The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-11-05

the time until 1892 when he came to Great
Falls. This first trip to the "big camp" is
very interesting told by the artist him.
self. In writing Of his experiences in Mon
tana, in 1908, the artist said in part:
The Judith country was getting pretty
well settled and sheep had the range, so
the cOwmen decided to move. All that sum
mer and the next we trailed the cattle
north to Milk river. In the fall Of 1891 1 re-
ceived a letter from Charley Green, better
known as pretty Charley q bartender
who was at Great Falls, saying that if l
would come to that camp I could make $75
a month and grub. It looked good, so l sad
died my gray and packed Monty, my pinto,
and pulled my freight for said burg.
when l arrived, I was introduced to Mr..
G., who pulled a contract as long as a
stake rope for me to sign. Everything /
drew, modelled or painted was to be his and
IL was 10 be Tor q year. l baked. Then he
wanted me to paint from 6 in the morn
ing until 6 at night. but l argued that
there was some difference in painting and
saving wood, SO we split up and / went to
work for myself.
a roundup cook and a prize fighter ont of
work and we rented a twO-by-fOur on the
South side. The feed was very short at
times, but we wintered. Next spring /
to the range. In the fall l returned to
Great Falls, took up the paint brush and
have never sung to them since.
Il went to Cascade in the fall Of '95 and
and was married to Nancy Cooper in SO.
She took me for better or worse, and I'll
leave it tO'her what she got. We moved to
Great Falls in 90 and have lived there ever
since"
Russell as An Artist
Russell's work as an artist began almost
as soon as he reached Montana. To early
residents of the Judith Basin he was Kid
Russell, and he was known far ard near
as the kid who painted pictures. His early
efforts were mostly in the line of carlcature
Of the people with whom he came IN con-
49, ~-1 muuaD awnIn hmuk n
ways so true to life that they were greatly
in demand. AS he matured he began, al
most unc0nsciOusly to paint the range and
indian life about him. He was a marvel
lOus observer Of detail, and he never for
got anything he once had seen.
Waiting for a chinook"
Inc name Of Stadler x Kaufman Will ev-
er be associated with Charles NJ. Russell
and his career as a famous artist, for Rus
sell was in the employ of this cattle firm
in the Judith Basin country when he pro
duced that famous sketch which was the
nucleus Of the mau's great areer-'Nai
ing for a Chinook" and which in later
years was called, "The Last Of the Five
Thousand
It was late in the terrible winter of 1886
81, which wrecked so many of Montana
stOckmen, that this drawing was made
That winter was the most disastrous tina
the cattlemen of the northwest ever knew
Volumes of interesting detail could be mar
rated regarding the experiences or the var
iOus COW outfits. Men who were wealth!
in the fall of 1856, came out in the sprin!
months %penniless and deeply in debt. Man.
were so crippled financially that they wer
never able to recover.
Near the close of the winter, Kaufman
, who was then in Helena, wrote to Jess
Phelps at the o. II. ranch, not far from tn
lStadler & Kaufman home ranch, asking HOY
n conditions were. Russell happened to be a
the o. II. ranch with Phelps at the tim
+ the letter arrived.
II hate to write Kaufman" said Phelps
6 but he sat down to pen a letter describin
n the terrible losses on the range.
: Russell, without saying a word, got on
q make a small picture. When he had III
ished it, he showed it over to Phelps.
n Letter Was Never Sent
q HELL said Phelps, as he looked at II
n sketch Of the starving cow under Wh1c
y were written the simple but eloqueI
n words: waiting for a Chinook" IF "
3 send him that, he doesn't need any letter
He tore up the letter he had written. M.
Where the title, 1.-THE Last Of the Fly
Thousand" came from Russell new,
lie knew, as the original picture did not ha'
IS those words written on it.
Stadler & Kaufman treasured the pi
20 ture for many years, for it reminded the
Of the tremendous losses they sustaint
that winter. Finally Louis Kaufman ga
it to an old cow man, Ben Roberts
ID Cascade. Roberts later sold 1t TO wall
Of HuidekOper in whose possession it still T
m mains. HuidekOper has intimated tn
r some day he will give it to the MOntal
er Historical Society.
to 1.-The sketch" said Mr.. Russell, when 6i
es cussing the incident in later years, NV
t. Of a r. COW. That was Stadler & kau
as mans brand. 1t was on a piece Of writil
paper and was only a small thing of pro