A problem with pier and beam houses

youth, a couple of friends and I liked to wade the creeks in Tennessee armed with machetes looking for Cotton Mouths. They would lie on flat rocks in the sun. We would try to sneak up on them and hack them with our machetes.

One fine day I decided that I would wade the creek which was about 10 or 12" deep and look for the moccasins sunning on the rocks. I assumed the rushing water would cover my noise sneaking up on them. As I was doing my stealth walk I noticed a big snake lying on a small tree that was hanging over the creek. I decided I could sneak on on Mr. Water Moccasin and do him in. I eased up on the log as the snake was facing away from me. As I started my swing with the machete the snake sensed me and went for the water. My machete got him but not what I wanted. I chopped about 6" of his tail off. Now he was in the water and the water was coming toward me, so he was somewhere at my feet and highly pissed. I was about 8 or 10 feet out in the creek and my friends said I had a lot in common with Jesus that day, in that I walked on water getting out of that creek. I never met up with that snake again but whenever I was anywhere near a creek fishing, squirrel hunting or whatever I always kept an eye out for him. I figured he was still looking for me about his missing tail.

coward in the absence of light. In Alaska a few years back we would be put on stand in a ground blind, at about 10 AM each morning and George Faerber, our guide, would come and get us about 1 AM. A long day but the sun didn't go down until about 12:30 AM so we walked out of the woods in the dark. There were 3 of us, with me bringing up the rear. Coming out I kept hearing some snuffing and heavy breathing behind us. I turned and shone my light on a big black bear about 5 feet behind me. I whispered as loud as I could to George that there was a bear behind us. George calmly spoke back that he was a regular and followed most of his hunters out every night. He said don't pay any attention to him (yeah right) and just don't run as he will go into a white boy eating binge if I ran. So I calmly followed his advice, although it was hard walking normally with my ass puckered.

This went on for 3 nights in a row. On the fourth night I heard Harry behind us again. I had named him Harry to show him I wasn't anti bear or anything like that. That night I turned to shine my light on him and my flashlight died. Now it was the same bear, the same situation, same everything, except now I was in the dark with a 7 foot tall 2000 lb bear (he gained a lot of weight when my light went out) right behind me and he was frothing at the mouth for a piece of a white boy, or at least I was pretty sure of that. But I remembered George's comments about ignoring the bear and just don't run. It was sort of like that snake in the water at my feet. Except it was a lot worse because it was dark and my flashlight had died and there was an 8 foot 3000 lb bear within 5 feet of me. Somehow we managed to make it back to the truck but that was one of the longest walks of my life. At the truck George asked me if it bothered me that he was behind me all the way back. I just shook my head and said no big deal. But I was sure glad I had an extra pair of underwear back at the cabin.