Latest / Educational Book Collection / Geronimo’s Story of His Life - Geronimo
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- 0:00Speaker 1: Geronimo's Story of his Life by Geronimo, transcribed by S. M.
- 0:05Speaker 1: Barrett and translated by Asa dec Lugi. Dedicatory by Geronimo
- 0:12Speaker 1: because he has given me permission to tell my story,
- 0:16Speaker 1: because he has read that story and knows I try
- 0:19Speaker 1: to speak the truth. Because I believe that he is
- 0:22Speaker 1: fair minded and will cause my people to receive justice
- 0:26Speaker 1: in the future, and because he is chief of a
- 0:29Speaker 1: great people. I dedicate this story of my life to
- 0:33Speaker 1: Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States. Geronimo Preface by S. M. Barrett.
- 0:43Speaker 1: The initial idea of the compilation of this work was
- 0:46Speaker 1: to give the reading public an authentic record of the
- 0:49Speaker 1: private life of the Apache Indians, and to extend to Geronimo,
- 0:54Speaker 1: as a prisoner of war, the courtesy due any captive,
- 0:58Speaker 1: that is, the right to state the causes which impelled
- 1:01Speaker 1: him in his opposition to our civilization and laws. If
- 1:06Speaker 1: the Indian's cause has been properly presented, the captive's defense
- 1:10Speaker 1: clearly stated, and the general store of information regarding vanishing
- 1:15Speaker 1: types increased, I shall be satisfied. I desire to acknowledge
- 1:20Speaker 1: valuable suggestions from Major Charles Taylor Fort Sill Oklahoma, doctor J. M. Greenwood,
- 1:27Speaker 1: Kansas City, Missouri, and President David R. Boyd of the
- 1:32Speaker 1: University of Oklahoma. I especially desire in this connection to
- 1:36Speaker 1: say that without the kindly advice and assistance of President
- 1:40Speaker 1: Theodore Roosevelt, this book could not have been written respectfully. S. M. Barrett, Lawton, Oklahoma,
- 1:50Speaker 1: August fourteenth, nineteen o six. Introductory by S. M. Barrett.
- 1:57Speaker 1: I first met Geronimo in the summer of nineteen o four,
- 2:01Speaker 1: when I acted for him as interpreter of English into
- 2:04Speaker 1: Spanish and vice versa in selling a war bonnet. After that,
- 2:09Speaker 1: he always had a pleasant word for me when we met,
- 2:12Speaker 1: but never entered into a general conversation with me until
- 2:16Speaker 1: he learned that I had once been wounded by a Mexican.
- 2:20Speaker 1: As soon as he was told of this, he came
- 2:23Speaker 1: to see me and expressed freely his opinion of the
- 2:26Speaker 1: average Mexican and his aversion to all Mexicans in general.
- 2:32Speaker 1: I invited him to visit me again, which he did,
- 2:35Speaker 1: and upon his invitation I visited him at his teepee
- 2:39Speaker 1: in the Fortsill Military Reservation. In the summer of nineteen
- 2:43Speaker 1: o five. Doctor J. M. Greenwood, Superintendent of schools at
- 2:48Speaker 1: Kansas City, Missouri, visited me and I took him to
- 2:52Speaker 1: see the Chief. Geronimo was quite formal and reserved until
- 2:56Speaker 1: doctor Greenwood said, I am a friend of General Howard,
- 3:00Speaker 1: whom I have heard speak of. You Come, said Geronimo,
- 3:03Speaker 1: and led the way to a shade, had seats brought
- 3:06Speaker 1: for us, put on his war bonnet, and served watermelon
- 3:10Speaker 1: a llah apache cut in big chunks, while he talked
- 3:14Speaker 1: freely and cheerfully. When we left, he gave us a
- 3:17Speaker 1: pressing invitation to visit him again. In a few days.
- 3:21Speaker 1: The old chief came to see me and asked about
- 3:24Speaker 1: my father. I said, you mean the old gentleman from
- 3:27Speaker 1: Kansas City. He has returned to his home. He is
- 3:31Speaker 1: your father, said Geronimo. No, I said, my father died
- 3:35Speaker 1: twenty five years ago. Doctor Greenwood is only my friend.
- 3:39Speaker 1: After a moment's silence, the old Indian spoke again, this
- 3:43Speaker 1: time in a tone of voice intended to carry conviction,
- 3:47Speaker 1: or at least to allow no further discussion. Your natural
- 3:51Speaker 1: father is dead. This man has been your friend and
- 3:54Speaker 1: adviser from youth by adoption. He is your father. Tell
- 4:00Speaker 1: him he is welcome to come to my home at
- 4:02Speaker 1: any time. It was of no use to explain any more,
- 4:06Speaker 1: for the old man had determined not to understand my
- 4:09Speaker 1: relation to doctor Greenwood except in accordance with Indian customs,
- 4:14Speaker 1: and I let the matter drop. In the latter part
- 4:17Speaker 1: of that summer, I asked the old Chief to allow
- 4:20Speaker 1: me to publish some of the things he had told me,
- 4:23Speaker 1: but he objected, saying, however, that if I would pay him,
- 4:28Speaker 1: and if the officers in charge did not object, he
- 4:31Speaker 1: would tell me the whole story of his life. I
- 4:35Speaker 1: immediately called at the fort Fort Sill and asked the
- 4:38Speaker 1: officer in charge, Lieutenant Purrington, for permission to write the
- 4:43Speaker 1: life of Geronimo. I was promptly informed that the privilege
- 4:47Speaker 1: would not be granted. Lieutenant Purrington explained to me the
- 4:51Speaker 1: many depredations committed by Geronimo and his warriors, and the
- 4:56Speaker 1: enormous cost of subduing the Apaches, adding that the the
- 5:00Speaker 1: old Apache deserved to be hanged rather than spoiled by
- 5:04Speaker 1: so much attention from civilians. A suggestion from me that
- 5:08Speaker 1: our government had paid many soldiers and officers to go
- 5:11Speaker 1: to Arizona and kill Geronimo and the Apaches, and that
- 5:16Speaker 1: they did not seem to know how to do. It
- 5:19Speaker 1: did not prove very gratifying to the pride of the
- 5:22Speaker 1: regular army officer, and I decided to seek elsewhere for permission. Accordingly,
- 5:28Speaker 1: I wrote to President Roosevelt that here was an old
- 5:31Speaker 1: Indian who had been held a prisoner of war for
- 5:34Speaker 1: twenty years and had never been given a chance to
- 5:37Speaker 1: tell his side of the story, and asked that Geronimo
- 5:42Speaker 1: be granted permission to tell for publication in his own way,
- 5:47Speaker 1: the story of his life, and that he be guaranteed
- 5:51Speaker 1: that the publication of his story would not affect unfavorably
- 5:55Speaker 1: the Apache prisoners of war. By return mail, I received
- 5:59Speaker 1: word that the authority had been granted. In a few days,
- 6:03Speaker 1: I received word from Fort Sill that the President had
- 6:07Speaker 1: ordered the officer in charge to grant permission as requested.
