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.There was something unsettling about the dis- I Think We Will All Be Caught and Killed 229tant movements of the animals, something not right about the move-ments of the birds.They felt a strong nervousness, like animals before astorm or birds in the days before the long winter flight.The warriors too were uneasy.They were uncomfortable about thecamping spot Looking Glass had chosen.It was a good place for protec-tion against the winds but not good for protection against attack.It putthe people in a bowl where they could easily be surrounded on three sides.They had no long line of vision except toward the broad slope to the westacross the creek where the animals grazed.And all skilled fighters knewthat you did not willingly abandon the high ground.Without good scout-ing, they could be surprised like they had been at Big Hole.None had ex-pected soldiers there either.Torn by this confusing welter of sentiments, the people bedded downunder their buffalo robes and ragged canvas shelters in the chill highplains night.The snow had stopped, the air had cleared, and the sky was adark, icy vault filled with distant, brilliant stars.Fifteen miles away, on the other side of the low hills of the Little Rockies,Miles s men too had bedded down.But their night was even less comfort-able than the Nez Perce s.The supply wagons carrying the tents still hadnot caught up, so they were forced to scrape away the snow from theground and make do with only their own coats for cover.Miles had awak-ened them at 2:00 a.m., unable to get decent cooking fires going from thewet buffalo chips.By 4:30 they were loading up their wet packs andmoving forward, wet to the core, hungry, and unsure of when, or if, theywould ever meet any enemy.By dawn the wind had changed and the snow had started to melt.Butthis did not make travel any easier.The ground now became a morass ofice and mud, seeping into the shoes and soaking the feet of the infantry-men.Reports had come in last night that the Cheyenne scouts had pickedup the Nez Perce trail.But the soldiers greatest fear was that they weremoving ever closer to the dreaded warriors of Sitting Bull.Fighting a groupof fleeing Nez Perce burdened with women and children was one thing;meeting a group of two thousand Sioux warriors bearing down on themwith good weapons and fast horses was quite another.They had to hopethat the reports from the Cheyenne scouts were true and that confronta-tion with the Nez Perce and only the Nez Perce was about to take place. 230Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez PerceTheir hopes were soon realized when a Cheyenne scout came riding in,shouting that the Nez Perce camp had been found.A group of warriorswearing the striped blankets of the Nez Perce had been seen chasing downbuffalo.Then, while scanning the horizon through field glasses, theCheyenne had spotted a plume of smoke rising in the distance and had fol-lowed it to a ridge.Though the ridge had obscured their view, and they haddared not move too close for fear of being observed, they had seen thegreat herd of horses grazing on a nearby hillside and knew that the campof the Nez Perce had to be directly below.This news quickened the hearts of the discouraged men.The drearymarch through the early morning darkness suddenly had a sense of pur-pose.They picked up their step and moved forward toward the fresh trailthe Cheyenne scouts had found.They were ready to meet the enemy. 15 Soldiers Are Coming orning at the Place of the Manure Fires came slowly for theMNez Perce.Overnight the weather had turned colder.The creek wasskimmed with ice, and the rolling plains were a sea of frost-covered grassesbeneath gray and wintry skies.But at least the air was clear.Cold and bitterwinds they could endure, but the days of sleet and snow were taking toogreat a toll on the children and the elders.The early risers had begun gathering their pack animals from the hill-side across the creek, and many of the women were already fanning buffalochips into low cooking fires.There was less concern about smoke trailsrising into the sky than at other camp stops because there was little fearthat Howard was anywhere within range to see them, much less withinrange to strike.Many of the children were already up, running along the creekside andplaying games of tag by flipping balls of mud at each other with the endsof sticks.The scouts had packed and mounted and ridden off into the hillsto kill a few more buffalo before the camp departed.Groups of womenwere following behind, prepared to skin any animals and pack the meatback to camp.The people were anxious to get moving
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