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George:

For some reason, I just found the little section where you talk about the "cobra" of Barboursville. Has this been on your web page since 1996? Did anyone ever solve the mystery?

Personally, I would bet on an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. I have seen yellow rattlers up to about 5 feet long in this area. I am not sure about the indigo pattern referred to on the back, the "diamondback" look and a "basketweave" look could be the same. Most yellow rattlers that I have seen are yellow on the bottom and their backs have a black-ish pattern over a yellow backing that could look blue-ish. Yellow is an unusual color for a snake in this area, and the only ones that I know of that are yellow are the rattlers.

I am not a herpetologist, and I am not familiar with a "water snake" --
it clearly isn't a water moccasin. But the fact that a "water snake" is not near the water or going to the water is irrelevant. Water moccasins, for example, are land-based snakes that like things very wet; they are only rarely found actually in water.

Lloyd Snook (electronic mail, July 11, 2000).