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landscape. A battle between the attacking warriors and the wagon men ensued. After several minutes, the fort’s west gate opened and soldiers hurried out. They moved in a column of twos, eighty in all. The first forty were mounted. The forty behind them were on foot. The column hurried toward the gunfire
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    The Long Knives had carried out such tactics before. Each soldier had a rifle and a pistol in a holster. All wore heavy blue overcoats, thick leather gloves, and fur caps
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    Crazy Horse and his warriors saw the soldiers emerge through the gate. An important step in the plan was happening. He held his men back, waiting for the soldiers to get farther away from the fort. If he attacked too soon, they might run back to the gates
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    The commander of the Long Knives was in a hurry, so the soldiers on foot had to run to keep up. Before long, the mounted soldiers were far ahead. From his hiding placeCrazy Horse could see them. He waited until he could see most of the column
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    In spite of the intense cold, Crazy Horse tossed off his buffalo robe so he could handle his weapons more easily. His warriors did the same. He turned to them as he took out his pistol
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    â€œFollow me,” he called out. “We do this for our people!” Without looking back, he urged his horse out of the thicket. In the open he coaxed it into a gallop. The nine other warriors were close behind him, all of them with rifles in hand
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    Though it was warm, Jimmy shivered, imagining how cold it was for those warriors and soldiers.
    â€œWas it really cold, like you said?”
    â€œSure was. Thirty degrees below zero, according to the thermometers in the fort. The decoys and Crazy Horse had been in that cold since leaving their villages before dawn. It had to be brutal for them.”
    â€œDoes it ever get that cold at home?” Jimmy asked, trying to remember if he had ever been so cold.
    â€œA few times,” Grandpa Nyles replied. “Any temperaturebelow zero is dangerous. You can get frostbite and lose fingers and toes. I saw a man who lost the tip of his nose. Worse yet, you can freeze to death.”
    â€œMan!” exclaimed Jimmy. “I hope that never happens to any of us. Did those warriors get frostbite?”
    â€œI wouldn’t be surprised. The stories don’t say, specifically. But they were all outside in that cold for the entire day. I’m sure some of them suffered frostbite.”
    â€œSo what did Crazy Horse and his men do, exactly?”
    â€œWell, they distracted the soldiers, tricked them into turning and chasing them, the decoys. If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be telling you this story.”

    Crazy Horse led his warriors into a meadow thinly covered with snow. The horses’ hooves sounded like two dried sticks hitting together. The blasts of gunfire were loud, too, in the cold air
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    The mounted Long Knives followed them, as Crazy Horse had hoped they would. Now came the most dangerous part of the plan. Crazy Horse and his decoy warriors had to act like the wounded grouse. They had to stay justahead of the oncoming soldiers. To avoid being hit by a bullet, the warriors kept moving. They scattered over the meadow. Each warrior rode in a different direction, then turned and went in another direction. This made it very hard for the Long Knives to aim their guns. Moving targets are very difficult to hit. Amazingly, so far, none of the warriors had been wounded or killed. Now and then a warrior fired back
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    Between the boom of the guns, Crazy Horse could hear the shouting of the Long Knives. Their leaders were in front, yelling at their men. Crazy Horse assumed the leaders wanted their men to move faster
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    In the middle of the meadow, Crazy Horse did a very brave thing. He stopped his horse and dismounted. Then he lifted one of his horse’s front feet, curling it back at the hock. Yanking his knife from its sheath, he scraped snow and ice from the bottom of the hoof. The