Two hundred twenty five Hunkpapa Indians fled from the Grand River Camp on the Standing Rock Reservation to the Cheyenne River Reservation to council with Big Foot's band when Sitting Bull was killed on December 15, 1890. These Indian families did not contribute to the number of fatalities at Wounded Knee because they were being held by the U.S. military as prisoners of war (POWs). Although no state of war had been officially declared, their POW status was the result of their surrender to Captain Hurst when he offered them a form of refuge. Hurst presented himself as a friend and asked for the Indians' trust not as a ploy but with integrity and honesty. In such a situation a basis for trust had already been established by Hurst's second lieutenant, Harry C. Hale. Hale's efforts to communicate via any means available, and his timely return with Hurst without a potentially threatening military force laid a foundation for trustworthiness and good faith with the Hunkpapas, who, for their part, awaited his return rather than continuing their search for Spotted Elk's band. In this article, the author recounts the story of the Hunkpapa Indian families who surrendered to Captain Hurst at Forth Sully from 1890-1891. The author then analyzes how Captain Hurst's and Lieutenant Hale's handling of the Indians' situation prevented a massacre on the Cheyenne River Reservation. (Contains 51 notes.)