The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1920-03-11

On the 10th of this month, Charles
M. Russell, the greatest historical
painter of the west, will celebrate
his 55th birthday, for Russell was
born at st. Louis March 10, 1866,
and 40 years of his life have been
spent in Montana.
Usually some of Russell's friends
from over the state get together at
Great Falls on Russell's birthday and
tender him something in the nature
of a surprise party. A couple of
years ago, when his young son, Jack,
was still a small baby, a gathering
was arranged at the Rainbow Hotel
at Great Falls and Russell was pre-
sented with the best baby buggy that
his friends could purchase, the gift
occasioning much merriment.
This year Russell will celebrate
his birthday in California, where he
is spending the winter with his wife
and young son. RusselI's address is
$50 North Chester Avenue, Pasa-
dena, where birthday greetings will
be sem to him by scores of his
friends in Montana next week. In
0lSdI II dis Ills lIlSuQS dI6 plduHlnS
to give him a telegram party, and
the night before his birthday scores
of night letters will be sent with
birthday greetings.
The story of Russell's life is we'll
known in Montana. At the age of IA,
a restless boy who could not be made
to attend school by his parents, he
was forever dreaming of the western
country and the Rocky mountains, of
which he had heard stories ever
since he was old enough to under
stand them. Several times he ran
away from school and started for the
west, only to be brought back to his
home on each OCCASION. Russell's
father, Charles S. Russell, was a
wealthy manufacturer of fire brick,
and he at length came to the conclu-
sion that the boy vas so set on going |
west that it would be impossible to
keep him at home longer.
Russell Comes West
So shortly after the youngster had
passed his 18th birthday, in the
spring of 1880, the father placed him
in charge of a man who was going
to Montana. On reaching the Judith
Basin the boy and the man in whose
care he had been placed parted COM
pany, and Russell, with no money
and a couple of ponies, started to
make his WI way in the world.
At that time the Judith Basin was
far from the railroad and one of the
least civilized parts of Montana. A
few miners were opening the camp
of Maiden in the Judith Basin and
there were a few cattle outfits be-
ginning to operate in what is today
county. Where Lewistown
stands today was only a trading post,
Reeds Fort. Gold had been struck
the year before in Yogo Gulch, and !
a lively camp was in existence at the
head of Yogo Greek, which forms
the North fork of the Judith river.
Russell's first job was herding t
horses at a stage station at Utica, {
but he lost that almost before he had /
It because the man with whom Rus
sell had come west disliked the boy l
and took the trouble to go to the sta
ion tender and tell him that Rus
sell was a good-for-nothing, ''ornery"
Kid, who would be in trouble all the I
ime. /
Russell, who had a proud and in {
spirit, took his two horses
a pair of blankets and went a t
short distance UP the Judith river, r
where he made camp. I
1t was along in the afternoon that v
lie saw a horseman, with two or three r