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. Most 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 and avidly read 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 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 dexterous lines create a vivid picture of truly historic events—elevating them to the power of epic and myth. One of the most celebrated events in the legendary life of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody occurred when he was serving as a scout for the 5th U.S. Cavalry in 1876, shortly after General George Armstrong Custer’s defeat at the Little Bighorn River. When the cavalry encountered a large war party of Cheyenne near Warbonnet Creek in what is now South Dakota, Cody accepted the challenge of Yellow Hair, one of their war chiefs. In the duel that followed, Cody killed the chief and took his scalp. Cody subsequently used the incident—which he dubbed “the first scalp for Custer”—as an effective element of his celebrated Wild West Show, which Russell later attended.