The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1921-12-16
BY ONLEY NEWELL


Denver.)
In 1885 I edited the Range Jour-
nal, paper devoted to the interests
of the livestock men of all the noun
tain territory from British Columbia
to Mexico. A Montana cowboy.
known to the range as Pony Bill
Davis, drifted into the office at Four
teenth and Lawrence streets and be-
came attached to the paper. In re-
counting his adventures on the great
plains he often spoke of his particu-
lar cowboy chum, Charley Russell.
One day he showed me a letter
from his friend. Enclosing some
sketches in black and white that in
stantly impressed me with their mer-
it. One Of an antelope especially
appealed to me as being filled with
so much spirit and action, SO abso-
lutely true to life, that exclaimed,
"Your friend has real genius" I
made him the subject of an editorial,
predicting that If he cultivated the
talent he undoubtedly possessed. he
would become famous in the world of
art. It was o reckless prediction
coming from one who did not even
pretend to a knowledge of art, but
the prophecy has been more than ver-
flied. He is first among the artists
Of the world. He came to our noun
tains boy of Is and became q part
of the great west at the most inter-
esting time of its history. He knew
it in all its freedom and wildness. He
saw its glories, its mysteries, its life,
slowly vanishing before the oncom-
ing trend of civilization, but in his
mind, heart and soul were imprint
ed images that, through his marvel
GUS talent, he is rescuing from OBJ
livion to live eternally in pigment and
bronz.
Never Attended Art School.
Charles Russell never attended an
art school a day in his life. From
his log cabin studio his pictures have
found their way to the most famous
art galleries of the world. They hang
on the walls of the palaces of kings.
He boldly invaded New York city
with an exhibition of his pictures
of the West That Has Passed" and
made artistic New York salute his
genius. He has displayed his pic
lures in London, Chicago, Los An
geles and other American cities.
They will be seen at the Brown
Palace hotel in Denver soon, an event
that will be greeted with deep inter-
est by not only the devotees of art,
but by the loyal-hearted people who
feel that this man, inspired to such
great achievement, is enc OF them
belongs to them, and entitled to sin.
cere manifestation of their apprecia-
ton of his work.
Before they had ever met Irwin s
Cobb wrote q letter to Russell in
which he said:
II would rather meet you than any
:;1an In this country. I want to tell
you what is the truth; that you can
do more with camels' whiskers and
earthern pigments out of tubes than
any man at present residing on this
hemisphere. America owes you lot
for putting down on canvas the life
OF the west that Is going so fast"
AAv0S wear Scenes
Mr.. Russell lives in Great Falls
Mont, on the edge of the scene where
the call of the wild wakened into life
the sleeping genius in his soul, to link
his name with fame.
He has not been hampered by art
schools; no master" had a hand in
his training. He is an outlaw paint.
er. Nature his "range," where he
rides with the independence and free.
dom he knew as a cowboy.
A few years ago Mr.. Russell, hay.
ing heard SO much about the gentle
zephyrs of southern California, de-
cided to spend a few weeks ava,
from the frozen north, and wen
down to the land of sunshine. From
a bungalow in Pasadena he write t,
a friend:
'Laus Angeles is the warmes
lookin' and the coolest feelin' burr
I ever saw in my life. It's LAM
where you can sit under a palm tre'
and freeze to death. The roses ar
in bloom, mockin' birds sing in tn,
middle of the night-they've got t,
sing to keep warm. The smell o
orange blossoms is like as II some
body had upset mothers bottle o
perfume, and the frogs all wear over