The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1923-08-23
CHANGING BACK
AT The ROMANCE
OF OLD MONTANA
BY CHA r.. KnLRO

dA 4AoOA lRtAOA OA -
worth reproducing. Written in the
quaint parlance of the cowboy and
preserving even his fantastic orthog-
raphy, the words are redolent OF the
days when we both lived in Cattle
Land.
Those who enjoy a familiar &C
q%uaintance with Russell are struck
by his versatility signal mark of
genius. AS we'll as being n Of the
worlds famous painters, he is a yarn
spinner of parts and whether his
tales are written or told viva voca,
they show a felicity of expression
that is the charm of the man. He
seems, to receive impressions with the
faithfu1ness of a camera and conveys
them with accuracy inspired.
Best known as an artist, Russell
is equally talented with the pen, the
brush or his naked hands that deftly.
model clay or wax, but he is also a
golden recOnteur, a keen humOrist,
a droll writer and perhaps-and this
to me is an extraordinary gift-the
most accomplished Indian-sign talker
in America.
So it is that when Russell is in the
mood or where the crowd speaks his
own language, he 500 becomes the
center of a delighted circle. II It's a
bxnch of hard-boiled old cowmen,
once his pals, he can tell them stories
sf the piquant type they love to- hear;
il It happens to be a more refined
gathering, he touches a finer chord
and If he finds himself, as he often
does, surrounded by a bunch of kid
dies, no Pied Piper of Hamelin, 40
magician of old Arabia, could be
more fascinating.
Last summe I was fortunate
enough to be with him a guest at
the country place of a friend which
is also a vacation rendezvous for a
number Of youngsters. One evening
in front of a big wood fire that
cracked on the hearth a small tot
begged:
Please, Mr.. Russell, do some sign
talk for u.s." There was a chorus Of
juvenile pleas and then followed such
a scene as one can always remember
with pleasure.
For an hour the group Of kiddies
sprawled aaround on the Jugs in the
freight sat entranced as the great
Rainter Of Indian life told them in
Indian fashion tales of the days when
the red men roved and ranged under
the very pines that sighed outside.
Standing on the edge of the semi
circle, his fine, delicate hands NOV
ing in eloquent gestures, he ratified
off. stories of raids on the night
camps of hostile tribes. The imagin-
airy narration began sometimes in
this wise: MANY moons ago me,
Big Bear, and five other Piegan
braves started out for a village of
the Grows to steal horses" Follow
each brief group of signs, he
would at first recite their meaning
but it wasn't long until the children
the translation and fol-
the action of the tale with
astonishing rapidity. He stopped oc-
to explain the Indian
for some familiar action,
preserving at the same time the terse
style of the signs themselves.
You followed the %soft-footed horse
down the. slope of the hill,
among the tepees of the sleeping
Crows.
esDog speak!' This following a
gesture that marked the t
hight alarm. s
Indians awake!" His fingers !
upwards and wiggling mad t
y, you could almost see the savages {
out to meet the invaders. {
"Gun shoot!" Down went one of /
he Piegans. i
Here the action began to speed up. {
score of Crows bit the dust, the 4
lorses cut out from the band went +
away Another Piegan v
over and the. remaining trio f
in the moonlight with SO p
vonies-fair booty for n night. v
Gracefully he showed how the rain >
alls, how, sometimes it comes up =
gain and is leveled off-that's snow. !
he rising and sinking sun, the big >
iver the party swan, the galloping q
those rare, red days were swiftly :
AhAcu. culLuOI6 OOOpC1 . II OdIiOuS =,
ere there in the flesh. Deerslayer, :.
eatherstocking and their friends had =
come back to life and were racing :
the screen. -
The figure of the speaker, his I.
'onipe head in easy poise, his strong =
ned face-itself the visage of an =
dian chief-the animated g~lances of .
le children-picked out in the rudy g
.ow of the firelight-all constituted :,
dazzling picture that only a Rus =,
III ~could paint s8@ :.
~. ~ ~ al
Some. day, not far distant, there be
i'll be nobody to teach boys and ca
rls the language of these first ir
1t is ven now a are ne
,complishment and it seems too bad ri
at we have no way of preserving in
The men who traded trinkets for W,
Its, who braved' the perils of the co
lderness and blazed the trails for wi
wider civilization are fast passing M,
It.
There is an -eIoquence In the un-
word that no vocal chord can