It came down to the snake vs. the rat, in island lingo, and the snake ate the rat.

Richard Hatch, the scheming corporate consultant who had become the J.R. Ewing of "Survivor," won the $1 million in a 4-3 vote in Wednesday's two-hour finale of the pop culture phenomenon.

Before the final vote, Susan Hawk, the Wisconsin truck driver with a tongue like a bullwhip who had made it to the Final Four, delivered a ripping indictment of the two finalists, Hatch and river guide Kelly Wiglesworth, both of whom had been her friends earlier in the game.

"This island is full of two things: snakes and rats," she said." We have Richard the snake and Kelly, who turned into the rat. I think we owe it to the island's spirits to let it be the way Mother Nature intended it to be, to let the snake eat the rat."

After 13 weeks of "Survivor," Hawk's tirade will be remembered as the show's big moment.

Nielsen observers had expected the finale to be watched by 35 million to 40 million viewers, which would more than cap "Survivor's" record run as the most-watched summer TV series in history. CBS sold 30-second commercials for $600,000, more than "ER" or "Friends" gets during the regular season.

Sixteen castaways...