The subject of this watercolor looks very familiar to us today because we have been exposed to the imagery of western films. This work, however, was created almost a decade before the first western film was made. Russell’s art became a key source for many of the mythic images of the American West—images that were later appropriated by the rising Hollywood film industry. In terms of the subject of the sheriff’s posse seen here, it is important to note that violence on the frontier resulted as much from a lack of law enforcement agencies as it did from inherent lawlessness. Unlike vigilante groups, which were numerous during Montana’s early history, a posse was an official group created by law enforcement officials to assist in large jurisdictions. Russell knew many men who had ridden in posses in former days. Although Montana spawned no outlaws comparable to Billy the Kid, the territory had its hands full with the Logan boys. Originally from Missouri, the four developed a flair for appropriating other people’s livestock. On one occasion two of the brothers crossed into Montana just behind a herd of “stampeding” beef cattle, and just ahead of a posse from the area of Pueblo, Colorado. Local officials wryly noted that it was a mighty long distance for even ornery longhorn cattle to stampede without urging, but the Logans stuck to their story. Eventually the most notorious brother, Harvey “Kid Curry” Logan, joined a gang led by George Parker, alias Butch Cassidy, to rob trains. Their biggest train heist occurred in Malta, Montana, in 1901. Russell knew of Kid Curry’s exploits, and he knew many men who had operated on the other side of the law.