Editing Arapaho (section)

===Powder River Expedition===
{{main|Powder River Expedition|Battle of the Tongue River}}
After the Sand Creek Massacre and a number of other skirmishes, the Northern Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Lakota moved many of their bands to the remote [[Powder River (Montana)|Powder River]] country in Wyoming and southern Montana. Along the way, they participated in the [[Battle of Mud Springs]], a minor incident in the Nebraska Panhandle involving a force of between 500 and 1,000 Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Lakota warriors and 230 US soldiers. The battle resulted in the capture of some army horses and a herd of several hundred cattle with a single US casualty.<ref>McDermott, John D. "The Battles of Mud Springs and Rush Creek, February 1865". ''Nebraska History'' Vol. 77 (1996, pp. 81–82)</ref> An attempt was made by the army to recapture their stolen livestock and attack the Indians, which resulted in the [[Battle of Rush Creek]].<ref>Bleed, Peter and Scott, Douglas D. "Archeological Interpretation of the Frontier Battle at Mud Springs, Nebraska". ''Great Plains Research'' 19 (Spring 2009), p. 16</ref> The battle was inconclusive, resulting in only one Indian casualty and three US soldiers dead (with a further eight wounded). Lt. Col. William O. Collins, commander of the army forces, stated that pursuing the Indian forces any further through the dry [[Sandhills (Nebraska)|Sand Hills area]] would be "injudicious and useless". Once in the area of the Powder River, the Arapaho noticed an increase in travelers moving along the established Bozeman trail, which led to the Montana goldfields. Settlers and miners traveling on the Bozeman Trail through the Powder River country were viewed as threats by the Indians as they were numerous and were often violent towards encountered Indians and competed for food along the trail.

Hostilities in the Powder River area led Major General [[Grenville M. Dodge]] to order the [[Powder River Expedition]] as a punitive campaign against the Arapaho, Lakota, and Cheyenne. The expedition was inconclusive with neither side gaining a definitive victory. The allied Indian forces mostly evaded the soldiers except for raids on their supplies which left most soldiers desperately under-equipped. The most significant battle was the [[Battle of the Tongue River]] where Brigadier General [[Patrick Edward Connor]] ordered [[Frank North]] and his [[Pawnee Scouts]] to find a camp of Arapaho Indians under the leadership of [[Black Bear (chief)|Chief Black Bear]]. Once located, Connor sent in 200 soldiers with two howitzers and 40 Omaha and Winnebago and 30 Pawnee scouts, and marched toward the village that night. Indian warriors acting as scouts for the US Army came from the [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]], [[Omaha people|Omaha]], and [[Ho-Chunk|Winnebago]] tribes who were traditional enemies of the Arapaho and their Cheyenne and Lakota allies. With mountain man [[Jim Bridger]] leading the forces, they charged the camp.<ref>McDermott, pp. 111–112</ref> Most of the Arapaho warriors were gone on a raid against the [[Crow Nation|Crow]], and the battle was a US victory resulting in 63 Arapaho dead, mostly women and children. The few warriors present at the camp put up a strong defense and covered the women and children as most escaped beyond the reach of the soldiers and Indian scouts.<ref>McDermott, pp. 112–114</ref> After the battle, the soldiers burned and looted the abandoned tipis. Connor singled out four Winnebago, including chief Little Priest, plus North and 15 Pawnee for bravery. The Pawnee made off with 500 horses from the camp's herd as payback for previous raids by the Arapaho. The Arapaho were not intimidated by the attack and launched a counterattack resulting in the [[Sawyers Fight]] where Arapaho warriors attacked a group of surveyors, resulting in three dead and no Arapaho losses.