- 6:11Speaker 1: An interview was requested that I might receive the instructions
- 6:14Speaker 1: of the War Department. When I went to Fort Sill,
- 6:18Speaker 1: the officer in command handed me the following brief, which
- 6:22Speaker 1: constituted my instructions. Lawton, Oklahoma, August twelfth, nineteen o five,
- 6:29Speaker 1: Geronimo Apache, Chief S M. Barrett, Superintendent of Schools, Letter
- 6:35Speaker 1: to the President, stating that above mentioned desires to tell
- 6:38Speaker 1: his life story that it may be published, and requests
- 6:42Speaker 1: permission to tell it in his own way, and also
- 6:46Speaker 1: desires assurance that what he has to say will in
- 6:49Speaker 1: no way work a hardship for the Apache Tribe. First endorsement,
- 6:54Speaker 1: War Department, the Military Secretary's Office, Washington, August twenty fifth,
- 7:00Speaker 1: nineteen oh five, Respectfully referred by direction of the Acting
- 7:05Speaker 1: Chief of Staff, through Headquarters, Department of Texas, to the
- 7:09Speaker 1: Officer in charge of the Apache Prisoners of War at
- 7:12Speaker 1: Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory, for remark and recommendation. Signed E. F. Ladd,
- 7:20Speaker 1: Military Secretary. Second endorsement, Headquarters, Department of Texas, Military Secretary's Office,
- 7:28Speaker 1: San Antonio, August twenty ninth, nineteen oh five, Respectfully transmitted
- 7:34Speaker 1: to First Lieutenant George A. Purrington, eighth Cavalry, in charge
- 7:38Speaker 1: of Apache Prisoners, through Commanding Officer, Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory,
- 7:44Speaker 1: by command of Brigadier General Lee. Signed C. D. Roberts, Captain,
- 7:50Speaker 1: seventh Infantry, Acting Military Secretary. Third endorsement, Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory,
- 7:57Speaker 1: August thirty first, nineteen oh five, Respectfully referred to First
- 8:02Speaker 1: Lieutenant G. A. Perrington, eighth Cavalry Officer in charge of
- 8:06Speaker 1: Apache Prisoners of War, for remark and recommendation by order
- 8:11Speaker 1: of Captain Dade. Signed James Longstreet, First Lieutenant and Squadron Adjutant,
- 8:17Speaker 1: thirteenth Cavalry Adjutant, fourth Endorsement, Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory, September second,
- 8:24Speaker 1: nineteen o five, Respectfully Returned to the Adjutant, Fort Sill,
- 8:29Speaker 1: Oklahoma Territory. I can see no objection to Geronimo telling
- 8:34Speaker 1: the story of his past life, providing he tells the truth.
- 8:39Speaker 1: I would recommend that mister S. M. Barrett be held
- 8:41Speaker 1: responsible for what is written and published. Signed George A. Perrington,
- 8:47Speaker 1: First Lieutenant, eighth Cavalry in charge of Apache Prisoners of War,
- 8:53Speaker 1: Fifth Endorsement, Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory, September fourth, nineteen o five,
- 9:00Speaker 1: Respectfully Returned to the Military Secretary Department of Texas, San Antonio, Texas,
- 9:06Speaker 1: inviting attention to fourth Endorsement HURON. It is recommended that
- 9:10Speaker 1: the manuscript be submitted before publication to Lieutenant Perrington, who
- 9:16Speaker 1: can pass upon the truth of the story. Signed A. L. Dade,
- 9:20Speaker 1: Captain thirteenth Cavalry Commanding sixth Endorsement, Headquarters, Department of Texas,
- 9:28Speaker 1: San Antonio, September eighth, nineteen o five, Respectfully returned to
- 9:33Speaker 1: the Military Secretary, War Department, Warshington, d C. Inviting attention
- 9:39Speaker 1: to the preceding endorsement HURON, which is concurred in. Signed J. M. Lee,
- 9:46Speaker 1: Brigadier General, Commanding seventh Indorsement, War Department, Office of the
- 9:52Speaker 1: Chief of Staff, Washington, September thirteenth, nineteen o five, Respectfully
- 9:58Speaker 1: submitted to the Honorable the Secretary of War inviting attention
- 10:03Speaker 1: to the foregoing endorsements. Signed J. C. Bates, Major General,
- 10:09Speaker 1: Acting Chief of Staff, eighth Endorsement, War Department, September fifteenth,
- 10:16Speaker 1: nineteen o five, Respectfully returned to the Acting Chief of
- 10:21Speaker 1: Staff to grant the necessary authority in this matter through
- 10:25Speaker 1: official channels, with the express understanding that the manuscript of
- 10:29Speaker 1: the book shall be submitted to him before publication. Upon
- 10:34Speaker 1: receipt of such manuscript, the Chief of Staff will submit
- 10:37Speaker 1: it to such person as he may select as competent
- 10:41Speaker 1: to make a proper and critical inspection of the proposed publication.
- 10:46Speaker 1: Signed Robert Shaw Oliver, Acting Secretary of War, ninth Endorsement,
- 10:53Speaker 1: War Department, the Military Secretary's Office, Washington, September eighteenth, nineteen
- 11:01Speaker 1: respectfully returned by direction of the Acting Chief of Staff
- 11:05Speaker 1: to the Commanding General, Department of Texas, who will give
- 11:09Speaker 1: the necessary instructions for carrying out the directions of the
- 11:13Speaker 1: Acting Secretary of War contained in the eighth endorsement. It
- 11:18Speaker 1: is desired that mister Barrett be advised accordingly. Signed Henry P. McCain,
- 11:24Speaker 1: Military Secretary, Tenth Endorsement, Headquarters, Department of Texas, Military Secretary's Office,
- 11:33Speaker 1: San Antonio, September twenty third, nineteen oh five, Respectfully referred
- 11:39Speaker 1: to the Commanding Officer Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory, who will
- 11:43Speaker 1: give the necessary instructions for carrying out the direction of
- 11:47Speaker 1: the Acting Secretary of War contained in the eighth endorsement.
- 11:51Speaker 1: Here On this paper will be shown and fully explained
- 11:56Speaker 1: to mister Barrett, and then returned to these headquarters by
- 12:00Speaker 1: order of Colonel Hughes. Signed George Van Horne Moseley, First Lieutenant,
- 12:06Speaker 1: First Cavalry, Aide de camp, Acting Military Secretary. Early in
- 12:12Speaker 1: October I secured the services of an educated Indian Asa
- 12:16Speaker 1: dec Luji, son of Hull, Chief of the net nay
- 12:19Speaker 1: Apaches as interpreter, and the work of compiling the book began.
- 12:26Speaker 1: Geronimo refused to talk when a stenographer was present or
- 12:30Speaker 1: to wait for corrections or questions when telling the story.
- 12:33Speaker 1: Each day, he had in mind what he would tell,
- 12:37Speaker 1: and told it in a very clear, brief manner. He
- 12:41Speaker 1: might prefer to talk at his own teepee, at asadc.
- 12:44Speaker 1: Lugi's house in some mountain dell, or as he rode
- 12:48Speaker 1: in a swinging gallop across the prairie, wherever his fancy
- 12:52Speaker 1: led him. There he told whatever he wished to tell,
- 12:56Speaker 1: and no more. On the day that he first gave
- 13:00Speaker 1: any portion of his autobiography, he would not be questioned
- 13:04Speaker 1: about any details, nor would he add another word, but
- 13:08Speaker 1: simply said, write what I have spoken, and left us
- 13:12Speaker 1: to remember and write the story without one bit of assistance.
- 13:16Speaker 1: He would agree, however, to come on another day to
- 13:19Speaker 1: my study or any place designated by me, and listen
- 13:23Speaker 1: to the reproduction in apache of what had been told,
- 13:28Speaker 1: And at such times he would answer all questions or
- 13:31Speaker 1: add information wherever he could be convinced that it was necessary.
- 13:36Speaker 1: He soon became so tired of bookmaking that he would
- 13:40Speaker 1: have abandoned the task, but for the fact that he
- 13:43Speaker 1: had agreed to tell the complete story. When he once
- 13:46Speaker 1: gives his word, nothing will turn him from fulfilling his promise.
- 13:51Speaker 1: A very striking illustration of this was furnished by him
- 13:54Speaker 1: early in January nineteen o six. He had agreed to
- 13:58Speaker 1: come to my study on a certain date, But at
- 14:01Speaker 1: the appointed hour the interpreter came alone and said that
- 14:05Speaker 1: Geronimo was very sick with cold and fever. He had
- 14:09Speaker 1: come to tell me that we must appoint another date,
- 14:12Speaker 1: as he feared the old warrior had an attack of pneumonia.
