 Tensions rapidly built and fearful of an uprising, the government officials overreacted and sent troops to Pine Ridge.Perhaps sensing the unrest and wanting no part in it, during the latter months of 1890, Young Man Afraid of His Horses took his band and left the reservation on an extended hunt and planned visit to the Crows in Wyoming.As a result, he played no role during the killing of Sitting Bull, the brutal slaying of the Spotted Elk's band at the Wounded Knee Massacre, or the subsequent departure of the Ghost Dancers to their stronghold in the Badlands.