ORIGINAL: PositiveBo
Although the Eastern Indigo and the Black Rat snake are frequently confused, I'm confident this is a Black Rat snake, especially given the fact the specimen in question was collected in the northeast (outside the range of the Eastern Indigo), and the underside of the snake depicted here contains white coloration...no offense intended Reb.
This is a black rat snake. An indigo is black on the bottom too.
I saw the biggest indigo snake I've ever seen down in FL turkey hunting this year. He was bigger around than my forearm and at least 5 feet long. My brother was going to pick him up by the tail, but the big fellow was having none of it, so my brother reconsidered and let him go about his snake business. I wish we'd have had a camera. That thing was huge.
Hal