With the fighting at a standoff, Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it (Chief Joseph) met with Colonel Miles near this site. Surrender was a survival strategy to keep the Nez Perce people alive and together. One witness reported that Chief Joseph said he knew General Howard’s heart and carried in his own heart what Howard had told him before. He said he was tired of fighting, that their chiefs were killed, that Looking Glass was dead, that Tukulxućúut was dead, and that the old men were all dead. He said it was the young men who said yes or no, but the one who led them was dead. He said it was cold and they had no blankets, that little children were freezing to death, and that some of his people had run away to the hills with no blankets and no food, with no one knowing where they were and perhaps freezing to death. He said he wanted to look for his children and see how many he could find, and that maybe he would find them among the dead. He said he was tired, his heart was sick and sad, and from where the sun then stood, he would fight no more forever.