MrT says: After reading Dead Man, I wondered if Joe Gores,
who, besides being the modern Hammett, is a thorough
researcher, has ever tried to hold a cottonmouth in his
hand...
Bill Crider has it right when he has Sheriff Dan Rhodes worry
about stepping on critters... it's the sensible thing to do.
Yesterday I ran into a fat copperhead while walking on a
trail. I beat it out of there fast. As a hardboiled type, I
probably should have held it and put it in my pocket, just in
case I needed it for self-defense.
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the cottonmouth and copperhead are closely related, and are
the only pit vipers in the states besides rattlesnakes.
although closely related, a cottonmouth's temperament is far
different from a copperhead's. a copperhead will almost never
bite unless attacked. a cottonmouth, however, is has a mean,
nasty temperament. a cottonmouth is never far from water, but
a copperhead is happy in a plain ole pile of rocks.
there are a lot of copperheads and timber rattlers in the
rocky hills and hollers of southern indiana, but i've never
seen a cottonmouth. i believe they are a more southern
snake.
miker
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