Every year they congregate in this small West Texas town.

People from nearby Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado, and from as far away as Boston and Norway, descend on sleepy Sweetwater to catch a glimpse of one of the most venomous creatures on Earth: the rattlesnake.

More than 284,000 pounds of rattlesnakes have been rounded up here since the event that calls itself the World's Largest Rattlesnake Roundup began 48 years ago.

The four-day festival, organized and put on by the Sweetwater Jaycees on the second weekend of every March, includes a snake charmer pageant, flea markets, a gun show and a small carnival. But the main attraction, of course, is the hunt for snakes, which draws about 30,000 people every year.

asap's JAIME HOLGUIN traveled to Sweetwater with a video camera to capture the roundup, and to better understand the integral role it plays in the livelihood of the community.

AP VIDEO
In these video clips, learn how the roundup came into existence. Step into a milking pit and watch a handler extract venom. Watch what happens to a snake after it's been milked. Go along on a guided hunt and watch how snakes are caught. And learn what the roundup means to companies that make products out of snakes, and to the town of Sweetwater.	"The World's Largest Rattlesnake Roundup."
Put on your boots, we're going on a snake hunt.	Step inside a pit where the rattlers are piled.
Would you care to skin a snake?	How many products can a rattlesnake make?

Today's subject is rattlesnake arithmetic. (AP Photo/Jaime Holguin)

RATTLER RECORDS

The five years with the biggest hauls from the rattlesnake roundup:

1. 1982 17,986 pounds
   
   
2. 1983 15,053 pounds
   
   
3. 2006 13,552 pounds
   
   
4. 1985 12,797 pounds
   
   
5. 1988 11,709 pounds
   
   

This rattlesnake isn't going to bite anyone: It's a walking stick. (AP Photo/Jaime Holguin)

Sure beats having a bottle opener on your keychain. (AP Photo/Jaime Holguin)

Where wallets come from. (AP Photo/Jaime Holguin)

QUICK BITES

1. Rattlesnakes have a musk gland, and the Jaycees go through about a case of Right Guard during the roundup weekend to keep the smell down in the Nolan County Coliseum, where the rounded up snakes are displayed.
   
   
2. If you come across a rattlesnake, stand still and holler. Snakes don't have ears. If no one is around to help you, try your best not to panic, and slowly start to ease your way out. Good luck to you.
   
   
3. A rattlesnake won't shake its rattle unless it feels threatened. That's a warning to stay away. However, most of the time a snake will strike before it ever rattles.
   
   
4. Some rattlesnakes will bite, but won't inject venom. It's known as a "dry hit."
   
   
5. Underneath their tail, rattlesnakes have a penile cavity, where roundup participants will insert a lubricated prod to determine the animal's sex. If it goes in, it's a male; if it doesn't, it's a female.
   
   
6. If you are bitten by a rattlesnake, do not have someone cut the wound and attempt to suck out the venom. If that person has any sores in their mouth, the poison will go straight into their bloodstream. Also, do not apply a tourniquet -- The more concentrated the venom is, the more damage it will do in that area. If you are bitten, stay calm to keep your heart rate down, and get to a hospital as soon as you can.
   
   
7. Q: Can you tell a rattlesnake's age by the number of rattles it has?
   A: No. There's no obvious way to determine its age.
   
   
8. Rattlesnakes don't have eyelids. When they shed from nose to tail, the skin temporarily blinds them. This is when they're most dangerous and will strike violently at anything -- even other rattlesnakes -- that comes close.
   
   

RECIPES

Fried rattlesnakes. (AP Photo/Jaime Holguin)

Southern Fried Rattlesnake

Ingredients:

1. 1 egg
2. Salt
3. Garlic
4. Cooking oil
5. Accent
6. 1/2 to 3/4 cups of milk
7. Pepper
8. Flour
9. 1 rattlesnake

Directions:

Skin rattlesnake. Clean, wash and cut meat into 4-inch pieces.

Beat egg and milk.

Mix salt, pepper, garlic salt, Accent and flour.

Preheat deep fat fryer with cooking oil.

Dip snake meat into egg mixture and then in flour mixture.

Place in hot oil.

Cook until golden brown.

Rattlesnake Stew

Don't try this at home. (AP Photo/Jaime Holguin)

Ingredients:

1. 2 pounds boned rattlesnake meat
2. 2 coarsely chopped onions
3. 1/2 cup chopped celery
4. 2 cups stewed tomatoes
5. 2 cups 1-inch-cubed potatoes
6. 1/2 cup sauterne wine
7. Salt
8. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
9. 1/4 teaspoon freshly snipped dill
10. 2 bay leaves
11. 1 quart chicken broth
12. 1/2 cup flour
13. 2 tablespoons peanut oil

Directions:

Dredge meat with flour.

Heat peanut oil in heavy skillet on medium-high heat.

Fry snake meat until lightly browned.

Remove from skillet and drain.

Bring chicken broth to a boil.

Add vegetables, soy sauce and wine.

Add snake meat.

Lower heat and simmer for 1 hour.

Stir frequently, and salt to taste.

Serve hot.

Recipes courtesy of The Sweetwater Reporter

asap reporter Jaime Holguin is based in New York but grew up in rattlesnake country, in New Mexico. The videos were filmed, edited and produced by Holguin and he collaborated with Tylor Durand to write the music.

___

Want to comment? Sound off at soundoffasap@ap.org .

©2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.