- 14:16Speaker 1: It was a cold day, and the interpreter drew a
- 14:19Speaker 1: chair up to the grate to warm himself after the
- 14:22Speaker 1: exposure of the long ride. Just as he was seating himself,
- 14:26Speaker 1: he looked out of the window, then rose quickly, and
- 14:29Speaker 1: without speaking, pointed to a rapidly moving object coming our way.
- 14:35Speaker 1: In a moment, I recognized the old Chief, riding furiously,
- 14:39Speaker 1: evidently trying to arrive as soon as the interpreter did.
- 14:43Speaker 1: His horse flecked with foam and reeling from exhaustion. Dismounting,
- 14:47Speaker 1: he came in and said in a hoarse whisper I
- 14:50Speaker 1: promised to come. I am here. I explained to him
- 14:55Speaker 1: that I had not expected him to come on such
- 14:57Speaker 1: a stormy day, and that in his physical condition he
- 15:00Speaker 1: must not try to work. He stood for some time,
- 15:04Speaker 1: and then, without speaking, left the room, remounted his tired pony,
- 15:09Speaker 1: and with bowed head, faced ten long miles of cold
- 15:15Speaker 1: north wind. He had kept his promise. When he had
- 15:20Speaker 1: finished his story, I submitted the manuscript to Major Charles W. Taylor,
- 15:25Speaker 1: eighteenth Cavalry Commandant, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, who gave me some
- 15:29Speaker 1: valuable suggestions as to additional related information, which I asked
- 15:34Speaker 1: Geronimo to give. In most cases, the old chief gave
- 15:38Speaker 1: the desired information, but in some instances he refused, stating
- 15:43Speaker 1: his reasons for so doing. When the added information had
- 15:47Speaker 1: been incorporated, I submitted the manuscript to President Roosevelt, from
- 15:52Speaker 1: whose letter I quote, this is a very interesting volume
- 15:56Speaker 1: which you have in manuscript, But I would advise that
- 15:59Speaker 1: you disclaim responsibility in all cases where the reputation of
- 16:04Speaker 1: an individual is assailed. In accordance with that suggestion, I
- 16:09Speaker 1: have appended notes throughout the book disclaiming responsibility for adverse
- 16:14Speaker 1: criticisms of any persons mentioned by Geronimo. On June two,
- 16:20Speaker 1: nineteen o six, I transmitted the complete manuscript to the
- 16:24Speaker 1: War Department. The following quotation is from the letter of transmission,
- 16:29Speaker 1: in accordance with Endorsement number eight of the brief submitted
- 16:33Speaker 1: to me by the Commanding Officer of Fort Sill, which
- 16:37Speaker 1: endorsement constituted the instructions of the Department. I submit herewith
- 16:42Speaker 1: the manuscript of the Autobiography of Geronimo. The manuscript has
- 16:47Speaker 1: been submitted to the President, and at his suggestion, I
- 16:51Speaker 1: have disclaimed any responsibility for the criticisms made by Geronimo
- 16:57Speaker 1: of individuals mentioned. In six weeks after the manuscript was forwarded,
- 17:03Speaker 1: Thomas C. Barry, Brigadier General, Assistant to the Chief of Staff,
- 17:08Speaker 1: sent to the President the following memorandum for the Secretary
- 17:14Speaker 1: of War, subject Manuscript of the Autobiography of Geronimo. The
- 17:20Speaker 1: paper herewith which was referred to this office on July six,
- 17:24Speaker 1: with instructions to report as to whether there is anything
- 17:27Speaker 1: objectionable in it, is returned. The manuscript is an interesting
- 17:32Speaker 1: autobiography of a notable Indian made by himself. There are
- 17:37Speaker 1: a number of passages which from the departmental point of
- 17:40Speaker 1: view are decidedly objectionable. These are found on pages seventy three,
- 17:46Speaker 1: seventy four, ninety, ninety one, and ninety seven and are
- 17:51Speaker 1: indicated by marginal lines in red. The entire manuscript appears
- 17:56Speaker 1: in a way important as showing the Indian side of
- 18:00Speaker 1: a prolonged controversy, but it is believed that the document,
- 18:04Speaker 1: either in whole or in part, should not receive the
- 18:08Speaker 1: approval of the War Department. The memorandum is published that
- 18:14Speaker 1: the objections of the War Department may be made known
- 18:18Speaker 1: to the public. The objection is raised to the mention
- 18:21Speaker 1: on pages seventy three and seventy four of the manuscript
- 18:24Speaker 1: of an attack upon Indians in a tent at Apache
- 18:28Speaker 1: Pass or Bowie by U. S. Soldiers. The statement of
- 18:33Speaker 1: Geronimo is however, substantially confirmed by L. C. Hughes, editor
- 18:38Speaker 1: of The Star, Tucson, Arizona. On pages ninety and ninety
- 18:43Speaker 1: one of the manuscript, Geronimo criticized General Cook. This criticism
- 18:48Speaker 1: is simply Geronimo's private opinion of General Cook. We deem
- 18:53Speaker 1: it a personal matter and leave it without comment, as
- 18:57Speaker 1: it in no way concerns the history of the ap Packs.
- 19:01Speaker 1: On page ninety seven of the manuscript, Geronimo accuses General
- 19:05Speaker 1: Miles of bad faith. Of course, General Miles made the
- 19:09Speaker 1: treaty with the Apaches, but we know very well that
- 19:13Speaker 1: he is not responsible for the way the government subsequently
- 19:17Speaker 1: treated the prisoners of war. However, Geronimo cannot understand this,
- 19:22Speaker 1: and fixes upon General Miles the blame for what he
- 19:26Speaker 1: calls unjust treatment. One could not expect the Department of
- 19:30Speaker 1: War to approve adverse criticisms of its own acts, but
- 19:34Speaker 1: it is especially gratifying that such a liberal view has
- 19:38Speaker 1: been taken of these criticisms, and also that such a
- 19:42Speaker 1: frank statement of the merits of the autobiography is submitted
- 19:46Speaker 1: in the memorandum. Of course, neither the President nor the
- 19:50Speaker 1: War Department is in any way responsible for what Geronimo says.
- 19:56Speaker 1: He has simply been granted the opportunity to state his
- 19:59Speaker 1: own case as he sees it. The fact that Geronimo
- 20:04Speaker 1: has told the story in his own way is doubtless
- 20:07Speaker 1: the only excuse necessary to offer for the many unconventional
- 20:12Speaker 1: features of this work. End of dedicatory preface and introductory
- 20:18Speaker 1: Section one, Part one of the Apaches. Chapter one origin
- 20:24Speaker 1: of the apache Indians. In the beginning, the world was
- 20:28Speaker 1: covered with darkness. There was no sun, no day. The
- 20:33Speaker 1: perpetual night had no moon or stars. There were, however,
- 20:38Speaker 1: all manner of beasts and birds. Among the beasts were
- 20:42Speaker 1: many hideous, nameless monsters, as well as dragons, lions, tigers, wolves, foxes, beavers, rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice,
- 20:55Speaker 1: and all manner of creeping things, such as lizards and serpents.
- 21:00Speaker 1: Mankind could not prosper under such conditions, for the beasts
- 21:04Speaker 1: and serpents destroyed all human offspring. All creatures had the
- 21:09Speaker 1: power of speech and were gifted with reason. There were
- 21:13Speaker 1: two tribes of creatures, the birds, or the feathered tribe,
- 21:17Speaker 1: and the beasts. The former were organized under their chief,
- 21:21Speaker 1: the eagle. These tribes often held councils, and the birds
- 21:26Speaker 1: wanted light. Admitted this, the beasts repeatedly refused to do. Finally,
- 21:32Speaker 1: the birds made war against the beasts. The beasts were
- 21:36Speaker 1: armed with clubs, but the eagle had taught his tribe
- 21:40Speaker 1: to use bows and arrows. The serpents were so wise
- 21:43Speaker 1: that they could not all be killed. One took refuge
- 21:47Speaker 1: in a perpendicular cliff of a mountain in Arizona, and
- 21:51Speaker 1: his eye changed into a brilliant stone may be seen
- 21:55Speaker 1: in that rock to this day. The bears, when killed,
- 21:59Speaker 1: would each be changed into several other bears, so that
- 22:02Speaker 1: the more bears the feathered tribe killed, the more there were.
