The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1923-08-24
CHANGING BACK
AT THE ROMANCE
OF OLD MONTANA
BY RICHARD r. KILROY

an inscription on the fly-leaf that is
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 ac-
quaintance with Russell are struck
by his versatility signal mark OF
genius. AS well as being one of the
worlds famous painters, he is 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
faithfulness 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 deity
model Gay or wax, but he is also
golden reconteur, keen humorist,
drol1 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 soon becomes the
center of delighted circle. If it's a
bunch of hard-boiled old cowmen,
once his pals, he can tell them stories
of the piquant type they love to hear;
if it happens to be a more refined
gathering, he touches a finer chord
and if he finds himself, as he often
does, surrounded by bunch of kid
dies, no Pied Piper of Hamelin, no
magician of old Arabia, could be
more fascinating.
Last summer I was fortunate
enough to be with him guest at
the country place of friend which
is also a vacation rendezvous for
number of youngsters. One evening
in front of 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 Riddles
sprawled around on the rugs in the
freight sat entranced as the great
painter 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 Crows to steal horses" Follow
ing each brief group of signs, he
would at first recite their meaning
but it wasn't long until the children
anticipated the translation and fol-
lowed the action of the tale with
rapidity. He stopped oc-
,asionally to explain the Indian
equivalent for some familiar action,
at the same time the terse
'tyle of the signs themselves.
You followed the soft-footed horse
hieves down the slope of the hill,
through the coulee and at length in
among the tepees of the sleeping
rows.
DOG speak!,' This following
,raphic gesture that marked the I
light alarm. S
Indians awakei' His fingers ]
ointed upwards and wiggling mad
Y, you could almost see the savages {
warm out to meet the invaders. {
Gun shoot!" Down went one of. j
he Piegans. Ii
Here the action began to speed up. {
score of Crows bit the dust, the I
orses cut out from the band went I
away. Another Piegan v
oppled over and the remaining trio
allops in the moonlight with so p
onies- fair booty for one night. Y
Gracefully he showed how the rain
Ills, how, sometimes it comes up .
gain and is leveled off-that's snow.
he rising and sinking sun, the big
yer the party swan, the galloping a
uffalo herd, the sights and scenes :,
those rare, red days were swiftly !
mned. Fenimore Cooper's creations !,
ere there in the flesh. Deerslayer, :.
eatherstocking and their friends had 7,
1 come back to life and were racing =
ross the screen. =
The figure of the speaker, his =.
onine head in easy poise, his strong =
ned face-itself the visage of an y
dian chief-the animated chances of q
e children-picked out in the rudy ..
ow of the firelight-all constituted -
dazzling picture that only Rus :,
II could paint.
Some day, not far distant, there b.
Ill be nobody to teach boys and ca
rls the language of these first ir
nericans. 1t is even now rare nj
comp1ishment 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
1derness and blazed the trails for W.
wider civilization are fast passing M
t.
There is an e1oquence in the un-
oxen word that no vocal chord can
nvey, subtle sense that the tongue er