After 31 years as a football coach, Bruce isn't in the habit of being disobeyed. For the last half hour, as we have zinged over cattle guards and bounced and bumped our way down the dirt road, he has assured us that this moment will make the dusty journey worthwhile. As we climb the final ascent up a steep hill and pass through a narrow rocky entrance, Bruce makes good on his promise. Ten sets of eyes fly open. Below us the Red Fork of the Powder River glints in the heat of the mid-day sun.
Cattle laze in the shade of the cottonwoods lining the stream.
To our right the stark red rocks of Mackenzie Mountain rise in a rugged jumble from the valley floor, in stunning contrast to the deep green of the grass lining the creek. The broad expanse of the valley before us is broken by several flat-topped buttes and irregular ravines, ending abruptly on the northern edge at the foot of Fraker Mountain. There is a harsh, uncompromising quality to the beauty stretched out before us. We have reached the site of the Dull Knife battlefield, where the forces of Colonel Ranald Mackenzie defeated the Northern Cheyenne led by Dull Knife and Lone Wolf in a decisive victory on November 25, 1876. The implications of the defeat would be profound for both the Indians and the US Government, coming as it did just five months after the annihilation of Custer's troops at the battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25.