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EVERETT WEEMS
PLOTT PRODIGY
I will go over some things that Everett passed on to me, there are people that might have known him better and
spent more time than me but nobody tried to learn more from him than I did, I have been clear about how I feel when
I talk about him but this will be about things that came directly from him and some first hand opinion’s I have about
dog’s that were directly bred by him and some I owned at least sometime in there life or hunted with that were owned
by other hunters.
I met him in 1978 and with in 9 mo’s I bred to Punie and by 1980 owned 3 Butch & Jill dogs and several others that
came directly from him, we hunted bear twice and coonhunted about 15 nights. He always during my time with him
said John was the best dog he owned and hunted and he was the sire to Butch and a son of Susie, John was a top
bear dog in his day, and was hunted in several competition hunts and won his casts a high percentage, a hard loud
tree dog and exceptional track dog and had no quit in him, Everett said that John had a cast win over Merchant’s
Bawlie a walker dog that ended up winning 3 ACHA world hunts, John was a factor in him selling Susie to RC. Roark
for according to Everett a record plott female price at that time of 500.00. when you consider a good weekly salary
was around 50.00 I would say that was at least top money for the times. Out of John, Everett would keep and bred 2
sons, and promote them at stud for several years and they were Doc and Butch. Doc at least early on was the
favorite and the dog he told people to bred to, he made ntch and was an impressive tree dog, coon hunters in the
IL. Area were breeding for tree dogs and bred to him, I don’t believe he was an extra hard hunting dog and the ones
I hunted with on coon were not, one of Doc’s son’s on bear that I saw on bear was a pretty fair bear dog but did not
show the speed of those Butch dog’s.
Another son of Doc that I hunted with was Nimrod and he was not a competition dog and pretty average at pleasure
hunting but he was straight on coon and showed little interest in bear. I have laid some of these things to go into this
part; Doc was the older and promoted more by Everett and already a ntch. And Butch was excelling on bear hunts,
so when Everett drove in the driveway and seen that Butch had gotten loose and was hung on Jill, who he planned
on breeding to Doc he thought he had made a big mistake, everyone wanted Doc pups for coon dog’s, now this was
confirmed by his wife and she said that he brewed over this for sometime. I am sure he told me that he gave away
this first litter to bear hunters but the owners of this first cross would have to confirm it. Anyway everyone knows the
end results of this masterful cross and plott history or at least a big portion came from this wonderful mating. I won a
UKC world championship with a grandson of this cross and have always given credit to this cross as why I had the
dog power to do this.
This cross was not without some things we should be made aware of, I owned Preacher a maltese colored plott and
he was as fast as any on a bear track or coon track with a loud tenor bawl on track and a heavy coarse chop on
tree, he was in my opinion one of the better looking dog’s from this cross. Now some of his short coming’s might
have been man made and not his breeding but he was cranky with other dog’s in a box or pen and had been left out
on bear by himself and by himself would not stay with a caught bear but he earned my respect and I raised at least
2 litters out of him and one cross with my Zip produced some pretty fair dog’s and his descendants are still around
today. Blue Joe had only one testicle down and Dennis Paulson’s Punch could only be caught by him, there were
more that had a man shy streak, but the ability on bear of this master cross was second to none, I coon hunted with
4 or 5 of them and simply put did not excel on coon, they could pass for pleasure coon dogs but most did not have
there heart in coon, and since we have not had bears in Kansas for over 100 years I could not justify keeping these
bear dog’s year around for a week of bear hunting.
Everett told me that he had hunted Butch against Big Timber with Oliver Smith in Wisconsin, I have talked with 2
other hunters that were on this hunt and there was 3 different versions of how the dog’s compared so I will pass on
the one I believe to be the most likely, they were both highly advertised bear dog’s and bear hunters were debating
and some were more serious than that as to witch one was the best bear dog. At any time since men have hunted
with each other there have always been different opinions on the same hunt, but the version I believe is that both
dog’s had a good showing with each dog out doing the other sometimes during this hunt so I would say it was a draw.
