It was this type of Russell painting that really paid the bills and brought people face to face with the rough and tough wild west of his day. It was the law of fist and boot and you didn’t cross the line or you paid the price. This inspiration undoubtedly came from stories and recollections of the eastern Montana territorial vigilante days where all rustling activity was brought to a screeching halt in less than a month. The outraged cattlemen took the law into their own hands and in short order everyone got real honest all of a sudden.
