On the north wall it depicts the abolitionist John Brown with a Bible in one hand, on which the Greek letters alpha and omega of Revelation 1:8 can be seen.

He is in front of Union and Confederate soldiers, living and dead, with a tornado and a prairie fire approaching.

The term "tragic prelude" for this period of Kansas history is attributed by Curry to his patron, the newspaper editor William Allen White.

[citation needed] However, the mural has other figures in addition to Brown, as it turns a corner and continues on another wall, making it difficult to photograph in its entirety.

Chronologically from right to left are the Franciscan missionary Fray Juan de Padilla and the conquistador Coronado, the first Europeans to visit the land that became Kansas, followed by a plainsman, who has just killed a buffalo.

[1] It is also well-known as the source material for the album cover of rock band Kansas' 1974 debut record.

In this group is expressed the fratricidal fury that first flamed on the plains of Kansas, the Tragic Prelude to the last bloody feud of the English-speaking people.

Much to the displeasure of some Kansans, and reflecting the views of agronomists at his employer, the Agricultural College of the University of Wisconsin, one panel blamed poor farming practices for the erosion and dust storms of the 1930s.