Some people had little use for Everett because he was strong minded and very stubborn at times, he knew and
trusted me in every way but my dog’s were never good enough for him, because he only wanted dog’s with his name
and breeding that descended from George Plott and Smithdeal breeding and the only one he ever spoke in high
regards of was Clyde Bounds, I never heard him say anything bad about other men and there dog’s, it just was not
in him to say anything bad,but he would totally avoid talking about them. I owned and hunted several dog’s from
Everett so I could fit his mold and go that direction, but JoeBoy sent me down another path, I have coon hunted with
Terry Mayle that had some of Everett’s last litters and they were as good as anything on coon.
Everett’s way of breeding can be condensed down to this, he stayed in the family of dogs that I mentioned and he
would bred cousins, nice to uncle, and nephew to aunt, he was not a fan of inbreeding brother, sister, and father
daughter crosses, I hunted with Kent Ruesch ‘s Brave dog out of BlueJoe and another female that was B&J and he
was a fine bear dog and there were more of these crosses made but not by Everett. He raised only a few litters
himself compared to the number of dog’s carrying his name during this period of breeding of the B&J dog’s of this
time. He bred Punie to some females and kept those pups and none of them were from an inbreeding cross, I know
he did not bred any of his females to any other males during this time, but did breed daughters of other B&J dog’s to
Punie and females that carried Doc, always wanting to reproduce John.
When we did talk about color he was not high on any color but brown brindle, the maltese and some buckskin’s
have white toenail’s and that was the only reason I remember, and he said they have a problem holding up on rock
or tough ground so he was convinced they were not a wanted trait and not his favorite for a stud dog. I can say that
I have hunted and hunted with several maltese and have not seen problems with this but I see the comparison with a
white hoof on horses.
Everett showed me all of his old pedigree’s and pointed out the key dog’s in them, I have always known the key dog’
s that he used but they were so distant to me and I could only keep my attention on the future. I am convinced
though he knew what he was after and how to get it, towards the end of him breeding dog’s he only looked at the
papers and assumed that was good enough, but I can attest to these fact’s, if you only look at those papers and not
the dog’s, your breeding will not last as long as you hunt,
There are Weems bred plotts in all parts of the world and most of us are either hunting with or hunting some of them
today, the last letter from Everett I received was after winning the world hunt, he started that letter by saying it was
about time, but if I would have listened more to him I would have done it sooner and more times, I have said this
before but when I write anything meaningful it is ended with the way he signed over 20 letters to me and every time it
is to pay honor to the PLOTT PRODIGY EVERETT WEEMS A HUNTING FRIEND JIM CANNON
PLOTT PRODIGY
I will go over some things that Everett passed on to me, there are people that might have known him better and
spent more time than me but nobody tried to learn more from him than I did, I have been clear about how I feel when
I talk about him but this will be about things that came directly from him and some first hand opinion’s I have about
dog’s that were directly bred by him and some I owned at least sometime in there life or hunted with that were owned
by other hunters.
I met him in 1978 and with in 9 mo’s I bred to Punie and by 1980 owned 3 Butch & Jill dogs and several others that
came directly from him, we hunted bear twice and coonhunted about 15 nights. He always during my time with him
said John was the best dog he owned and hunted and he was the sire to Butch and a son of Susie, John was a top
bear dog in his day, and was hunted in several competition hunts and won his casts a high percentage, a hard loud
tree dog and exceptional track dog and had no quit in him, Everett said that John had a cast win over Merchant’s
Bawlie a walker dog that ended up winning 3 ACHA world hunts, John was a factor in him selling Susie to RC. Roark
for according to Everett a record plott female price at that time of 500.00. when you consider a good weekly salary
was around 50.00 I would say that was at least top money for the times. Out of John, Everett would keep and bred 2
sons, and promote them at stud for several years and they were Doc and Butch. Doc at least early on was the
favorite and the dog he told people to bred to, he made ntch and was an impressive tree dog, coon hunters in the
IL. Area were breeding for tree dogs and bred to him, I don’t believe he was an extra hard hunting dog and the ones
I hunted with on coon were not, one of Doc’s son’s on bear that I saw on bear was a pretty fair bear dog but did not
show the speed of those Butch dog’s.
Another son of Doc that I hunted with was Nimrod and he was not a competition dog and pretty average at pleasure
hunting but he was straight on coon and showed little interest in bear. I have laid some of these things to go into this
part; Doc was the older and promoted more by Everett and already a ntch. And Butch was excelling on bear hunts,
so when Everett drove in the driveway and seen that Butch had gotten loose and was hung on Jill, who he planned
on breeding to Doc he thought he had made a big mistake, everyone wanted Doc pups for coon dog’s, now this was
confirmed by his wife and she said that he brewed over this for sometime. I am sure he told me that he gave away
this first litter to bear hunters but the owners of this first cross would have to confirm it. Anyway everyone knows the
end results of this masterful cross and plott history or at least a big portion came from this wonderful mating. I won a
UKC world championship with a grandson of this cross and have always given credit to this cross as why I had the
dog power to do this.
This cross was not without some things we should be made aware of, I owned Preacher a maltese colored plott and
he was as fast as any on a bear track or coon track with a loud tenor bawl on track and a heavy coarse chop on
tree, he was in my opinion one of the better looking dog’s from this cross. Now some of his short coming’s might
have been man made and not his breeding but he was cranky with other dog’s in a box or pen and had been left out
on bear by himself and by himself would not stay with a caught bear but he earned my respect and I raised at least
2 litters out of him and one cross with my Zip produced some pretty fair dog’s and his descendants are still around
today. Blue Joe had only one testicle down and Dennis Paulson’s Punch could only be caught by him, there were
more that had a man shy streak, but the ability on bear of this master cross was second to none, I coon hunted with
4 or 5 of them and simply put did not excel on coon, they could pass for pleasure coon dogs but most did not have
there heart in coon, and since we have not had bears in Kansas for over 100 years I could not justify keeping these
bear dog’s year around for a week of bear hunting.
Everett told me that he had hunted Butch against Big Timber with Oliver Smith in Wisconsin, I have talked with 2
other hunters that were on this hunt and there was 3 different versions of how the dog’s compared so I will pass on
the one I believe to be the most likely, they were both highly advertised bear dog’s and bear hunters were debating
and some were more serious than that as to witch one was the best bear dog. At any time since men have hunted
with each other there have always been different opinions on the same hunt, but the version I believe is that both
dog’s had a good showing with each dog out doing the other sometimes during this hunt so I would say it was a draw.
Some people had little use for Everett because he was strong minded and very stubborn at times, he knew and
trusted me in every way but my dog’s were never good enough for him, because he only wanted dog’s with his name
and breeding that descended from George Plott and Smithdeal breeding and the only one he ever spoke in high
regards of was Clyde Bounds, I never heard him say anything bad about other men and there dog’s, it just was not
in him to say anything bad,but he would totally avoid talking about them. I owned and hunted several dog’s from
Everett so I could fit his mold and go that direction, but JoeBoy sent me down another path, I have coon hunted with
Terry Mayle that had some of Everett’s last litters and they were as good as anything on coon.
Everett’s way of breeding can be condensed down to this, he stayed in the family of dogs that I mentioned and he
would bred cousins, nice to uncle, and nephew to aunt, he was not a fan of inbreeding brother, sister, and father
daughter crosses, I hunted with Kent Ruesch ‘s Brave dog out of BlueJoe and another female that was B&J and he
was a fine bear dog and there were more of these crosses made but not by Everett. He raised only a few litters
himself compared to the number of dog’s carrying his name during this period of breeding of the B&J dog’s of this
time. He bred Punie to some females and kept those pups and none of them were from an inbreeding cross, I know
he did not bred any of his females to any other males during this time, but did breed daughters of other B&J dog’s to
Punie and females that carried Doc, always wanting to reproduce John.
When we did talk about color he was not high on any color but brown brindle, the maltese and some buckskin’s
have white toenail’s and that was the only reason I remember, and he said they have a problem holding up on rock
or tough ground so he was convinced they were not a wanted trait and not his favorite for a stud dog. I can say that
I have hunted and hunted with several maltese and have not seen problems with this but I see the comparison with a
white hoof on horses.
Everett showed me all of his old pedigree’s and pointed out the key dog’s in them, I have always known the key dog’
s that he used but they were so distant to me and I could only keep my attention on the future. I am convinced
though he knew what he was after and how to get it, towards the end of him breeding dog’s he only looked at the
papers and assumed that was good enough, but I can attest to these fact’s, if you only look at those papers and not
the dog’s, your breeding will not last as long as you hunt,
There are Weems bred plotts in all parts of the world and most of us are either hunting with or hunting some of them
today, the last letter from Everett I received was after winning the world hunt, he started that letter by saying it was
about time, but if I would have listened more to him I would have done it sooner and more times, I have said this
before but when I write anything meaningful it is ended with the way he signed over 20 letters to me and every time it
is to pay honor to the PLOTT PRODIGY EVERETT WEEMS A HUNTING FRIEND JIM CANNON
Below are 2 stories written by long time Plott owner and handler Jim Cannon. Many of
you probably know Mr Cannon, either you have had the pleasure of meeting this
humble, kind man or you have heard of him through other Plott loyalists. I have had
the pleasure of meeting Mr Cannon in person and enjoyed a few hunts with him this
winter. Mr Cannon is the only handler to date that has won the UKC World hunt with a
Plott Hound. Mr Cannon won the UKC World Championship with UKC World Champion
Kansas Sizzlin Heat at the 1988 UKC World Coonhound Championship in Mt. Gilead,
Ohio. If you ever get the chance to trade a story or a meal with Mr Cannon do not pass
it up.
All of these photos and stories have been used with the permission of Mr Jim Cannon.
you probably know Mr Cannon, either you have had the pleasure of meeting this
humble, kind man or you have heard of him through other Plott loyalists. I have had
the pleasure of meeting Mr Cannon in person and enjoyed a few hunts with him this
winter. Mr Cannon is the only handler to date that has won the UKC World hunt with a
Plott Hound. Mr Cannon won the UKC World Championship with UKC World Champion
Kansas Sizzlin Heat at the 1988 UKC World Coonhound Championship in Mt. Gilead,
Ohio. If you ever get the chance to trade a story or a meal with Mr Cannon do not pass
it up.
All of these photos and stories have been used with the permission of Mr Jim Cannon.
Evertt Weems, Dennis Paulson, Joe Herrell, Larry McKenzie, Bill Bland, and Orvil Roberts are some of the men I
have hunted with on coon, bear, and hogs since 1976. There have been many other outstanding men as well, but
I will start with these men, and some of the impact they had on me. My story has been told in a lot of ways and now
is the time to tell the impact they had with me. There is way more about these men than I can cover and people
better to tell there story than me, but through some hunts, and conversations I collected a piece of them that they
might not have known. Evertt Weems is well documented on everything he has done for the Plott breed and it is
hard to find a strain of Plott dogs that would not carry his dogs in there somewhere. I first met Evertt in 1978 and
started having phone conversations and exchanging letters with him and continued into this century, until his family
put him in a nursing home. The last two times I visited with him, Tom Telford had brought him from the nursing
home to Plott Days. The Weem’s Butch and Jill cross (the most famous cross ever made) was the hottest dog talk
in the 70’s . At my first Plott Day’s, I was on a mission to meet Evertt and get to shake his hand. I had read the
adds that Evertt had put in magazines and yearbooks since the mid 60’s so I was on cloud nine, as if I had just met
a “Rockstar” and “Living Legend”, because our plott dogs had started with Weems Susie, and that chain has not
been broken since. I also met Dennis Paulson, another advertiser of the top dogs, and in my mind, a super star
breeder and hunter. I also met Danny Herrell, the middle son of Joe Herrell, so this story will cross over some and
might take off like young dogs after a deer, but I will try and stay on the main race, and Larry McKenzie will enter
the story, and very soon Bill Bland and Joe Herrell.
I had been to the Missouri plott sectional and the Illinois plott sectional, also called the “Little Plott Day’s” at that
time, but plott days put things into a national perspective. I met houndmen from all over the country. Butch and Jill
talk was brought up with most people I talked with,. My vision of what I wanted in a competitive dog and wanting the
hot stuff of the time, would lead me to a call with Larry McKensie and back to Evertt to breed to Punie. Evertt, from
my first trip to his house, made me feel worthy of his knowledge and experience. I made arrangements for a hunt
with Evertt and Punie, as my female would be coming in season soon, so I wanted a first-hand opinion on these
dogs. I was already going down a serious competitive path and Zip and I had won about 15 out of 25 casts, so I
took a coon dog to hunt with Punie.
We had other dogs in and out on this hunt, but we hunted those two on every dump but the last. The first dump all
dogs struck and Zip and Evertt’s Nimrod trailed left handed with Punie a tighter mouth track dog went a short way
right handed and started blowing down on a tree, and within a minute the other two were treed on their track. Now
Evertt told me as Punie was blowing down his tree, that was pretty much how the perfect plot with perfect breeding
will perform and the prototype of what my pups would be if I bred to Punie or something close to that, I was ready
to go to him and told Evertt Zip and Nimrod would stay treed so lets go to Punie. We walked about ¼ mile to him
and I was thinking how fast Punie had jammed that tree for a young two year old dog. When we got there it was a
small tree about six inches round and eight feet tall and he had the littlest opossum I believe I have ever seen
treed. It was only eight inches long. There was big oak tree close by and Evertt shinned it saying the coon might
be in it, anyway he sent Punie to Zip and Nimrod and soon he was blowing that tree down with them.
We made several more trees and Punie was looking pretty good. At about midnight, we turned four dogs loose
and they struck in and were off fast. It was clear that Punie, in short order, was a ¼ mile ahead of the rest and
pulling away fast. Now I am thinking this race might be off game, but Evertt said “No” it was just Punie being so fast
the other dogs could not keep up, and he was right that time. Punie treed and the rest were three minutes later
getting treed on the same track. We found the coon and then I noticed someone hiding behind a tree about 50
yards away and told Evertt. This had made me scared and uneasy and my heart was pounding. I believe I
witnessed the bravest thing I have seen another hunter do in all of my hunting. We had no idea what this person’s
intentions were, good or bad, but Evertt headed towards him demanding him to leave and leave us alone. He
called him a dog thief or something worse and challenged that man to come and make his intentions known to us.
He took off and wanted no part of Evertt Weems and to this day I never avoid anyone while I am hunting. If I get
chewed out, I get what’s coming, but most have been ok with me, they just wanted to check things out.
Now back to finish this hunt, after walking over five miles and it being four in the morning, I wanted to see Punie go
one time by himself. We headed to another big area and cut him loose. Punie struck within minutes and we
started following but soon he was out of hearing, heading south and I do mean covering some ground. We
decided to go back and get in the truck and do some driving. We found Punie some five miles away at six in the
morning treed on a coon, and by now it was daylight and Evertt said we would have to call it a night. I hunted
coons several more times with Evertt, and bear hunted twice. He was a top notch woodsman, dog breeder, and
trainer and in his prime had no peers. He always kept a good relationship with land owners he hunted on. He told
me a lot of history on the Plott family and Plott dogs. He believed George Plott had the purest strain and only bred
their descendants. He told me of the hardships of combat he endured in World War II and said life was easy
compared to war. He raised a stepson and two daughters and I got to meet one of his daughters. His favorite all-
time dog was Weem’s John and Evertt had many dogs of legendary status. He gave Clyde Bounds credit for
getting him started in bear hunting and said the Bolly dog of Clyde’s was one of the best on bear he had hunted
with. Evertt has impacted many people and I am just one of many to learn from the grand master of the trade.
Now back to that first Plott day’s when I met Dennis Paulson from Paw Paw, MI. Dennis had been advertising for
10 years and I had read every ad over and over and felt I knew him and his dogs. We exchanged some
information and I had inquired that I was interested in buying a pup or a young dog out of his “Moon” female or a
descendant of her because she was also out of Weem’s Susie and she had won the grandnight part of Autumn
Oaks two times and a high profile dog of her time, I would later own a granddaughter of Moon’s that was a pretty
decent dog, and a male grandson of his Chief dog from also from Weem’s Susie. I would later hunt coons several
times and bear hunt in the U.P. three years with him and treed several bear with his dogs and the hunters he
hunted with and their dogs.
My first bear ever seen in the woods was in a tree that two of Dennis’s dogs had treed. A third dog that I can’t
recall the name of the dog, was also at the tree. Dennis had rode with me that morning and we found these dogs
separate from the rest. Dennis was not even sure if they were even his dogs, but I volunteered, being a young
man in my early 20’s and in good shape to run in there and check things out. I wasn’t even going to take a gun or
a compass, but he insisted I do both. The dogs in a short time were treed and I ran over two miles to them, and I
could not believe my luck, there was a nice bear in the tree and my adrenalin was to the max, a Kansas boy, my
first morning in the U.P. standing under a treed bear by myself with Betty and Punch two of Dennis’s (Butch and Jill)
dogs. Now in those days there were no tracking collars and we used CB radios and walkie talkies. I screamed in
that walkie talkie for four hours and still no one answered me back. That bear finally decided it had enough and
was coming down that tree. My first shot just creased the neck and when I fired the second shot my gun barrel was
within one foot of the bear and luckily for me, it killed the bear. Now my dilemma had risen to an almost “what in the
Hell do I do now”, I have a dead bear, three dogs and one of them I can’t catch and one that had chewed all three
leashes in half and only one man out of 12 knew where I had went into this big wilderness. So the big thinker I am,
I tied Betty up by the bear and hoping she would keep barking until I could return with help. Again I remind you, it
was this Kansas’s boys first morning in the U.P. and I had never been in timber so tall and heavy that you could not
tell where the sun was and the only two directions I knew were up and down and not too sure of them, but thank the
Lord, Dennis had made me take a compass so headed in the direction I hoped was back to a road. It was just after
daylight when I took off and in all the confusion of the bear race and those curvy, sandy roads and following
everyone else around and never having been in any terrain close to that before in my life. I swore I would not
make this mistake ever again and I have kept my promise ever since. Well I came across a two track and headed
down it. I soon was heading ¼ mile turn from the direction I started, but I just wanted to get to a road and hope for
a ride. It was now 2 p.m. and I was thirsty, hungry and wanted to tell my story. After seeing some of our hunting
party and yelling out to them, they came towards me at about 200 hundred yards, that nice $100.00 CB walkie
talkie finally made contact, don’t worry I soon put that thing in a creek and have not used them since. Well finally
all the group was there and I was telling about this exciting adventure when Bill Bland ask me if I could find that
bear. No problem Bill, I am smarter than just any rookie, I tied Betty with that bear so I could find it. Bill says that
might be a problem since Betty is right here with one foot of the leash on her. I was so sick, it was good thing I had
not eaten this day. Bill assured me if I could get them close we would find that bear. Something was on my side
that day, I got them close and we found that bear. They started cleaning the bear and handed me some raw liver
to eat. I told them earlier I was hungry but was not too sure if I could eat that liver. We had some good laughs and
they let me off the hook and that day will be imprinted in me until I die. I had a hunt the next day with Danny and
Joe Herrell and for the rest of the week. I had came early, so Dennis and Bill had invited me to tag along with
them. After hunting bear with Dennis Paulson and Bill Bland for 20 days back then I soon found out they were
serious hunters and knew dogs better than most. I can’t remember Bill saying anything negative and for sure he
found more lost dogs than anyone else and was the one that always found the best tracks to turn out on. We
visited at Plott Day’s and talked dogs and hunting and I have rated him with the best I have hunted with. He had
the knack to making decisions when it came to down to hunting skills. I have had owned some dog’s that had
Pleasant Valley names in their pedigree, his kennel name.
On one of my coon hunting trips with Dennis, we had a four night coon hunt planned with the last two nights
planned up state MI. at a deer camp with some other hunters. Well again being from Kansas, we do not have
apple orchards and apple cider. Dennis took me to one of his favorite places so we could take along apples and
cider for us and these other hunters. Dennis bought the required amount needed for the trip, but I had sampled
that cider myself and decided I needed about three gallons and two sacks of those MI apples. On our way north, I
began eating those fresh apples and was on the second gallon of cider when Dennis said you better back off that
cider, it is fresh and will give you the runs, I replied, don’t worry I have had apples and this cider is the best I have
ever drank. Besides, I am from Kansas and this stuff won’t bother me. In about five minutes I was begging for him
to stop and I mean stop now. I ran into some cedar trees and barely got my pants down. Anyway, we had some
good hunting and this cabin had an outhouse that I made a lot of trips running several times over the next 24
hours. For some reason, I drink very little cider and never eat more than one apple a day. Dennis knew every
pedigree by memory and was one of the smartest people to ever breed Plott dogs. He is a retired engineer and
now hunts beagles today.
