Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
minded partner, Nancy ultimately organized the shows that gained him worldwide
attention.
Nancy quickly earned the moniker “Nancy the robber” because of the high prices
she would ask (and receive) for Charlie's work. Charlie once told a newspaper that
the worst fight the couple had ever had was when she had asked for $75 for a paint-
ing that he thought would sell for $5. Initially setting up home in the town of Cas-
cade, the couple moved to Great Falls to aid Charlie's burgeoning career. On their
arrival, the mayor's wife commissioned a painting, and Nancy asked her husband if
she could deliver it. He warned her that the painting was to be sold for $25, and she
should not ask for a penny more, or the painting would not sell. Nancy met the may-
or's wife, delivered the painting, and with a lump in her throat asked for $35. The
mayor's wife replied, “I'll get my checkbook.”
Ultimately, it was evident that Charlie was proud of his wife and relieved to have
her handle the financial part of his business. In 1919, when asked by a reporter if
marriage hinders an artist's expression, Charlie replied, “I still love and long for the
Old West, and everything that goes with it. But I would sacrifice it all for Mrs. Rus-
sell.”
First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park
Considered to be among the largest buffalo jumps in North America, and in use more
than 1,000 years before Lewis and Clark explored the area,
First Peoples Buffalo Jump
State Park
(342 Ulm-Vaughn Rd., Ulm, 406/866-2217 or 406/454-5840,
www.stateparks.mt.gov
,
8am-6pm daily Apr.-Sept., 10am-4pm Wed.-Sat., noon-4pm Sun.
Oct.-Mar., $5/vehicle for nonresidents) is exceptional in that it offers an extensive on-site
education center that houses buffalo culture exhibits, a storytelling circle, a gallery, and
an outdoor powwow area. The site itself is impressive, with a mile-long sandstone cliff
from which the bison were chased to their deaths, but more than anything, this is the best
place in the state to learn about buffalo jumps. Watch your step on or off the trails for both
rattlesnakes and prickly pear cacti. An adjacent prairie dog town is home to protected black-
tailed prairie dogs and is worth the short detour. The park is located 10 miles south of Great
Falls off I-15 at Ulm; follow signs for the state park 3.5 miles northwest on a county road.
