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. It is estimated that all of the buffalo east of the Mississippi were killed off by the 1830s, but to the west the great herds on the open plains numbered in the millions. Although the Native Americans used nearly every part of the animal to sustain their way of life, the early-day white hunters valued the buffalo for its hide, meat, and tongue. Even the Indians began to kill more animals for their robes and tongues, because they were able to trade them for European-American goods. By 1835—the period shown in this drawing—more buffalo robes than beaver pelts were being shipped down the Missouri River from Fort Union. Russell shows the rider with a pad saddle having beaded floral motifs at the corners in the manner of the Canadian Métis or Plains Ojibwa. He wears half leggings, with a “beaver-tail” knife (blade on both sides) hanging from his belt. Indians who hunted with muzzle-loading weapons developed the technique of loading without benefit of a ramrod, holding the gun aloft until the moment of firing so the ball wouldn’t roll out. In this way, multiple shots could be made while on the run.