peppered with oak and cedar trees. At this location, there was a large diamondback rattlesnake who lived under the bungalow. Jesse had seen him on numerous occasions. The snake would coil and rattle, and Jesse would stop approaching. After a minute or so, the snake would crawl away into the grass or back under the bungalow, and Jesse would go inside and take care of his business (always checking around the inside before entering, and the outside before leaving). Rattlesnakes are part of life in west Texas, and you have to always be aware of your surroundings. This snake was a big one, 5 or 6 feet, probably 35-40 lbs. But Diamondbacks can be lived with. They're cranky, but their best attribute is that they do not enjoy human company and will make an exit if they can . . . usually.
On one occasion, Jesse visited the bungalow and the snake gave his usual warning, but, this time, he refused to leave. Jesse threw stones at him, and he did not budge. Jesse went to his truck and thought about using his pistol to shoot the snake, but he had some admiration for the serpent, due to their long acquaintance. Instead, he got a can of wasp spray (Comm Techs deal with lots of wasps) and shot a stream right into the snake's face. The snake went wild, writhing all over the place. Jesse retreated to his truck and decided to do this work on another day.
A few days later, he returned. The snake was, as usual, outside the bungalow, and he coiled and rattled as usual, but his eyes had a cloudy film on them. The snake slithered into the weeds and Jesse did his work. After that, when a periodic inspection was made, the snake gave his usual "welcome", but his eyes were back to normal, and he never again stood his ground against Jesse. And Jesse never again used wasp spray on a snake.
