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. John Colter, an original member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, requested an early release to trap for furs in the northern Rockies. While there, he is believed to have been one of the first white men to see the geothermal features of the future Yellowstone National Park. While trapping north of there he was captured by the Blackfeet, stripped of his clothing, and forced to run for his life, pursued by several well-armed warriors. Russell’s drawing shows him at the dramatic moment when he had outrun all but one. Whirling around, he wrested away his opponent’s spear and killed him with it, then managed to escape the others by running on and hiding under a log in a nearby stream. He eventually made his way to the safety of a fur trader’s outpost after an overland journey of eleven days—a heroic feat by any measure.