Rattlesnakes

J. Frank Dobie was a wonderful collector of folklore, particularly the folklore emanating from west Texas and the ranching country of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Most universities in that part of the United States offer a course in their English departments entitled "Life and Literature of the Southwest" or something comparable, and one is very likely to meet at least some of Dobie's many books in these courses. Naturally, anyone who is curious about southwestern folklore can always create a self-conducted course for himself, and Dobie should certainly be one of the authors represented in that course.

In RATTLESNAKES, Dobie presents a collection of folklore revolving around the topic of those fanged vipers whose warning rattle has been heard by generations of frontiersmen, including quite a few modern-day folks who have chosen to build their homes in the snakes' habitat. These accounts range widely in their subject matter, including the size to which rattlesnakes can grow, whether a snake's bite is poisonous to itself, attacks on snakes by birds ranging from roadrunners to eagles, homegrown remedies for rattlesnake bites, cat and dog behavior around rattlesnakes, use of snake venom by American Natives to poison arrow and spear tips, and even a few supernatural appearances by the snakes.

Because the book is a collection of many tales concerning almost every imaginable aspect of rattlesnakes, it does not read like a unified story from cover to cover. In construction, the narrative is very much episodic, and, as one might expect, the various episodes range in quality and memorability, some being rather prosaic and a few quite imaginative. Because there is no story line per se or even a specific chronological sequence of events, I find parts of the book already fading from memory, although some of the better-recounted stories certainly linger. Dobie also starts right in with his collection of stories about rattlesnakes, giving us neither introduction nor conclusion; in fact, for the most part he is scarcely seen in the book, for he is generally recounting the words of others from whom he has come by these many stories.

We should, I suppose, emphasize the fact that this is a collection of tales and folklore about rattlesnakes, not in any sense a scientific treatise on the creatures, and the author makes very few pronouncements as to the veracity of the stories he repeats to us. RATTLESNAKES is also a book for those who enjoy folklore in its natural, "unenhanced" state. It is not a professional, unified fictional story nor yet a scientific inquiry, but a compilation of many laymen's stories about the animals. If I may use an analogy with folk music, this is more like an album of Leadbelly songs than of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, or Peter, Paul and Mary. It is a presentation of stories in their raw and unpolished state.

While perhaps not equal in readability to many of Dobie's other works, nonetheless RATTLESNAKES is a decent addition to the recorded folklore of the American southwest, and I believe that both the Texas folklorist and the Dobie afficionado will find it of interest. As for its contribution to recorded folklore, I would surely rate it with at least four or perhaps even five Amazon stars; the three-star rating I have used reflects my feelings concerning the book's ability to generate and hold the interest of a general reader and my disappointment at not finding more of Dobie's own words in the text. Still, if you, gentle reader, want to know why no sane man will find himself on top of Cedar Mound hill in western Oklahoma on the night of the first full moon in October, or why the discoverer of the lost San Saba Mine abandoned the gold coins he found stashed there, then by all means consult this book!

I read this 'bout 20 years ago, and it was fascinating then, as it is now. Mr. Dobie brings to us the Texas legendry and lore surrounding the rattlesnake, both in humor and seriousness. Great book.