[metmom]

Aren’t those also a danger in the water?

[Governor Dinwiddie]

I know the cottonmouth can swim. I suppose they could bite a swimmer. Generally though, stepping on a snake or surprising it is more likely to trigger a bite. I don't know about rattlesnakes swimming being a danger. I think most snakes can swim if they have to. I'm not sure any rattlesnake prefers to.

I knew a lady who survived the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. She said the family had to retreat to the roof of their house because the water got so high. She said snakes were slithering out of the water onto the roof and her father had an ax and was chopping the snakes right and left.