Item: Snakebit patrolman back at work: Trooper kills 1 rattler as others flee scene near Columbus/Ed Kimmick, Billings Gazette

Paul Ruhter/Billings Gazette

Montana Highway Patrolman Steve Wisniewski poses for a photo Wednesday near his home in Boyd, Mont.

He was supposed to get a photograph of the load, so he walked with his camera up a slope to the right-of-way fence. Just before he got to the fence he heard a hissing sound, looked down and saw a rattlesnake making a lunge for his leg. Wisniewski, 40, jumped back, dodging that strike, but landed on another snake. That rattler, and another one right next to it, both struck at Wisniewski's left leg. One hit his boot and the other struck flesh just above the boot. Wisniewski was making tracks toward the highway when he saw yet another rattlesnake directly in front of him. His first thought was to jump over that snake. That's when he pulled his .357 automatic pistol and squeezed off two shots. The first shot killed the snake and the second one missed.

Question: Have you ever been bitten by something poisonous (other than a blog troll)?

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