<TITLE>03. Par 11-14</TITLE>L-11 He just stepped in, and about that time a little old ground rattler was laying under one of those pads, caught him right in the foot. I never heard a man scream so in my life. And when he jumped out the water, and grabbed his leg, and fell over on the banks like that... Oh, it just paralyzes you just in a moment. I grabbed his foot and looked, and just about an inch apart was two holes, and blood oozing out of them. I grabbed my gun, and looked for the rattler, and I seen him going down through the weeds like that, I couldn't even shoot him, and he was gone.
And I thought, "Oh, my." And nobody there was with me that time, but... that could help me; little Billy Paul was there. And I'd had to pack him on my back for about two miles through them jungles, and just water, and up almost sometimes pretty near over knee deep, and he weighs about, almost two hundred; so I knowed I'd be hard to pull him through that.

L-12 So I thought, "What can we do?" And he's just gritting his teeth, catching his breath going [Brother Branham makes a noise--Ed.], and the tears running down his cheek, and he said, "Brother Branham, my leg is paralyzed."
It goes right straight to the bone, you know and... Said, "My leg is paralyzed." Just holding his teeth like that. Said, "It feels like it's froze all the way down through."
And I thought, "Oh, mercy what can I do?"
And just then I heard that Scripture, "They shall tread on the heads of serpents and scorpions. Nothing in no wise shall bother them."
So I just took off my hat, and I said, "Now, try to be just as easy as you can, Brother Welch, so I can hold my hands over this bite." And the heavenly Father knows it's true.

L-13 And then when I put my hand upon his foot there, and I said, "Father, You are a very present Help in a time of trouble, and You never fail us. And our brother is bitten by this serpent, and it's written in Your Word that they shall tread on the heads of serpents and scorpions. And nothing shall harm them. And It says, if they take up a serpent, it shall not harm them. He was trying to help me, and this evil serpent grabbed him. Now, You're Lord, Jesus on this bank here a fishing. If You wasn't, I'd never go fishing, and I know You're here. And I ask You to be merciful to us, and--and take away this serpent poison from his leg." And I stopped praying, and I didn't hear him suffering any more. And when I got through praying, he was setting there laughing.
And he said, "Brother Branham, I haven't got a pain." Said, "It's all gone."

L-14 And he got up and walked around. About eleven o'clock that evening, I caught eleven bass that weighed, averaged nearly at twelve pounds a piece. And I--and I got them in, and they was coming around taking pictures of them in a tourist court there. And his brother came up, so we got to testifying about it. And his brother, a sinner said... had been in the hospital. You see, it's good to be a Christian. See? They that believe shall tread on the heads of scorpions and serpents, didn't say nothing about the unbeliever. See? But this man was a believer.
And his brother said... And he showed him the places there where... He said, "Now, look brother, it's good to be religious, but not good to be crazy."
He said, "You better get to the hospital just as quick as you can." Said, "And get some serum in you, because if you don't," He said, "you may be crippled the rest of your life, and you may die at any time."


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