Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings July 2017 - 390

in <5 years! CEOs of the largest US companies today receive
an average annual income about 300 times that of the typical
company worker!
ANNUAL SWEETWATER RATTLESNAKE ROUNDUP
Each year in March, the Sweetwater Jaycees sponsor a rattlesnake roundup (43). The world's largest rattlesnake roundup
festival attracts numerous visitors and provides a good input
for the Sweetwater economy. The 2017 roundup yielded 6000
pounds of rattlesnakes. Although there are six diﬀerent types of
rattlesnakes in Texas, the Western Diamondback is probably the
most common. Since an adult snake averages about 4 pounds,
that means about 1500 rattlesnakes were caught in 2017. The
snakes are caught by gassing the snake dens a few miles from
town. The gassing procedure is frowned upon by many herpetologists and environmentalists. The snakes are brought to a
huge pit at the far corner end of the Nolan County Coliseum,
which is the centerpiece of the festival. The buzz of the rattles
sounds almost like a bad generator whirling. The smell of the
snakes wafts around the arena. Families wander from booth
to booth seeing live snakes and taxidermied ones, the bloody
skinning pit, and the milking pit. The snake skins are sold. The
rattlesnake roundup apparently brings in over $8 million from
visitors, and the local economy appears to depend on it.

William Clifford Roberts, MD
May 9, 2017
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Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings

Volume 30, Number 3

http://www.medscape.com/slideshow/compensation-2017-over-view-6008547 http://www.medscape.com/slideshow/compensation-2017-over-view-6008547

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings July 2017