5 Russell Country

Nearing the mountains

Moto takes my picture 

Moto takes a break

 

 

Glimpse of the past in a familiar environment near Great Falls

 

RUSSELL  COUNTRY

Charles M. Russell, is and was, to Montana as Will Rogers is to Oklahoma. He was a national treasure in his lifetime. Russell County, Montana is named for him.

 Of course, Charlie, as the Great Falls home town folks refer to him, was really a Missouri boy. By the time his drifted away from home (at age 14), his values and visions for a lifetime were already set. He took off with his uncle for Montana for the summer,(He was from a wealthy industrial family, the parents believed a summer in Montana would get the western romance out of his system).Charles found his passion there. He stayed. Montana honed the rough diamond into a legend.

I looked forward to one of my two intended purpose for going to Great Falls: to visit the C.M. Russell Museum and see what I could learn from the works of one of America’s eminent cowboy artists. I had seen several of his better pieces in the Hershorn in Tulsa. The second goal was to learn of Lewis and Clark in the northwest.

I arrived in Great Falls on the evening of May 20. It was late. I was tired, and still a little depressed from the Little Bighorn experience. I felt like I did after visiting the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. or days after seeing “The Exorcist” for the first time. Those experiences left me drained and tired.

Well, part of that fatigue may have been justified. I had just negotiated the twistees for over a hundred miles through the Lewis and Clark National Forrest.  Again, beautiful and grand scenery blended with the 30 mph gusts of wind. (Even my friend Moto needed a break (in the photo above). Notice, also, the photo of me, taken by Moto.) I’ve learned to trust Moto in the winds instead of fighting to maintain tight control. The bike is amazingly stable in the cross winds. But I’m still hesitant about turning my camera over to a techno -German for the photo opts. Moto insists on keeping the camera at arm’s length.

Charlie was a self taught artist. When he first arrived in Montana he worked with his on a sheep ranch. There he began to draw and paint, depicting Indian visions he conjured from the books he read as a young man in St. Louis. Sheepery was too dull. After a time, he took a job in a processing plant. Here, he was able to study the anatomy and physiology of animals as they were being slaughtered and processed. He carried the understanding of anatomy into his art.

Eventually, Charlie became a cowboy. For ten years he was a night rider on a ranch operation. Working at night allowed the days for painting and depicting the everyday ranch life. Herding and moving cattle in range country, he eventually befriended members of the Nes Perce tribe. This time allowed Charlie to learn about the true Indian condition of the time.

Charlie documented a disappearing Indian culture. More importantly, during this time he found the theme for his life’s work: documenting a disappearing west and reflecting the conflicts that occur as a modern culture displaced historic western life.

I spent a great day comparing elements of Russell’s west to my memories of Remington and his techniques. The staff gave me personal attention and shared their knowledge of Russell, his techniques, his family life, and the locations of the grand landscapes depicted in the paintings. I felt very special.

First day in the mountains