- 22:07Speaker 1: The dragon could not be killed either, for he was
- 22:10Speaker 1: covered with four coats of horny scales, and the arrows
- 22:14Speaker 1: would not penetrate these. One of the most hideous vile monsters,
- 22:20Speaker 1: nameless was proof against arrows. So the eagle flew high
- 22:25Speaker 1: up in the air with a round white stone and
- 22:29Speaker 1: let it fall on this monster's head, killing him instantly.
- 22:34Speaker 1: This was such a good service that the stone was
- 22:36Speaker 1: called sacred. A symbol of this stone is used in
- 22:40Speaker 1: the tribal game of Ka. They fought for many days,
- 22:45Speaker 1: but at last the birds won the victory. After this
- 22:49Speaker 1: war was over, although some evil beasts remained, the birds
- 22:54Speaker 1: were able to control the councils, and light was admitted.
- 22:59Speaker 1: Then man could live and prosper. The eagle was chief
- 23:03Speaker 1: in this good fight. Therefore his feathers were worn by
- 23:06Speaker 1: man as emblems of wisdom, justice, and power. Among the
- 23:12Speaker 1: few human beings that were yet alive was a woman
- 23:14Speaker 1: who had been blessed with many children, but these had
- 23:18Speaker 1: always been destroyed by the beasts. If by any means
- 23:22Speaker 1: she succeeded in eluding the others, the dragon, who was
- 23:26Speaker 1: very wise and very evil, would come himself and eat
- 23:30Speaker 1: her babes. After many years, a son of the rainstorm
- 23:35Speaker 1: was born to her, and she dug for him a
- 23:38Speaker 1: deep cave. The entrance to this cave she closed, and
- 23:42Speaker 1: over the spot built a camp fire. This concealed the
- 23:45Speaker 1: babe's hiding place and kept him warm. Every day she
- 23:49Speaker 1: would remove the fire and descend into the cave where
- 23:53Speaker 1: the child's bed was to nurse him. Then she would
- 23:56Speaker 1: return and rebuild the campfire. Frequently the dragon would come
- 24:01Speaker 1: and question her, but she would say, I have no
- 24:05Speaker 1: more children. You have eaten all of them. When the
- 24:09Speaker 1: child was larger, he would not always stay in the cave,
- 24:13Speaker 1: for he sometimes wanted to run and play. Once the
- 24:17Speaker 1: dragon saw his tracks. Now this perplexed and enraged the
- 24:21Speaker 1: old dragon, for he could not find the hiding place
- 24:24Speaker 1: of the boy. But he said that he would destroy
- 24:27Speaker 1: the mother if she did not reveal the child's hiding place.
- 24:32Speaker 1: The poor mother was very much troubled. She could not
- 24:36Speaker 1: give up her child, but she knew the power and
- 24:39Speaker 1: cunning of the dragon. Therefore she lived in constant fear.
- 24:45Speaker 1: Soon after this, the boy said he wished to go hunting.
- 24:49Speaker 1: The mother would not give her consent. She told him
- 24:53Speaker 1: of the dragon, the wolves, and the serpents, but he said,
- 24:58Speaker 1: tomorrow I go. At the boy's request, his uncle, who
- 25:03Speaker 1: was the only man then living, made a little bow
- 25:06Speaker 1: and some arrows for him, and the two went hunting.
- 25:09Speaker 1: The next day, they trailed the deer far up the mountain,
- 25:14Speaker 1: and finally the boy killed a buck. His uncle showed
- 25:17Speaker 1: him how to dress the deer and broil the meat.
- 25:20Speaker 1: They broiled two hind quarters, one for the child and
- 25:24Speaker 1: one for his uncle. When the meat was done, they
- 25:28Speaker 1: placed it on some bushes to cool. Just then the
- 25:32Speaker 1: huge form of the dragon appeared. The child was not afraid,
- 25:37Speaker 1: but his uncle was so dumb with fright that he
- 25:40Speaker 1: did not speak or move. The dragon took the boy's
- 25:44Speaker 1: parcel of meat and went aside with it. He placed
- 25:47Speaker 1: the meat on another bush and seated himself beside it.
- 25:52Speaker 1: Then he said, this is the child I have been seeking. Boy.
- 25:57Speaker 1: You are nice and fat, so when I have eaten
- 26:00Speaker 1: this venison, I shall eat you. The boy said, no,
- 26:06Speaker 1: you shall not eat me, and you shall not eat
- 26:10Speaker 1: that meat. So he walked over to where the dragon
- 26:13Speaker 1: sat and took the meat back to his own seat.
- 26:17Speaker 1: The dragon said, I like your courage, but you are foolish.
- 26:23Speaker 1: What do you think you could do? Well, said the boy.
- 26:27Speaker 1: I can do enough to protect myself, as you may
- 26:30Speaker 1: find out. Then the dragon took the meat again, and
- 26:34Speaker 1: then the boy retook it four times in all. The
- 26:38Speaker 1: dragon took the meat, and after the fourth time, the
- 26:42Speaker 1: boy replaced the meat. He said, dragon, will you fight me?
- 26:47Speaker 1: The dragon said yes, in whatever way you like. The
- 26:51Speaker 1: boy said, I will stand one hundred paces distant from you,
- 26:57Speaker 1: and you may have four shots at me with your
- 27:00Speaker 1: bow and arrows, provided that you will then exchange places
- 27:05Speaker 1: with me and give me four shots. Good, said the dragon.
- 27:10Speaker 1: Stand up. Then the dragon took his bowl, which was
- 27:14Speaker 1: made of a large pine tree. He took four arrows
- 27:18Speaker 1: from his quiver. They were made of young pine tree saplings,
- 27:22Speaker 1: and each arrow was twenty feet in length. He took
- 27:27Speaker 1: deliberate aim, but just as the arrow left the bowl,
- 27:32Speaker 1: the boy made a peculiar sound and leaped into the air. Immediately,
- 27:38Speaker 1: the arrow was shivered into eight thousand splinters, and the
- 27:42Speaker 1: boy was seen standing on the top of a bright
- 27:46Speaker 1: rainbow over the spot where the dragon's aim had been directed.
- 27:51Speaker 1: Soon the rainbow was gone and the boy was standing
- 27:55Speaker 1: on the ground again. Four times this was repeated. Then
- 28:00Speaker 1: the boy said, dragon, stand here, it is my time
- 28:05Speaker 1: to shoot. The dragon said, all right, your little arrows
- 28:11Speaker 1: cannot pierce my first coat of horn, and I have
- 28:15Speaker 1: three other coats. Shoot away. The boy shot an arrow,
- 28:20Speaker 1: striking the dragon just over the heart, and one coat
- 28:25Speaker 1: of the great horny scales fell to the ground. The
- 28:29Speaker 1: next shot another coat, and then another, and the dragon's
- 28:34Speaker 1: heart was exposed. Then the dragon trembled but could not move.
- 28:40Speaker 1: Before the fourth arrow was shot, the boy said, uncle,
- 28:44Speaker 1: you are dumb with fear. You have not moved. Come here,
- 28:49Speaker 1: or the dragon will fall on you. His uncle ran
- 28:52Speaker 1: toward him. Then he sped the fourth arrow with true aim,
- 28:57Speaker 1: and it pierced the dragon's heart with a tremendous roar.
