Charles M. “Charlie” Russell, the son of a wealthy St. Louis family, came to Montana in 1880 at age fifteen seeking western adventure and remained there, spending more than a decade working as a summer night herder and riding the grub line in winter while painting and sculpting western scenes. He became friends with Ben Roberts in 1882, often visited him in Cascade after Roberts married Lela Gorham and moved there, and received support for his artistic ambitions when Roberts published his first book of illustrations in 1890. During a visit to Cascade in October 1895, Russell met sixteen-year-old Nancy Cooper, who lived with and worked for the Roberts. Charlie and Nancy married a year later in the Roberts’ parlor, then moved into the small bunkhouse and studio behind the Roberts’ house where Russell had always stayed while visiting the family. Russell spent $75 adding a lean-to kitchen and making other improvements to the place, and he later recalled that their wedding trip was a hundred yards to the one-room shack, which they walked. His marriage to Nancy marked a turning point in his career, and her business acumen is often credited with his professional success; within a year, the couple had moved to Great Falls because Nancy believed there would be a larger market for his work.