Sure enough the kid wasn't telling any tales. It was a scary looking snake with a tell-tale triangular shaped head letting us know that while he wasn't a rattler he was poisonous. Kevin, my brother-in-law, retrieved his .22, but I convinced him to let me try to catch it.
My niece Rachael got a cloth bag and I rounded up a push broom to pin his head down. The plan was to put him in the bag and twist the top of the bag so he couldn't get out. Then I'd take him to some remote location without curious dogs and young children nearby.
My first attempt at pinning him down brought out him down only ticked him off and he emitted an odor that would make a skunk wince. It took me a number of attempts to finally pin him down and to muster the courage to grab his neck with my hand. I've never tried to catch a poisonous snake before, and I was a bit sheepish.
I managed to get him in my hand, put him in the bag and release my hold of him without him getting a hold of me, but the bag was a bit smaller than I'd thought it was, and he was quite a bit larger, so within a few seconds he'd escaped and with him went all my drive to make a second attempt.
So Kevin shot him. I felt kind of bad. I really wanted to catch the thing, but, quite frankly, the thing freaked me out.
We're pretty sure it was a Cottonmouth-odd since we're nowhere near water. Of course, with the massive droughts we've all been having as of late, I guess it's no wonder.
Here are some pics:
