In the early 1920s a group of Charles M. Russell’s closest friends in Great Falls, Montana, were partners in the Montana Newspaper Association, a venture that published advertising supplements in the state’s daily newspapers. They hit upon the idea to publish a series of entertaining stories chronicling the history of the Old West, and they prevailed on Russell to provide pen-and-ink illustrations for each one. These stories appeared nearly every Sunday for a year, from March 5, 1922, through February 18, 1923. Nearly all of Montana’s 170 newspapers carried this popular series. For his part, Russell was glad to participate; he loved the history of the American West, avidly reading many books on the subject. Today these wonderfully narrative drawings stand apart from the articles they once accompanied. The original ink drawing pictured here was originally in the estate of the artist’s widow, Nancy C. Russell. It is part of a group that constitutes the largest selection of them to be found anywhere—almost half the number that the artist eventually produced for the series. In each of them, Russell’s fluid and dextrous lines create a vivid picture of truly historic events—elevating them to the power of epic and myth. The point where the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers join to form the Missouri River in southwestern Montana was the site of one of the earliest fur-trading outposts erected in the trans-Mississippi West. Less than five years after Lewis and Clark had identified the area as strategically important, the Missouri Fur Company attempted to gain a foothold in the Rocky Mountains with a log stockade, but it was abandoned in the following season after constant pressure from hostile Indians. The Missouri Fur Company had been formed in 1809 by a Saint Louis-based trader named Manuel Lisa (1772?–1820), to develop the fur business on the upper reaches of the river. Although British interests prevented much success, Lisa’s attempts were among the first American efforts in the region.