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last bull's head barbecue, an affair now legendary in del Valle
annals. A guest list that included George Wharton James, Carrie
Jacobs Bond, Charles Wakefield Cadman, and William S. Hart
would not have suffered from Russell's presence, particularly in
view of the fact that Hart and Russell were close friends. How-
ever, the del Valle farewell was held at a time when America's
foremost Western painter was severely handicapped with health
problems. Further, Mary Rubel would have remembered if he
had been there and known of the shoe box sketch before it ever
got into the crammed attic of the adobe.
Possibly someday some obscure researcher will find documen-
tation of when Russell was at Camulos and the circumstances of
his visit. In the meantime, from the meager evidence and Russell's
known sketching habits we can only imagine what might have
happened.
Two friends in particular must be suspected of bringing Charlie
Russell to the ranch: William S. Hart or Charles Lummis. Both
men were thoroughly at home and familiar with Camulos. In fact,
it is known that Lummis became so fascinated with "The Home
of Ramona" that his visits were altogether too frequent and pro-
longed in the opinion of some members of the del Valle family.
Charles Fletcher Lummis has to be the first choice as the one re-
sponsible for bringing Russell to Camulos, with William S. Hart
a close second.
Another consideration is the known sketching habits of Russell.
Give the man any pen, pencil, or what have you, a piece of paper
and those talented fingers would be at work drawing some Western
theme. Indeed, there are those who will maintain that if Russell had
been lost in the wilderness and stumbled onto a sliver of ochre and
a large smooth rock, the result would have been a masterpiece to
stir the envy of his Indian friends.

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