Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Black snake \Black" snake`\ (sn[=a]k) or Blacksnake
\Black"snake\, n. (Zo["o]l.)
   A snake of a black color, of which two species are common in
   the United States, the {Bascanium constrictor}, or racer,
   sometimes six feet long, and the {Scotophis Alleghaniensis},
   seven or eight feet long.

   Note: The name is also applied to various other black
         serpents, as {Natrix atra} of Jamaica.