- 29:02Speaker 1: The dragon rolled down the mountain side down four precipices
- 29:08Speaker 1: into a canyon below. Immediately, storm clouds swept the mountains,
- 29:14Speaker 1: Lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and the rain poured. When the
- 29:19Speaker 1: rain storm had passed far down in the canyon below,
- 29:23Speaker 1: they could see fragments of the huge body of the
- 29:26Speaker 1: dragon lying among the rocks, and the bones of this
- 29:30Speaker 1: dragon may still be found there. This boy's name was Apache.
- 29:37Speaker 1: Usun taught him how to prepare herbs for medicine, how
- 29:41Speaker 1: to hunt, and how to fight. He was the first
- 29:45Speaker 1: chief of the Indians and wore the eagle's feathers as
- 29:48Speaker 1: the sign of justice, wisdom, and power to him and
- 29:54Speaker 1: to his people. As they were created, Usen gave homes
- 29:59Speaker 1: in the land the west. Chapter two subdivisions of the
- 30:05Speaker 1: Apache tribe. The Apache Indians are divided into six subtribes.
- 30:11Speaker 1: To one of these, the badonkahey I belong. Our tribe
- 30:15Speaker 1: inhabited that region of mountainous country which lies west from
- 30:20Speaker 1: the east line of Arizona and south from the headwaters
- 30:24Speaker 1: of the Hila River. East of us lived the chechene
- 30:28Speaker 1: Ojo Caliente hot Springs Apaches. Our tribe never had any
- 30:33Speaker 1: difficulty with them. Victoria, their chief, was always a friend
- 30:37Speaker 1: to me. He always helped our tribe when we asked
- 30:41Speaker 1: him for help. He lost his life in the defense
- 30:44Speaker 1: of the rights of his people. He was a good
- 30:47Speaker 1: man and a brave warrior. His son, Charlie, now lives
- 30:51Speaker 1: here in this reservation with us. North of us lived
- 30:55Speaker 1: the White Mountain Apaches. They were not always on the
- 30:59Speaker 1: best of terms with our tribe, yet we seldom had
- 31:02Speaker 1: any war with them. I knew their chief, Hashkayala, personally,
- 31:07Speaker 1: and I considered him a good warrior. Their range was
- 31:11Speaker 1: next to that of the Navajo Indians, who were not
- 31:14Speaker 1: of the same blood as the Apaches. We held councils
- 31:18Speaker 1: with all Apache tribes, but never with the Navajo Indians. However,
- 31:23Speaker 1: we traded with them and sometimes visited them. To the
- 31:27Speaker 1: west of our country ranged the Chiahen Apaches. They had
- 31:31Speaker 1: two chiefs within my time, Cossito and Kodahoya. They were
- 31:36Speaker 1: friendly but not intimate with our tribe. South of us
- 31:40Speaker 1: lived the Chikonan Chirakawa Apaches, whose chief in the old
- 31:44Speaker 1: days was Coochies and later his son Nichi. This tribe
- 31:49Speaker 1: was always on the most friendly terms with us. We
- 31:53Speaker 1: were often in camp and on the trail together. Naichi,
- 31:57Speaker 1: who was my companion in arms, is now my companion
- 32:01Speaker 1: in bondage. To the south and west of us lived
- 32:04Speaker 1: the net Naie Apaches. Their chief was Ho, called by
- 32:08Speaker 1: the Mexicans Capitan Ho. They were our firm friends. The
- 32:14Speaker 1: land of this tribe lies partly in Old Mexico and
- 32:17Speaker 1: partly in Arizona. Ho and I often camped and fought
- 32:21Speaker 1: side by side as brothers. My enemies were his enemies,
- 32:26Speaker 1: my friends his friends. He is dead now, but his
- 32:30Speaker 1: son Aesa is interpreting this story for me still. The
- 32:35Speaker 1: four tribes, but don Kahe, Chikonan, Jiehen and net Nai,
- 32:40Speaker 1: who were fast friends in the days of freedom, cling
- 32:43Speaker 1: together as they decrease in number. Only the destruction of
- 32:47Speaker 1: all our people would dissolve our bonds of friendship. We
- 32:53Speaker 1: are vanishing from the earth. Yet I cannot think we
- 32:56Speaker 1: are useless, or Usun would not have created us. He
- 33:01Speaker 1: created all tribes of men, and certainly had a righteous
- 33:06Speaker 1: purpose in creating each. For each tribe of men Usuin created,
- 33:11Speaker 1: he also made a home in the land created for
- 33:14Speaker 1: any particular tribe, he placed whatever would be best for
- 33:19Speaker 1: the welfare of that tribe. When Usin created the Apaches,
- 33:23Speaker 1: he also created their homes in the west. He gave
- 33:27Speaker 1: to them such grain, fruits, and game as they needed.
- 33:30Speaker 1: To eat to restore their health. When disease attacked them,
- 33:34Speaker 1: he made many different herbs to grow. He taught them
- 33:38Speaker 1: where to find these herbs and how to prepare them
- 33:41Speaker 1: for medicine. He gave them a pleasant climate, and all
- 33:45Speaker 1: they needed for clothing and shelter was at hand. Thus
- 33:49Speaker 1: it was in the beginning the apaches and their homes,
- 33:52Speaker 1: each created for the other by usin himself. When they
- 33:57Speaker 1: are taken from these homes, they sickened and die. How
- 34:02Speaker 1: long will it be until it is said there are
- 34:05Speaker 1: no Apaches? Chapter three, Early Life. I was born in
- 34:12Speaker 1: Nadoyan Canyon, Arizona, June eighteen, twenty nine, in that country
- 34:17Speaker 1: which lies around the headwaters of the Hila River. I
- 34:20Speaker 1: was reared. This range was our fatherland. Among these mountains,
- 34:25Speaker 1: our wigwams were hidden. The scattered valleys contained our fields.
- 34:30Speaker 1: The boundless prairies stretching away on every side were our pastures.
- 34:34Speaker 1: The rocky caverns were our burying places. I was fourth
- 34:39Speaker 1: in a family of eight children, four boys and four girls.
- 34:44Speaker 1: Of that family, only myself, my brother Porco Whitehorse, and
- 34:49Speaker 1: my sister Nadatzi are yet alive. We are held as
- 34:53Speaker 1: prisoners of war in this military reservation Fort Sill. As
- 34:58Speaker 1: a babe, I rolled on the dirt floor of my
- 35:01Speaker 1: father's teepee, hung in my so apatchy name for cradle,
- 35:05Speaker 1: at my mother's back, or suspended from the bow of
- 35:08Speaker 1: a tree. I was warmed by the sun, rocked by
- 35:13Speaker 1: the winds, and sheltered by the trees. As other Indian babes.
- 35:18Speaker 1: When a child, my mother taught me the legends of
- 35:20Speaker 1: our people. Taught me of the sun and sky, the
- 35:24Speaker 1: moon and stars, the clouds and storms. She also taught
- 35:29Speaker 1: me to kneel and pray to Usin for strength, health,
- 35:34Speaker 1: wisdom and protection. We never prayed against any person, but
- 35:39Speaker 1: if we had aught against any individual, we ourselves took vengeance.
- 35:45Speaker 1: We were taught that Usuin does not care for the
- 35:48Speaker 1: petty quarrels of men. My father had often told me
- 35:51Speaker 1: of the brave deeds of our warriors, of the pleasures
- 35:54Speaker 1: of the chase and the glories of the war path.
- 35:58Speaker 1: With my brothers and sisters, I played about my father's home.
- 36:02Speaker 1: Sometimes we played at hide and seek among the rocks
- 36:05Speaker 1: and pines. Sometimes we loitered in the shade of the
- 36:09Speaker 1: cottonwood trees or sought the shotuck, a kind of wild cherry.
