Dragon Trip Part 1

[Captmikestarrett]

I hosted a float trip down the Dragon with a couple of my co-workers one year in the middle of August. This was to be a 17 mile float through swamps filled with Cypress Trees and black water. Two canoes and four guys started out at the crack of dawn on the upper part of the Dragon. It was Stanley ( a died in the wool tobacco spitting redneck ) Bert a 80 year old oxygenarian and Ralph a collections guy from the NY Bronx. If ever there was a misfit group this was it. The day started out great with Stanley and I in our canoe catching fish after fish for many happy hours. Big as your hand sunfish and Lgmouth up to four pounds. Pickerel up to 18 inches as well.

Stanley being a redneck had brought a fish basket along to put all the big bluegill in and wanted to eat some pickerel as well. When he would place another fish in the basket this snake would come shooting out the mesh in the basket each time. I kept quiet and did not mention it to him. The little snake was attempting to drag a bluegill out of the basket through the holes. Later I saw a big snake curled up on an overhanging tree as we glided underneath it. No word said again. I am in a canoe and did not wish to freak him out and go overboard. So I kept my mouth shut. He is very afraid of snakes and talked about them the entire night before.

Oddly we had not seen the old man or the NY'er guy since we started our trip three hours ago. I decided to wait at the next big pool for them. All of sudden the woods burst alive with gunshot after gunshot going off. Loud as hell and then I see the old man and the NY'er paddling as fast they can past us. The NY'er is screaming snake snake snake..and leaves us in there wake. We catch up and ask what that loud blast was and the NY'er produces from his underwear a snub nose hammerless 38 and says a snake tried to get them so he blasted it. Right over the old mans head. The old man was distraught at being shot at several times just above his head. The big old snake lay dead in the boat and bloody as hell.

Part 2 later

Capt Mike