Thanks, Fiolar, for the reminder.

Bud, this account mentions they had a "few" guns:

"Historians like to say that the Massacre of December 29, 1890, at Wounded Knee was the last major clash between federal troops and the Red Nation of this continent. This is blatantly untrue, though, and does an injustice to all those of the Red Nation who fought with or were massacred by the U.S. Army after 1890. Historians also like to say that the reason for the massacre was the desire to contain and quash the Ghost Dance religion among the Lakota people. Indian agents, who never took the time to understand the new religious movement, used it as an excuse for extermination of its adherents, and the agents sent many messages to Washington claiming that a violent outbreak was imminent. Nothing could be farther from the truth, however, because the Ghost Dance religion espoused peace, prayer, and dance.

"Chief Spotted Elk was a follower of the Ghost Dance, and, as the religion demanded, he was a man of peace, a respected leader whose people were cared for in the traditional ways of the Lakota. When Sitting Bull was murdered in cold blood on December 15, those of Sitting Bull's band feared for their lives and fled to the sanctuary and comfort of Chief Spotted Elk and his band. The arrival of these refugees and their panic added to the panic within Spotted Elk's band, who also believed that the murder of Sitting Bull heralded another wave of wanton murder by the Army of the Lakota people. The decision was made by the entire band, now including the refugees from Sitting Bull's band, that perhaps the only safe place was with Red Cloud at Pine Ridge. So, in December, when the bitter, cold winds and snows of December froze anything out and about, this band of over 300 elders, men, women, and children began their trip southward, fleeing for their lives and hoping to find refuge with Red Cloud.

"They were intercepted on December 28, 1890, by the U.S. Army and forced into a selected spot on Wounded Knee Creek a few miles away. Chief Spotted Elk, deathly ill from pneumonia, made it clear to the soldiers that they were peaceful and wanted no trouble. He and the other leaders of the band were assured that they and the band would spend the night on Wounded Knee Creek and then would be escorted by the Army to the agency at Pine Ridge. The next morning dawned clear and mild. Orders were given to "disarm the hostiles". This activity proceeded under the watchful eyes of several different units of the U.S. Army, deployed on the hillsides surrounding the camp. Within their ranks were the men of the 7th Cavalry, Custer's unit. Only a handful of men present that day on December 29, 1890, had been in the Battle of the Little Bighorn where Custer and so many men under his command fell in battle, but the unit knew its history, and wanted to "set things right" for Custer. Gatling guns and cannon were already dug into the hillsides amidst the Army units, all pointing downward into the valley of Wounded Knee Creek and Chief Spotted Elk's camp.

"Very few guns were found by those searching the Lakota people in camp, and the officers in charge were convinced that the band must have more and had hidden them in the camp somewhere. Things escalated as the disarmament turned into a search of the camp. The men grew restless. A medicine man began singing to calm the Lakota and to remind them that the Creator would take care of them. It is said by the survivors of that day that a young Lakota man, unable to hear, did not understand what was happening and that as the soldiers attempted to take his rifle away, the struggle between him and the soldiers resulted in the rifle firing a shot straight up into the air. Journalists on the scene stated that as the disarmament turned into a search, they could hear the clicks of safeties being taken off weapons and rifles being readied to fire and that the first shot actually came from among the soldiers on the hillside. Whatever is true, what all the survivors report is that the soldiers began wantonly firing into the camp. Women and children and the elderly began fleeing for their lives among the ravines that feed into Wounded Knee Creek. The soldiers hunted them down and shot them whereever they were found, up to several miles away. Survivors also report that at one point, all firing ceased and a call was made by the soldiers via translators among the scouts for all the kids to come out from hiding and they would be kept safe. When the kids did so, soldiers rode up and shot them.

"When it was presumed that all were dead, the Army marched away and left the bodies lying where they were. A storm blew in that evening and the temperatures plummeted. Snow began to fall. The bodies froze into grotesque shapes, and when the Army detail of civilians came back to bury them, they stacked the bodies like cordwood in wagons and dumped them, men, women, and children, together into mass graves. Later on still, the 7th Cavalry made up songs about how they had taken revenge for their unit and how they had murdered all the savages.

"The United States Army touted the massacre to the American public as "a fierce battle." The Army said they had been fired upon by the Lakota after attempting to peacefully disarm them. Historical investigation has revealed that it was a soldier that fired the first shot. The other soldiers heard the shot and began to kill without mercy. Twenty Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded to the butchers of those helpless men, women, and children."