The terms of the surrender were not spelled out in the detailed, treaty-like format that earlier agreements had taken.

There were discussions — imprecise, mediated through interpreters and complicated by the politics of the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies, where leaders who had earlier accommodated reservation life now watched Crazy Horse’s arrival with a mixture of respect and concern.

Crazy Horse was, from the moment he arrived, a disruptive presence — not through any aggressive action, but simply through being who he was.

His reputation attracted followers.