Now back to that first Plott Day’s, I hunted all three nights and on Saturday night I drew out with Danny Herrell, the
middle son of Joe and Dorothy Herrell. The Herrell’s hunted bear in Canada and the U.P. of Michigan. We soon
were talking about bear hunting and I had an invite to tag along. We stayed in contact until time to bear hunt. I
was so excited to be going bear hunting. I arrived early and that has already been covered, but I finally met Joe
and Danny’s cousin Butch that evening. Danny had a last minute problem and was not able to come. The Herrell’s
made me feel welcome and we started friendships that continue today. I soon fell in ahh of Joe. He had the
wisdome of a breeder, trainer, and hunter and would flat tell it like it was in all areas. I spent most of that week,
every chance I could, listening to Joe. We talked bear hunting and competitive coon hunting. I stayed at Joe’s
house during two of my World Hunts. I believe central Indiana has some of the most hardcore hunters, dogs, and
handlers in the United States. Joe imprinted with this advice, if you are getting in a snake pit, you had better learn
how to handle snakes. We shared many hunts at his house and mine, and exchanged some dogs to help each
other in breeding them. Joe’s family has also left their mark and no other hunters have had more success in
breeding dogs, catching game, or winning in the hunts than Joe and his family.
After getting to know Evertt, he invited me along on a bear hunt to Wisconsin and to hunt with Larry McKinzie My
dreams were being answered and Larry was a legend in the bear hunting world and I was going to meet the man I
had idolized and only talked with on the phone. The hunt was during training season but it would be bear hunting
101. Larry and Evertt on the same hunt, I thought the gods were on my side and could not believe my luck. I
hooked up with Evertt and the rest of the hunters and we headed to Larry’s. He had a camp ready and we settled
in. Larry asked me if I brought any bug spray for the hunt, and I said don’t worry I am from Kansas and I am used
to bugs. He said they are pretty bad this time of year and can get pretty rough. I soon found out that night he
meant rough!!! Now the tent was so full of mosquitoes at bed time and everyone of them wanted a taste of this
Kansas corn fed, soft skinned coon hunter. I finally took my knife and cut a breathing hole in my sleeping bag to
get some sleep, but I was to excited to sleep anyway. I was going to hunt the next day with Blue Joy, Punie and
about 10 Butch and Jill dogs on bear an I figured if those bugs were going to eat me it would take a few days and I
could die a happy man anyway. We treed some bear and I seen the most awesome display of dog talent in one
week I have ever seen, the courage, speed and talent of those dogs was unbelievable and second to none. I
owned at that time two Butch and Jill dogs, Preacher and Butch. I would later give Butch to Larry and he changed
his name back to his birth name of Bandit. I considered myself just plain lucky and at the right place and right time
to meet and hunt with Larry and his son Mark and those dogs. I have ever since felt Larry had no peers in overall
knowledge of bear hunting and breeding dogs for it. I gathered some very important knowledge from Larry but
nothing more valuable than to take two cases of bug spray with you when hunting in Wisconsin during training
season.
I have hunted wild hogs about five times, three of them in Texas and twice I have made a trip to Louisiana and
hunted with hog hunting royalty Orvile Roberts. Orvile had been to my house and got to see Heat and Sarge
together on a coon hunt and he would invite me to his house for some hog hunting. He has hunted hogs and
coons all his life and gave me some first hand experience with what hog hunting is about. I would learn that there
is more to it if you do it right and work the dogs right. It will give you a challenge that most hunters dream of. The
adrenalin rush is so high it will last a lifetime. I have never been to any place that I felt more welcome than Orvile’
s. We hunted hogs all day and coon hunted most of the night. Orvile is the best cook in the south and one thing is
for sure, he taught me how to make the second best biscuits and gravy around. I still talk to Orvile and hope his
health lasts long enough for one more hunt. The people around him and his family were all taught by a true
master of the craft, including life. No other man has earned more respect in the hunting field. If you have ever met
Orvile, you will never forget him the time you spent with him.
Like I said at the beginning, I am not qualified to tell their story, but I wanted to share my story with these men and
how I put a piece of them into me.
A Hunting Friend
Jim Cannon
Mr Jim Cannon and Kansas Joe Boy
Jim Cannon's Heat