The Crees originated on the plains of central Canada, and at the end of the nineteenth century a number of them migrated southward into Montana. Russell depicts a group of them hailing some Métis, who are shown traveling with two-wheeled carts. The Métis—a racial mixture of Cree, Chippewa, Assiniboine, and French who developed their own language—had staged an unsuccessful rebellion against the Canadian government in 1885, and some of them left Saskatchewan to take refuge in northeastern Montana. Once there, both the Cree and Métis became landless outcasts. Russell and others were part of a concerted drive to improve their dismal situation, and their efforts eventually proved successful. In this loosely washed transparent watercolor, the Indian raising his arm wears a Hudson’s Bay Company blanket coat, and panel leggings—so named for the “panels” of decorated beadwork that adorn them. Some of the other Indians wrap themselves in brightly colored trade blankets. These elements are skillfully rendered in transparent layers of pigment, down to very fine details applied with tiny brushes. In some places Russell employed touches of opaque white to create highlights in the snow, as in the area around the horses’ feet. A group of Indian women with travois can be seen approaching from the left background, while on the right—faintly washed in transparent colors—a group of Métis pause with their characteristic two-wheeled “Red River” carts.