- 36:13Speaker 1: While our parents worked in the field, sometimes we played
- 36:17Speaker 1: that we were warriors. We would practice stealing upon some
- 36:21Speaker 1: object that represented an enemy, and in our childish imitation,
- 36:26Speaker 1: often performed the feats of war. Sometimes we would hide
- 36:30Speaker 1: away from our mother to see if she could find us,
- 36:34Speaker 1: and often, when thus concealed, go to sleep and perhaps
- 36:38Speaker 1: remain hidden for many hours. When we were old enough
- 36:42Speaker 1: to be of real service, we went to the field
- 36:44Speaker 1: with our parents, not to play, but to toil. When
- 36:49Speaker 1: the crops were to be planted, we broke the ground
- 36:51Speaker 1: with wooden hose. We planted the corn in straight rows,
- 36:55Speaker 1: the beans among the corn, and the melons and pumpkins
- 36:59Speaker 1: in irregular order over the field. We cultivated these crops
- 37:03Speaker 1: as there was need. Our field usually contained about two
- 37:08Speaker 1: acres of ground. The fields were never fenced. It was
- 37:12Speaker 1: common for many families to cultivate land in the same
- 37:15Speaker 1: valley and share the burden of protecting the growing crops
- 37:20Speaker 1: from the destruction by the ponies of the tribe or
- 37:23Speaker 1: by deer and other wild animals. Melons were gathered as
- 37:28Speaker 1: they were consumed in the autumn. Pumpkins and beans were
- 37:31Speaker 1: gathered and placed in bags or baskets. Ears of corn
- 37:35Speaker 1: were tied together by the husks, and then the harvest
- 37:39Speaker 1: was carried on the backs of ponies up to our homes.
- 37:42Speaker 1: Here the corn was shelled, and all the harvest stored
- 37:45Speaker 1: away in caves or other secluded places, to be used
- 37:49Speaker 1: in winter. We never fed corn to our ponies, but
- 37:54Speaker 1: if we kept them up in the winter time, we
- 37:56Speaker 1: gave them fodder to eat. We had no cattle or
- 38:00Speaker 1: other domestic animals except our dogs and ponies. We did
- 38:04Speaker 1: not cultivate tobacco, but found it growing wild. This we
- 38:08Speaker 1: cut and cured in autumn, but if the supply ran out,
- 38:12Speaker 1: the leaves from the stalks left standing served our purpose.
- 38:16Speaker 1: All Indians smoked, men and women. No boy was allowed
- 38:20Speaker 1: to smoke until he had hunted alone and killed large game,
- 38:24Speaker 1: wolves and bears. Unmarried women were not prohibited from smoking,
- 38:30Speaker 1: but were considered immodest if they did so. Nearly all
- 38:34Speaker 1: matrons smoked. Besides grinding the corn by hand with stone
- 38:38Speaker 1: mortars and pestles for bread, we sometimes crushed it and
- 38:42Speaker 1: soaked it, and after it had fermented, made from this
- 38:46Speaker 1: juice a tiswin, which had the power of intoxication, and
- 38:50Speaker 1: was very highly prized by the Indians. This work was
- 38:54Speaker 1: done by the squaws and children. When berries or nuts
- 38:58Speaker 1: were to be gathered, the small children and the squaws
- 39:01Speaker 1: would go in parties to hunt them, and sometimes stay
- 39:04Speaker 1: all day. When they went any great distance from camp,
- 39:08Speaker 1: they took ponies to carry the baskets. I frequently went
- 39:12Speaker 1: with these parties, and upon one of these excursions, a
- 39:15Speaker 1: woman named Chocoli got lost from the party. Anne was
- 39:19Speaker 1: riding her pony through a thicket in search of her friends.
- 39:23Speaker 1: Her little dog was following As she slowly made her
- 39:26Speaker 1: way through the thick underbrush and pine trees. All at once,
- 39:30Speaker 1: a grizzly bear rose in her path and attacked the pony.
- 39:34Speaker 1: She jumped off and her pony escaped, but the bear
- 39:37Speaker 1: attacked her, so she fought him the best she could
- 39:40Speaker 1: with her knife. Her little dog, by snapping at the
- 39:43Speaker 1: bear's heels and detracting his attention from the woman, enabled
- 39:47Speaker 1: her for some time to keep pretty well out of
- 39:50Speaker 1: his reach. Finally, the grizzly struck her over the head,
- 39:54Speaker 1: tearing off almost her whole scalp. She fell, but did
- 39:58Speaker 1: not lose consciousness, and while prostrate struck him four good
- 40:03Speaker 1: licks with her knife, and he retreated. After he had gone,
- 40:07Speaker 1: she replaced her torn scalp and bounded up as best
- 40:10Speaker 1: she could. Then she turned deathly sick and had to
- 40:14Speaker 1: lie down. That night, her pony came into camp with
- 40:17Speaker 1: his load of nuts and berries, but no rider. The
- 40:22Speaker 1: Indians hunted for her, but did not find her until
- 40:25Speaker 1: the second day. They carried her home, and under the
- 40:28Speaker 1: treatment of their medicine men, all her wounds were healed.
- 40:33Speaker 1: The Indians knew what herbs to use for medicine, how
- 40:37Speaker 1: to prepare them, and how to give the medicine. This
- 40:40Speaker 1: they had been taught by usin in the beginning, and
- 40:44Speaker 1: each succeeding generation had men who were skilled in the
- 40:47Speaker 1: art of healing, in gathering the herbs, in preparing them,
- 40:52Speaker 1: and in administering the medicine. As much faith was held
- 40:56Speaker 1: in prayer as in the actual effect of the medicine.
- 41:01Speaker 1: Usually about eight persons worked together in making medicine, and
- 41:05Speaker 1: there were forms of prayer and incantations to attend each
- 41:08Speaker 1: stage of the process. Four attended to the incantations and
- 41:13Speaker 1: four to the preparation of the herbs. Some of the
- 41:17Speaker 1: Indians were skilled in cutting out bullets, arrowheads, and other
- 41:21Speaker 1: missiles with which warriors were wounded. I myself have done
- 41:25Speaker 1: much of this using a common dirk or butcher knife.
- 41:29Speaker 1: Small children wore very little clothing in winter and none
- 41:33Speaker 1: in the summer. Women usually wore a primitive skirt which
- 41:37Speaker 1: consisted of a piece of cotton cloth fastened about the
- 41:41Speaker 1: waist and extending to the knees. Men wore breech cloths
- 41:45Speaker 1: and moccasins. In winter, they had shirts and leggings. In addition, frequently,
- 41:51Speaker 1: when the tribe was in camp, a number of boys
- 41:54Speaker 1: and girls, by agreement, would steal away and meet at
- 41:57Speaker 1: a place several miles distant. They could play all day,
- 42:01Speaker 1: free from tasks. They were never punished for these frolics,
- 42:06Speaker 1: but if their hiding places were discovered, they were ridiculed.
- 42:12Speaker 1: And of Part one of the Apaches, Section two of
- 42:16Speaker 1: Geronimo's Story of his Life. This is a LibriVox recording.
- 42:20Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
- 42:24Speaker 1: information what a Volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
- 42:30Speaker 1: by Sue Anderson. Geronimo's Story of his Life by Geronimo,
- 42:37Speaker 1: transcribed by S. M. Barrett and translated by asidec Luji.
