July, 1865

Dressed in buckskin and war bonnets
Adorned for battle both horse and warrior
Proudly they ride from their villages
To rescue their hallowed hunting grounds

Buffalo shields and porcupine quills
Painted prancing ponies snorting
Singing sacred Sioux war songs make
Bronze-chests swell with pride

From their campsite on Powder River
Three thousand braves headed south
Courageous chiefs lead the war party:
Red Cloud, Black Bear, and Dull Knife

Forward the war columns journey
Toward the North Platte River fort
Patiently the feathered heroes wait
For the troopers to leave their garrison

An incoming wagon train must be warned
Troopers alight from the wooden walls
The war party swarm down from the dusty hills
An overwhelming bloody battle ensues.

Victory is claimed by the sun-tanned warriors
They return to their villages in triumph
And Red Cloud speaks, “If the white men
Should return, I will punish them again.”