The Texas Historical Commission marker describes the troops as “moving silently at dawn down a perilous path on the south rim.” Other sources describe the path as extremely steep and narrow, passable only in single file, making the descent both time-consuming and dangerous.

The first troops reached the canyon floor while the camp was still in the process of fleeing.

The Descent And The Camp

The canyon floor the soldiers descended into held, according to multiple sources, at least five distinct villages.

The Texas State Historical Association’s account names some of the leaders whose camps were present: Iron Shirt of the Cheyenne, Poor Buffalo of the Comanche, and Lone Wolf of the Kiowa.

The Kiowa shaman Maman-ti had reportedly told the people in the canyon that they would be safe there — a promise that reflected the genuine strategic logic of the canyon as a refuge and that the events of September 28 turned into a bitter irony.