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Water Moccasin or "cotton-mouth" Snake
Colouration.—Dull olive or brownish above and paler on the sides, on which are indistinct, wide, blackish bands; these bands enclose areas of the ground-colour and dark blotches.
Dimensions.—The Water Moccasin is one of the largest of the poisonous serpents inhabiting the United States. It attains a length of five feet. Herewith are the measurements of a specimen of average size captured in Hampton County, South Carolina:
Distribution.—In the Atlantic Coast region, the Moccasin occurs from North Carolina, in the vicinity of the Neuse River, southward throughout Florida; thence it extends westward into eastern Texas. Its range northward is up the valley of the Mississippi into southern Illinois and Indiana. In those states bordering the Mississippi River proper and its lower tributaries, this snake is of general occurrence, although it is found in greatest numbers along swampy areas of the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico.
Size large; form very stout. The head is very distinct from the neck. Scales of the body strongly keeled. On the under portion of the tail, for about the first two-thirds of its length, the plates are in one row; the remaining third is provided with two rows of plates, arranged as with the harmless snakes.
The upper lip plates are yellow, above which colour is a dark band from the eye to the angle of the mouth and above this a pale streak. The top of the head is very dark, usually black. The chin and lower lips are yellow with three dark bars on the lip plates, on each side of the mouth.
Abdomen yellow, blotched with dark brown or black--more so toward the tail, the under portion of which is black.
Variations of colour.--Young specimens are brilliantly coloured. They are usually of a pale reddish-brown, with bands of rich, dark brown. All of the bands and markings are narrowly edged with white, making the pattern vivid and striking.
Half-grown specimens are greenish, or chestnut brown, with very distinct bars, while very old specimens are generally of a uniform, dull olive brown or black, with little or no trace of the markings.
The very young specimens of this species somewhat resemble the young of the Copperhead Snake, but may generally be recognised by the situations in which they are found--the immediate vicinity of water.
In general conformation, pattern and actions, the Water Moccasin tallies with the popular idea of a poisonous snake. The body is very stout in proportion to the length, while the head is chunky and distinct from the neck. The large shields project slightly over the top of the eyes, imparting a sinister, scowling aspect; moreover, the tail tapers very abruptly from the body.
Total Length . . . . . 4 feet.
Length of Tail . . . . . 7 1/4 inches.
Diameter of Body . . . . . 2 3/8 inches.
Width of Head . . . . . 1 3/4 inches.
Length of Head . . . . . 2 1/4 inches.
The largest specimen examined by the writer measured 58 1/2 inches in length, and 9 3/4 inches in circumference. It was captured at Lake Kerr, Marion County, Florida.
Habits of the Water Moccasin
In its native wilds the Water Moccasin is an irritable and pugnacious reptile. After being a short time in captivity it becomes tame, good-natured and lazy. Moreover it is very hardy, thriving for years in a captive state and breeding regularly if maintained under the proper conditions.
In the "lowgrounds" along the Savannah River the writer has found these serpents to be very common. They do not frequent the main body of water in any numbers, but are abundant in the adjoining swamps into which the river "backs up" during the heavy rains. In these swamps, as the river recedes, the water is left in numerous pools, entrapping large numbers of fish. Thus are the "Cotton-mouths" found, and in company with various species of harmless Water Snakes. They are commonly observed on the branches of bushes and trees that overhang the water, and if escape from danger be possible they quickly drop into the water, where they swim beneath the surface for some distance to emerge in some sheltered situation--among reeds or aquatic growth.
The writer remembers a hunt for these creatures in the Black Swamp, located in Hampton County, South Carolina. The swamp was circular, about five miles in circumference, and through it ran a curving stream of varying widths, spreading widely after the rains and filling numerous pools and bayous. The swamp contained a dense mass of cane-growth. In some parts the cane attained a height of eight feet.