When Peggy Jones of Silsbee, Texas, set out to tackle the 3-hour mowing job on her investment property, she never dreamed she would be in for the fight of her life. It all began as she was riding a mower in the back of her property, far from the trees that line it. All of a sudden, out of the clear blue sky, a snake fell, landed on her arm, and wouldn’t let go. The 64-year-old began thrusting her arm, trying to knock the snake off, but the snake just wrapped around her arm even tighter and then began striking at her face. The more the grandmother of four tried to rip the snake off, the tighter it squeezed her arm. She screamed for help as the tractor kept crawling along, but Peggy’s husband Wendell, who was mowing the front of the property, didn’t hear his wife’s screams for help. Peggy knew she was alone. Just when she thought all was lost, a hawk swooped down and tried to clench the snake, but the snake wouldn’t let go. The hawk tried again and again, its wings flapping in Peggy’s face. Meanwhile, the tractor kept mowing, zig-zagging Peggy and the tug-of-war taking place on her arm across the field. It took the determined hawk four times before it finally managed to snatch the snake off Peggy’s arm and fly off. By this time, Wendell had stopped mowing and heard Peggy’s screams, rushing to his wife’s aid. With her arm covered in claw marks, lacerations, punctures, and a lot of blood, Peggy was transported to the hospital. Doctors assessed her wounds, cleaned them up and bandaged Peggy's arm. She was also given antibiotics. Peggy ended up no worse for the wear, with Wendell saying his wife is “the toughest young lady I’ve ever met in my life.”
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| The area where Peggy was mowing |