- 42:42Speaker 1: Section two, Part two of the Apaches, Chapter four tribal amusements, manners,
- 42:50Speaker 1: and customs. To celebrate each noted event, a feast and
- 42:56Speaker 1: dance would be given. Perhaps only our own people, perhaps
- 43:00Speaker 1: neighboring tribes would be invited. These festivities usually lasted for
- 43:05Speaker 1: about four days. By day, we feasted. By night, under
- 43:10Speaker 1: the direction of some chief, we danced. The music for
- 43:14Speaker 1: our dance was singing led by the warriors, and accompanied
- 43:18Speaker 1: by beating the essadadeni buckskin on a hoop. No words
- 43:23Speaker 1: were sung, only the tones. When the feasting and dancing
- 43:27Speaker 1: were over, we would have horse races, foot races, wrestling, jumping,
- 43:32Speaker 1: and all sorts of games gambling. Among these games, the
- 43:37Speaker 1: most noted was the tribal game of ka foot. It
- 43:42Speaker 1: is played as follows. Four moccasins are placed about four
- 43:46Speaker 1: feet apart in holes in the ground, dug in a
- 43:50Speaker 1: row on one side of the camp and on the
- 43:53Speaker 1: opposite side a similar parallel row. At night, a camp
- 43:57Speaker 1: fire is started between these two rows of moccasins, and
- 44:01Speaker 1: the players are arranged on sides, one or any number
- 44:05Speaker 1: on each side. The score is kept by a bundle
- 44:09Speaker 1: of sticks, from which each side takes a stick for
- 44:12Speaker 1: every point one first, one side takes the bone, a
- 44:17Speaker 1: symbol of the white rock used by the eagle in slain.
- 44:20Speaker 1: The nameless Monster puts up blankets between the four moccasins
- 44:24Speaker 1: and the fire so that the opposing team cannot observe
- 44:28Speaker 1: their movements, and then begin to sing the legends of Creation.
- 44:33Speaker 1: The side having the bone represents the feathered tribe, the
- 44:37Speaker 1: opposite side represents the beasts. The players representing the birds
- 44:42Speaker 1: do all the singing, and while singing, hide the bone
- 44:47Speaker 1: in one of the moccasins. Then the blankets are thrown down.
- 44:51Speaker 1: They continue to sing, But as soon as the blankets
- 44:55Speaker 1: are thrown down, the chosen player from the opposing team,
- 44:59Speaker 1: armed with a war club, comes to their side of
- 45:02Speaker 1: the campfire and with his club strikes the moccasin in
- 45:06Speaker 1: which he thinks the bone is hidden. If he strikes
- 45:10Speaker 1: the right moccasin, his side gets the bone and in
- 45:14Speaker 1: turn represents the birds, while the opposing team must keep
- 45:18Speaker 1: quiet and guess. In turn, there are only four plays,
- 45:23Speaker 1: three that lose and one that wins. When all the
- 45:26Speaker 1: sticks are gone from the bundle, the side having the
- 45:30Speaker 1: largest number of sticks is counted winner. This game is
- 45:35Speaker 1: seldom played except as a gambling game, but for that
- 45:39Speaker 1: purpose it is the most popular game known to the tribe.
- 45:43Speaker 1: Usually the game lasts four or five hours. It is
- 45:47Speaker 1: never played in daytime. After the games are all finished,
- 45:51Speaker 1: the visitors say, we are satisfied, and the camp is
- 45:55Speaker 1: broken up. I was always glad when the dances and
- 45:59Speaker 1: feasts were announced, so were all the other young people.
- 46:04Speaker 1: Our life also had a religious side. We had no churches,
- 46:08Speaker 1: no religious organizations, no Sabbath day, no holidays, and yet
- 46:14Speaker 1: we worshiped. Sometimes the whole tribe would assemble to sing
- 46:18Speaker 1: and pray, sometimes a smaller number, perhaps only two or three.
- 46:24Speaker 1: The songs had a few words, but were not formal.
- 46:28Speaker 1: The singer would occasionally put in such words as he
- 46:31Speaker 1: wished instead of the usual tone sound. Sometimes we prayed
- 46:36Speaker 1: in silence. Sometimes each one prayed aloud. Sometimes an aged
- 46:42Speaker 1: person prayed for all of us. At other times one
- 46:46Speaker 1: would rise and speak to us of our duties to
- 46:48Speaker 1: each other and to usin our services were short. When
- 46:54Speaker 1: disease or pestilence abounded, we were assembled and questioned by
- 46:59Speaker 1: our leaders to ascertain what evil we had done and
- 47:03Speaker 1: how usuin could be satisfied. Sometimes sacrifice was deemed necessary.
- 47:10Speaker 1: Sometimes the offending one was punished. If an Apache had
- 47:14Speaker 1: allowed his aged parents to suffer for food or shelter,
- 47:19Speaker 1: if he had neglected or abused the sick, if he
- 47:22Speaker 1: had profaned our religion, or had been unfaithful, he might
- 47:28Speaker 1: be banished from the tribe. The Apaches had no prisons
- 47:32Speaker 1: as white men have. Instead of sending their criminals into prison,
- 47:37Speaker 1: they sent them out of their tribe. These faithless, cruel, lazy,
- 47:42Speaker 1: or cowardly members of the tribe were excluded in such
- 47:46Speaker 1: a manner that they could not join any other tribe.
- 47:51Speaker 1: Neither could they have any protection from our unwritten tribal laws. Frequently,
- 47:57Speaker 1: these outlaw Indians banded together and committed depredations which were
- 48:01Speaker 1: charged against the regular tribe. However, the life of an
- 48:06Speaker 1: outlaw Indian was a hard lot, and their bands never
- 48:10Speaker 1: became very large. Besides, these bands frequently provoked the wrath
- 48:15Speaker 1: of the tribe and secured their own destruction. When I
- 48:22Speaker 1: was about eight or ten years old, I began to
- 48:25Speaker 1: follow the chase, and to me, this was never work out.
- 48:30Speaker 1: On the prairies which ran up to our mountain homes
- 48:33Speaker 1: wandered herds of deer, antelope, elk, and buffalo to be
- 48:38Speaker 1: slaughtered when we needed them. Usually we hunted buffalo on horseback,
- 48:44Speaker 1: killing them with arrows and spears. Their skins were used
- 48:48Speaker 1: to make teepees and bedding, their flesh to eat. It
- 48:53Speaker 1: required more skill to hunt the deer than any other animal.
- 48:57Speaker 1: We never tried to approach a deer except against the wind.
- 49:01Speaker 1: Frequently we would spend hours in stealing upon some grazing deer.
- 49:06Speaker 1: If they were in the open, we would crawl long
- 49:09Speaker 1: distances on the ground, keeping a weed or brush before
- 49:13Speaker 1: us so that our approach would not be noticed. Often
- 49:18Speaker 1: we would kill several out of one herd before the
- 49:20Speaker 1: others would run away. Their flesh was dried and packed
- 49:24Speaker 1: in vessels and would keep in this condition for many months.
- 49:29Speaker 1: The hight of the deer was soaked in water and ashes,
- 49:33Speaker 1: and the hair removed, and then the process of tanning
- 49:37Speaker 1: continued until the buckskin was soft and pliable. Perhaps no
- 49:42Speaker 1: other animal was more valuable to us than the deer.
- 49:46Speaker 1: In the forests and along the streams were many wild turkeys.
- 49:50Speaker 1: These we would drive to the plains, then slowly ride
- 49:54Speaker 1: up toward them until they were almost tired out. When
- 49:59Speaker 1: they began to drop and hide, we would ride in
- 50:02Speaker 1: upon them and by swinging from the side of our
- 50:05Speaker 1: horses catch them. If one started to fly, we would
- 50:09Speaker 1: ride swiftly under him and kill him with a short
- 50:13Speaker 1: stick or hunting club. In this way we could usually
- 50:17Speaker 1: get as many wild turkeys as we could carry home
- 50:20Speaker 1: on a horse. There were many rabbits in our range,
- 50:24Speaker 1: and we also hunted them on horseback. Our horses were
- 50:28Speaker 1: trained to follow the rabbit at full speed, and as
- 50:31Speaker 1: they approached them, we would swing from one side of
- 50:35Speaker 1: the horse and strike the rabbit with our hunting club.
- 50:38Speaker 1: If he was too far away, we would throw the
- 50:41Speaker 1: stick and kill him. This was great sport when we
- 50:44Speaker 1: were boys, but as warriors we seldom hunted small game.
