It's not a smooth skin though. I live Fla., and as a kid we used get rid of quite a lot of them. Once when we had a stationary rain storm, for about two or three days, I went out at night to run down the shell rock road to the store, bare foot as usual, ( I was about 13 ) and as I jumped over the ixora hedge in our fornt yard, I heard something slither in the hedge, so I made a note of it, and went to the store, and came back, jumped over the hedge, and went and got a light and a machette, and found a small to medium cotton mouth, ( about 2 1/2 -3' long ) and proceeded to remove his head. I didn't eat him Dana, my Mom wouldn't let me bring it in the house. But as for no snakes in the mountains......I was up above the rapids, and Dam, in Nantahalla, where they have the rapids for the canoes, and I turned over a rock in the creek to look for insects, and found a nice little copper head there. I put the rock back down. Not gently, but back down! I didn't think there would be any there either. I did find much to my pleasure, that the people of North Carolina aren't exactly fond of snakes......As a Kid we used to wade the canals, frog hunting, and snake whacking. Once in awhile, we would come upon a set of red eyes quite a bit farther apart than a frogs, so we would ease out of the canal, and go on up a ways, and get back in continue looking for frogs, and snakes. If I get back down to the Big Cypress, and our old camp, I will see if I can find some. I haven't been down there for quite a long time. The Army corps of Engineers, and general destruction, put in a canal not too far from our cabin, and it dried up everything. Had a couple of nice saw grass ponds, around the cabin. Used to always jump a deer in them, but they are all dried up now. Hi, we're from the Government, we're here to help you......Uh, no thanks.
