a number of kansas settlers had been killed during the indians' journey north. there were calls to put the whole band of cheyenne on trial as a group, but this had dubious legal standing. as a compromise, the military sent seven indians, wild hog, a war chief of the northern cheyenne elk warrior society, porcupine, and five others (old crow, tangled hair, blacksmith, noisy walker, and strong left hand) for trial in a civilian court for these killings. a number of items taken from homes in kansas had been found in the indians' possession. they were sent to fort leavenworth, kansas at the beginning of 1879 to await trial. they were to be tried in dodge city and were escorted there by lawman bat masterson. it was not an easy journey; large, sometimes unruly, crowds turned out to view the indians. in lawrence, masterson found it necessary to hit the city marshal to keep order. the trial began in dodge city on 24 june. the defence lawyer successfully argued that local prejudice would prevent a fair trial in dodge city and requested the trial be moved to lawrence, a request that was granted. the defence built a case intended to expose the iniquities of the reservation system. they intended to embarrass washington, and had issued subpoenas for, amongst others, general nelson miles, general john pope, and secretary of the interior carl schurz. meanwhile, the prosecution was having problems persuading witnesses to make the long journey to lawrence. when the chief prosecutor failed to turn up on 13 october, all charges were dismissed.