pilot black-snaken.

1842 J. E. De Kay Zool. N.-Y. iii. 37 The Pilot Black-snake appears to select..elevated rocky situations, for it is found along the Allegany mountains as far south as Virginia. It has hitherto been confounded with the ordinary Black Snake, but is at once distinguished from that species by the carinated scales.

1877 J. B. Holder Hist. Amer. Fauna in J. Richardson et al. Museum Nat. Hist. III. p. ccxix/1 Alleghany Black Snake... DeKay names this species the Pilot Black Snake, and in some localities it is called Racer.

1949 Sci. Monthly Jan. 54/2 The pilot blacksnake, also called the mountain blacksnake, is frequently confused with the common blacksnake.

1981 R. C. Vogt Nat. Hist. Amphibians & Reptiles Wisconsin 137 The name ‘pilot blacksnake’ stems from a folk tale that black rat snakes lead timber rattlesnakes back to their dens in the fall.