Nine-hundred and thirty seven Cheyenne arrived at the reservation, headquartered about 50 kilometres (31 miles) west of present-day Oklahoma City near Fort Reno.

In September 1878, the two leaders and 350 of their followers fled the reservation with the intent of journeying to rejoin other groups of Northern Cheyenne who resided mostly in Montana.

[1][2] On 10 September, a veteran soldier, Captain Joseph Rendlebrock, with 85 officers and men and two Arapaho scouts departed Fort Reno with the objective of catching and capturing the fleeing Cheyenne.

Rendlebrock reported that he was on the trail of the Cheyenne, but that they were well-mounted and that he hoped to catch them near the Arkansas River in Kansas near Dodge City.

He formed a skirmish line with his soldiers and sent an Arapaho scout named "Chalk" or "Ghost Man" to talk to Dull Knife and Little Wolf.

[4][5] The Cheyenne continued their flight northward, fighting and winning several skirmishes with the U.S. Army, including the Battle of Punished Woman's Fork, and killing seven cowboys in southern Kansas.

Dull Knife with the other half attempted to join the Sioux in South Dakota, but were captured and imprisoned at Camp Robinson, Nebraska.