At the time the affair was briefly characterized as a Native American revolt, though it is now mostly regarded as a family's attempted escape from law enforcement.

They first headed south into northern Nevada where a son of Shoshone Mike called Dugan[6] was mortally wounded by white cattle rustlers and in revenge the band killed Frank Dopp[7] in May 1910[8][9] and buried him;[9] his remains were found 2 months later.

[10] The Daggett band realized that they had little chance of justice in the hands of the Whites so they traveled west to Oroville, California, before heading back into Nevada to spend the winter at Little High Rock Canyon in northern Washoe County.

[12][13] The Daggetts had apparently realized the stockmen would be coming to find them, so when the posse entered the canyon on January 19, the natives opened fire with rifles and pistols, killing all four of them (Harry Cambron and the three Basque sheepmen Bert Indiano, Peter Erramouspe and John Laxague).

[14] When word of the killings reached the surrounding settlements many who felt at risk temporarily evacuated the area, and the men who stayed behind remained armed and alert at all times.

The Nevada and California State Police organized a posse under the command of Captain J.P. Donnelley to find the suspects, who had decided to flee towards the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.

Other posses were also organized (though only Donnelley's would ever make contact with the Daggetts), and a large cash bounty was promised to anyone who managed to arrest or kill the fugitives.

By the end of the battle only four of the original twelve Daggett family members were still alive: a sixteen-year-old girl and three young children, who were taken into police custody.

Sheriff Charles Ferrell, who was in command of the investigation (but not present at the battle) arrived back in Reno on March 2 with the four surviving captives, and they claimed that while the man had indeed been Shoshone Mike, their mother was Bannock.