We used to see plenty of garter snakes and water pilots and black snakes. The garter snake is harmless enough and is by some considered beneficial to farmers on account of the mice it is said to destroy. The water pilot one finds only in the water. We caught one in the Mill Pond at Bonhamtown once which had a live frog inside of it. We killed the snake and let the frog go.
Black snakes are numerous in New Jersey.
They climb over low trees and bushes. They eat birds' eggs and young birds. They grow five or six feet long. They are black or slate color all over and for those who can see any beauty in a snake are very beautiful, with their graceful shiny heads and necks. They can go very swiftly through bushes and grass.