When the Cheyennes and the families of Crazy Horse’s Oglalas reached Sitting Bull’s camp, the village numbered a total of 235 lodges (tipis, or households.) There were, on average, about two fighting men per lodge. In addition, Sitting Bull expected some of the reservation Lakotas to come north to the Yellowstone to hunt in the summer. A larger group provided more strength against an attack, but a large village had to move every two to five days to find game for food and grass for the ponies. By early June, the combined villages numbered 461 lodges. Military reports indicated that there were many more warriors in the villages than the lodge count suggests.
As more families and warriors joined the village, the leaders met in council and decided to prepare for war. They expected the soldiers to attack again. Sitting Bull was the leader of the combined villages and had the support of Crazy Horse and the Cheyennes. Wooden Leg, a Cheyenne, said that Sitting Bull had a “kind heart and good judgment as to the best course of conduct. . . . He was . . . brave, but peaceable.”
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