Lt. Benson in the hip the soldiers discovered that the Indians in the meadow were serving as a decoy, while others had been creeping forward on both flanks to enfilade the troops. Hence, Sanford ordered a bugler to call a retreat. The retreat of the cavalrymen whose horses had been taken to the rear was an occasion of excitement and confusion. Captain Randolph Norwood with fifty men, however, declined to obey immediately the order to retreat, but instead backtracked slowly to a strong position where he was forced by the encircling Nez Perce to halt, establish defensive positions, and fight it out. The other two companies had abandoned him, and for the next two to four hours, the two sides sniped at each other. Meanwhile, Howard received word via messenger that the cavalry companies were in trouble and sallied forth from Camp Callaway with reinforcements. He found the two retreating cavalry companies. Captain Sandford professed ignorance as to the location and fate of Captain Norwood. Howard pushed forward and, mid-afternoon, came upon Norwood and his men crouching in their lava rock rifle pits located a few rods apart along the top and on the edges of a series of ridges that enclosed a protected area for their horses. The Indians melted away and the battle was over. Norwood had one man dead, two mortally wounded and six to nine wounded. Yellow Wolf stated that "no Indian was badly hurt, only one or two just grazed by bullets". Wottolen was wounded in the side, and Tholekt's head was creased. Aftermath The Nez Perce were disappointed that the spoils of their raid had been mostly mules, but the loss crippled Howard's mobility. Howard had failed to defeat the Nez Perce on several occasions and now, after the battle, he failed to pursue them aggressively. A journalist thought that was for the best. "I candidly think Joseph could whip our cavalry and cannot blame General Howard for not giving him battle." On the evening after the battle, Howard was reinforced by 280 infantry under Captain Marcus Miller. Two days later on August 22, fifty Bannocks, under the leadership of Buffalo Horn, rode into the camp. They were a "gorgeous set of warriors, hair dyed...decorated with...sleigh bells and feathers" and wearing buckskin and brightly colored blankets. They had been promised all the Nez Perce horses they could capture." An unusually talented White scout, Stanton