The Cheyenne camp near Fort Lyon
Black Kettle, leading chief of around 163 mostly Southern Cheyenne, had led his band, joined by some Arapahos under Chief Niwot, to Fort Lyon in compliance with provisions of a peace parley held in Denver in September 1864.[31] After a while, the American Indians were asked to relocate to Big Sandy Creek, less than 40 miles northwest of Fort Lyon, under the threat of their safety.[32] The Dog Soldiers, who had been responsible for many of the attacks and raids on whites, were not part of this encampment.
Most tribal warriors stood their ground, refusing to leave their home under the guise of a threat, leaving only about 75 men, plus all the women and children in the village. The men who remained were mostly too old or too young to hunt. Black Kettle flew a U.S. flag, with a white flag tied beneath it,[32] over his lodge, as the Fort Lyon commander had advised him. This was to show he was friendly and forestall any attack by the Colorado soldiers.[33] Peace chief Ochinee, who tried to broker peace for the Cheyenne, was among those who were killed. Ochinee and 160 other people, most of whom were children and women, were killed.[34]
Grandfather Ochinee (One-Eye) escaped from the camp, but seeing all that his people were to be slaughtered, he deliberately chose to go back into the one-sided battle and die with them.
— Mary Prowers Hudnal, daughter of Amache Prowers[35]
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