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. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), a Spanish governor in northwest Mexico, heard rumors about wealthy and exotic cities located to the north. In 1540 he led an expedition into the region along the boundary of Arizona and New Mexico, in the mistaken belief that there were cities to be found there that were fabulously rich. His army attacked and conquered the first of what they thought were the legendary seven cities; instead of riches, they found a poor Pueblo culture, with little wealth beyond the desert environment. These were the Zuni Indian settlements in northwest New Mexico. Other areas were conquered with relative ease, but Coronado found no riches. His lieutenants proceeded to subjugate the Hopis, and they were among the first white men to see the Grand Canyon and follow the Colorado River. Coronado himself journeyed all the way into modern-day Kansas without finding the gold he so desperately sought. He died in Spain a dozen years later, a broken man.