By Violet Hassler, Staff Writer
OKEENE — The first time Aaron Williams went hunting rattlesnakes he was beating the bushes and scared to death.
“My wife’s friend asked me if I wanted to go snake hunting, and I said, ‘Sure.’ I enjoy the outdoors, so I went with him,” Williams said. “It was an older gentlemen in his 50s ... and I walked as close as I could get behind him. I was terrified.”
Today, 10 or so years later, Williams walks into the Den of Death and faces thousands of snakes and thousands of questions from those attending Okeene Rattlesnake Round-up, which begins Friday and extends through Sunday this year.
While out hunting snakes in preparation for the event, Williams shared memories of his first hunt.
“... I remember walking through the grass. He told me if anything bothered me just to tap the grass (with a long-handled snake catcher), and they would make noise, they would rattle. And I remember walking through there and my arm was so sore at the end of the day from tapping the grass.”
One does not constantly need to beat the grass, Williams has since learned, as now he confidently strolls through the Salt Creek Canyon area southwest of Okeene, occasionally tapping the ground lightly to stir up any snakes hiding in the grass.
He did catch more that first day, however, than a sore muscle.
“... I finally caught one that was probably 38, 40 inches, and I thought it was the biggest rattlesnake in the world. I just enjoyed it, and I’ve done it ever since.”
In the past few weeks, Williams has caught more than 100 snakes that will join other hunters’ contributions in the Den of Death.
The den features thousands of snakes behind plywood and bulletproof glass, which allows the kids to get a safe, close-up look.
In fact, the Den of Death, despite its name, presents no danger ... well, to those watching, anyway.
“As long as you are on the outside of the pit,” Williams said, with a grin.
Those climbing in the pit to share information with attendees are volunteers — as are all affiliated with the Okeene roundup — and some of them have gotten snake-bit.
That’s how Williams became affiliated with the hunt.
One of the volunteers was bitten and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment, and because Williams was known to hunt snakes he was asked to take over in the Den of Death pit. Four hours later his relief came back, and he was hooked.
To date, Williams continues a streak of being bite-free.
“Everybody tells me it’s ... every time you do that you’re taking a chance, and every time you do it your chances increase of getting bit, so ... I don’t want to get bit, and I hope that I never get bit.”
Diamondback rattlers are not the most aggressive of snakes, however, Williams said, as he crouched down less than 2 feet from one that happened across the roadway in front of him. The snake coiled and rose into “perfect strike position” in an effort to warn Williams off, but it never lunged.
While driving, Williams was able to tell the snake was a rattler because it held its rattles high in the air as it crawled.
“We’re going to catch him,” Willi-ams said, as he stopped his truck and climbed out, chuckling like a kid at Christmas.
It’s the adrenaline that draws a couple of thousand each year to the Okeene area to hunt rattlesnakes during the event. Nearby Boeckman Ranch, home to some of the most beautiful scenery many never see in northwest Oklahoma and to the deadly snakes, opens its land for the hunt.
Williams soon learned after he started hunting and becoming involved in the roundup a prize-winning snake must be more than 70 inches in length, or twice the size of “the biggest rattlesnake in the world” he thought he captured on his first run.
But live snakes are not the only thing rattling in Okeene this weekend.
Vendors will begin setting up on Main Street Friday night and will remain through late Sunday afternoon. Those attending will find everything from T-shirts to snake meat. A carnival will be ongoing throughout the weekend, and the Old Smokey snake headquarters will be open to share the history of the roundup and the northwest Oklahoma area.
Knights of Columbus starts the action early, serving pancake breakfasts both Saturday and Sunday — the biggest days of the event. There will be a parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, and townwide garage sales will be ongoing throughout the weekend.
There will be a horseshoe tournament, train rides from Enid and to Southard, Lil’ Rattler Poker Run, the annual Amy Eskue memorial run, an ATV rodeo Saturday night and a dance following.
Things start to wind down about 5 p.m. Sunday just after the longest snake competition awards ceremony.
“After the snake measurement, everything starts to shut down,” Williams said, then he grinned, “and we go back to our regular jobs.”
