On September 9, 1878, after a year of suffering on an Oklahoma reservation, about 300 Northern Cheyenne Indians began a trek back to their homeland. Dull Knife's band of 149 Indians were captured and taken to Fort Robinson, where for months they refused to return to the reservation. Captain Wessels, commanding officer at Fort Robinson, imprisoned them in a log barracks and tried to starve them into submission. Using the few weapons they had smuggled into the building, younger warriors began the Cheyenne Outbreak about 9:00 p.m. on January 9, 1879. After a desperate running battle across the snow-covered parade ground, they followed the banks of the White River, scaled the cliffs, and escaped. Unable to find horses, they eluded pursuing troops for 12 days by heading northwest through the rough terrain of the Pine Ridge. Soldiers found their hiding place on Antelope Creek on January 22, but they refused to surrender. During the outbreak, 64 Cheyenne and 11 soldiers were killed, more than 70 were recaptured, and several escaped, making the Cheyenne Outbreak one of the major conflicts of the Indian Wars.