They were on the open Staked Plains at the beginning of the cold season.

The winter of 1874-1875 was not exceptionally severe by historical standards, but it was a Plains winter — cold, windy, with periods of frozen ground and snow.

For families without adequate shelter and with dramatically reduced food stores, it was a winter that made the calculation of continuing resistance progressively less viable.

The Army’s winter operations — the columns continuing to move and find and destroy whatever camps they encountered — added military pressure to the physical pressure of the season.

The Decision At Palo Duro In Context