EP 352: Gone To The Dogs with James Oliver Laws Part 2

In this episode we resume the interview with James Oliver Laws. It was said of Mr. Laws father, Uncle Jimmy Laws, that he would know the day before the hunt where a bear would move that night. He served as the paid guide at the famed Hazel Creek Rod and Gun Club where Von and Little George Plott hunted bears with hounds. In this episode you will hear James Oliver Laws give descriptions of the dogs that were hunted by the Plott family as well as other famous houndsmen of that day. Descriptions of the dogs by Mr. Laws often conflict with the UKC breed standard for the Plott dog of today. 

Mr. Laws’ accounts of the ways the hunters would breed to the dogs of their fellow hunters is much the way the hunters of West Virginia and Virginia did when Steve was a young hunter. There are many parallels in the experiences of Steve and James Laws, especially in following, the footsteps of their famous fathers on multitudes of bear hunts in rugged mountain terrain.. Mr. Laws’ frankness in describing not only the hounds of the Plott family and his own but also in describing the demeanor of the men themselves is eye-opening. His revelation of the origins of the Plott family dogs as well as the original breed type of their dogs will no doubt raise questions about previous historical accounts associated with the popular breed. Due to the overall length of the interviews, Steve has chosen to run it in three parts. This is the second episode of a three-part series. Merry Christmas!