Man says rattlesnake bit him at Wal-Mart in Wash.

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — A man says he reached down to pick up a stick lying in the gardening aisle of a Wal-Mart in eastern Washington state, only to discover that it was a rattlesnake that then bit his hand.

Mica Craig says he was shopping in the outdoor garden department of a Clarkston store when he was bitten Saturday. The 47-year-old man says it latched onto his hand and that he screamed, shook loose the snake and stomped it to death.

The Lewiston Tribune in Idaho reports a bystander drove Craig to an emergency room in nearby Lewiston. Craig says he was treated with six bags of anti-venom and was told that his hand could be permanently disfigured.

He says doctors expect him to remain hospitalized until Tuesday.

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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com