By using this quote, Brown opens up a field of emotion creating a sense of sadness in the reader when thinking upon the native people. By doing this at the beginning of the chapter, Brown effectively brings in his audience in order for them to digest the upcoming factual evidence.
Throughout chapter 19, Brown creates a nightmare so vivid that the reader is forced to watch the slaughter take place. The chapter opens up as we view wandering natives after the recent assassination of Sitting Bull "a Hunkpapa holy man and chief who led his people during the years of resistance from United States government policies. These natives retreated to either to a Dance Ghost camps or with Red Cloud "one of the last remaining great chiefs" at Pine Ridge. Big Foot, another chief was also seeking refuge for his tribe and started a journey to Pine Ridge where he ultimately fell ill with pneumonia. During their journey, the natives ran into the white men, who told them they would be taken care of at Wounded Knee Creek. .
The natives, after a brief resistance, continued on route to the creek in order to maintain peace with these stubborn white men. Once they arrived, the white men fed the natives with rations and had guards staked out all over camp to assure that none of the natives would escape. The white men were ordered to bring the natives to a prison camp where they were to be held due to American treason "remember that Big Foot immediately raised the white flag the moment they set eyes on the white settlers. The next morning the natives were told to meet in the middle of camp, including the dying Big Foot. After all the natives surrendered their weapons, the white men pillaged through their belongings in order to find more artillery. After several pat down searches, the white men found a rifle on Black Coyote "a presumable deaf man according to Deweye Beard.
However, Turning Hawk "from the same tribe" was also quoted to say that Black Coyote was a "crazy man"" and a "bad influence"" on others.
