Page 7 - outland_oldshoebox

mishmash castoffs of generations, the wheat must be separated from
the chaff and the accumulated dust swept clean. Here was a job for
the new mistress of Camulos, Mary Rubel.
In the "wheat" Mary would find those Indian artifacts and an-
cient firearms plowed up in the fields; saddles and bridles of Mex-
ican origin; and early California legislative pamphlets printed in
the Spanish language, one on the condition of the native Indians.
These countless memorabilia of the del Valle family were carefully
set aside, while the "chaff" of trivia was tossed across the attic to be
carted away and burned. The old shoe box sailed through the air
with all the grace of a derailed freight car, but in its flutterings
Mary Rubel had seen something that had no business being on a
shoe box. Walking over to the pile of trash, she examined her find.
It was a simple sketch, yet charming. The artist had drawn two
horses front and center standing head to rump, each swirling the
flies from the other with its tail. In the background were more
horses, tossing their heads, stomping their feet, and tails flying in
the desperate, eternal battle against flies. In the lower left corner
were the initials C. M. R. over the legendary horned skull. Russell!
Charles Marion Russell!
Mary Rubel smiled. She had always wanted a Russell. Yes, even
a simple sketch on an old shoe box would do. The famous painter
of horses and the West had not given his work a name (it was
probably an impromptu doodling on Russell's part), but an ap-
propriate title was obvious: Damn the fiies!
Later, Mary would cut out the sketch, using the remainder of
the box for matting. A recessed old-fashioned frame completed
the preservation of this mysterious bit of Western Americana.
How had this homey piece of art, created by one of America's
most famous painters, come to be in the attic of the old Camulos
ranch house? It is tempting to imagine Russell's presence at that

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