Little Big Horn on June 25 and 26, 1876, in the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877. Brigadier General George R. Crook, one of the U.S. Army's ablest Indian fighters led the "Horsemeat March", one of the most grueling military expeditions in American history destroying Oglala Chief American Horse's village at Slim Buttes and repelling a counter-attack by Crazy Horse. The American public was fixed on news of the defeat of General George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn; and war correspondents with national newspapers fought alongside General Crook and reported the events. The Battle of Slim Buttes signaled a series of punitive blows that ultimately broke Sioux armed resistance to reservation captivity and forced their loss of the Black Hills "Paha Sapa". The Village Following the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Lakota leaders split up, each doing what they thought best for their people. Most were heading back to the reservations. On September 9, 1876, Chief American Horse's camp of 37 lodges, about 260 people, of whom 30 to 40 were warriors, was attacked and destroyed by General George Crook at the Battle of Slim Buttes. Chief American Horse's camp was a rich prize. "It was the season when the wild plums ripen. All the agency Sioux were drifting back to the agencies with their packs full of dried meet, buffalo tongues, fresh and dried buffalo berries, wild cherries, plums and all the staples and dainties which tickled the Indian palate." The lodges were full of furs and meat, and it seemed to be a very rich village. Crook destroyed food, seized three or four hundred ponies, arms and ammunition, furs and blankets. In a dispatch written for the Omaha Daily Bee, Captain Jack Crawford described the cornucopia he encountered: "Tepees full of dried meats, skins, bead work, and all that an Indian's head could wish for." Of significance, troopers recovered items from the Battle of Little Bighorn, including a 7th Cavalry Regiment guidon from Company I, fastened to the lodge of Chief American Horse, and the bloody gauntlets of slain Captain Myles Keogh. "One of the largest of the lodges, called by Grouard the "Brave Night Hearts," supposedly occupied by the guard, contained thirty saddles and equipment. One man found eleven thousand dollars in one of the tipis. Others found three 7th Cavalry horses; letters written to and by 7th Cavalry personnel; officers' clothing; a large amount