- 50:49Speaker 1: There were many fish in the streams, but as we
- 50:53Speaker 1: did not eat them, we did not try to catch
- 50:56Speaker 1: or kill them. Small boys sometimes threw stone at them
- 51:01Speaker 1: or shot at them for practice with their bows and arrows.
- 51:04Speaker 1: Usun did not intend snakes, frogs, or fishes to be eaten.
- 51:11Speaker 1: I have never eaten of them. There were many eagles
- 51:15Speaker 1: in the mountains. These we hunted for their feathers. It
- 51:18Speaker 1: required great skill to steal upon an eagle, for besides
- 51:23Speaker 1: having sharp eyes, he is wise and never stops at
- 51:27Speaker 1: any place where he does not have a good view
- 51:30Speaker 1: of the surrounding country. I have killed many bears with
- 51:33Speaker 1: a spear, but was never injured in a fight with one.
- 51:37Speaker 1: I have killed several mountain lions with arrows, and one
- 51:41Speaker 1: with a spear. Both bears and mountain lions are good
- 51:45Speaker 1: for food and valuable for their skin. When we killed them,
- 51:48Speaker 1: we carried them home on our horses. We often made
- 51:52Speaker 1: quivers for our arrows from the skin of the mountain lion.
- 51:56Speaker 1: These were very pretty and very durable. During by minority,
- 52:00Speaker 1: we had never seen a missionary or a priest. We
- 52:05Speaker 1: had never seen a white man. Thus quietly lived the
- 52:09Speaker 1: badonkahey Apaches, Chapter five. The family. My grandfather Mako had
- 52:17Speaker 1: been our chief. I never saw him, but my father
- 52:21Speaker 1: often told me of the great size, strength, and sagacity
- 52:25Speaker 1: of this old warrior. Their principal wars had been with
- 52:29Speaker 1: the Mexicans. They had some wars with other tribes of
- 52:33Speaker 1: Indians also, but were seldom at peace for any great
- 52:37Speaker 1: length of time with the Mexican towns. Mako died when
- 52:40Speaker 1: my father was but a young warrior, and Mangus Colorado
- 52:44Speaker 1: became chief of the Badonkahee Apaches when I was but
- 52:49Speaker 1: a small boy. My father died after having been sick
- 52:52Speaker 1: for some time. When he passed away carefully, the watchers
- 52:57Speaker 1: closed his eyes. Then they arrayed him in his best clothes,
- 53:02Speaker 1: painted his face afresh, wrapped a rich blanket around him,
- 53:07Speaker 1: saddled his favorite horse, bore his arms in front of him,
- 53:12Speaker 1: and led his horse behind, repeating in wailing tones his
- 53:17Speaker 1: deeds of valor as they carried his body to a
- 53:19Speaker 1: cave in the mountain. Then they slew his horses, and
- 53:24Speaker 1: we gave away all of his other property, as was
- 53:28Speaker 1: customary in our tribe, after which his body was deposited
- 53:32Speaker 1: in the cave, his arms beside him. His grave is
- 53:37Speaker 1: hidden by piles of stone. Wrapped in splendor. He lies
- 53:41Speaker 1: in seclusion, and the winds in the pines sing a
- 53:45Speaker 1: low requiem over the dead warrior. After my father's death,
- 53:50Speaker 1: I assumed the care of my mother. She never married again,
- 53:54Speaker 1: although according to the customs of our tribe, she might
- 53:57Speaker 1: have done so immediately after his death. Usually, however, the
- 54:02Speaker 1: widow who has children remained single after her husband's death
- 54:06Speaker 1: for two or three years, but the widow without children
- 54:11Speaker 1: marries again. Immediately after a warrior's death, his widow returns
- 54:16Speaker 1: to her people and may be given away or sold
- 54:20Speaker 1: by her father or brothers. My mother chose to live
- 54:23Speaker 1: with me, and she never desired to marry again. We
- 54:28Speaker 1: lived near our old home and I supported her. In
- 54:32Speaker 1: eighteen forty six, being seventeen years of age, I was
- 54:37Speaker 1: admitted to the Council of the Warriors. Then I was
- 54:41Speaker 1: very happy, for I could go wherever I wanted and
- 54:44Speaker 1: do whatever I liked. I had not been under the
- 54:48Speaker 1: control of any individual, but the customs of our tribe
- 54:52Speaker 1: prohibited me from sharing the glories of the war path
- 54:55Speaker 1: until the council admitted me when opportunity offered. After this,
- 55:01Speaker 1: I could go on the war path with my tribe.
- 55:04Speaker 1: This would be glorious. I hoped soon to serve my
- 55:07Speaker 1: people in battle. I had long desired to fight with
- 55:10Speaker 1: our warriors. Perhaps the greatest joy to me was that
- 55:15Speaker 1: now I could marry the fair alope, daughter of Nuposo.
- 55:20Speaker 1: She was a slender, delicate girl, but we had been
- 55:23Speaker 1: lovers for a long time. So as soon as the
- 55:27Speaker 1: council granted me these privileges, I went to see her
- 55:31Speaker 1: father concerning our marriage. Perhaps our love was of no
- 55:35Speaker 1: interest to him, Perhaps he wanted to keep a lope
- 55:39Speaker 1: with him, for she was a dutiful daughter. At any rate,
- 55:43Speaker 1: he asked many ponies for her. I made no reply,
- 55:47Speaker 1: but in a few days appeared before his wigwam with
- 55:51Speaker 1: the herd of ponies and took with me a lope.
- 55:55Speaker 1: This was all the marriage ceremony necessary in our tribe.
- 55:59Speaker 1: Not far from my mother's teepee, I had made for
- 56:02Speaker 1: us a new home. The teepee was made of buffalo hides,
- 56:06Speaker 1: and in it were many bare robes, lion hides, and
- 56:10Speaker 1: other trophies of the chase, as well as my spears,
- 56:14Speaker 1: bows and arrows. A lope had made many little decorations
- 56:20Speaker 1: of beads and drawn work on buckskin, which she placed
- 56:23Speaker 1: in our teepee. She also drew many pictures on the
- 56:27Speaker 1: walls of our home. She was a good wife, but
- 56:30Speaker 1: she was never strong. We followed the traditions of our
- 56:34Speaker 1: fathers and were happy. Three children came to us, children
- 56:39Speaker 1: that played, loitered and worked as I had done. Chapter
- 56:45Speaker 1: six Kaskilla. In the summer of eighteen fifty eight. Being
- 56:50Speaker 1: at peace with the Mexican towns as well as with
- 56:53Speaker 1: all the neighboring Indian tribes, we went south into Old
- 56:57Speaker 1: Mexico to trade our whole tribe, but doun quihete apaches
- 57:02Speaker 1: went through Sonora towards Casa Grande, our destination, but just
- 57:07Speaker 1: before reaching that place, we stopped at another Mexican town
- 57:11Speaker 1: called by the Indians Kaskia. Here we stayed for several days,
- 57:16Speaker 1: camping just outside the city. Every day we would go
- 57:20Speaker 1: into town to trade, leaving our camp under the protection
- 57:24Speaker 1: of a small guard so that our arms, supplies, and
- 57:28Speaker 1: women and children would not be disturbed during our absence.
- 57:33Speaker 1: Late one afternoon, when returning from town, we were met
- 57:37Speaker 1: by a few women and children who told us that
- 57:41Speaker 1: the Mexican troops from some other town had attacked our camp,
- 57:46Speaker 1: killed all the warriors of the guard, captured all our ponies,
- 57:51Speaker 1: secured our arms, destroyed our supplies, and killed many of
- 57:57Speaker 1: our women and children. Quickly we separated, concealing ourselves as
- 58:03Speaker 1: best we could, until nightfall, when we assembled at our
- 58:06Speaker 1: appointed place of rendezvous, a thicket by the river silently,
- 58:11Speaker 1: we stole in. One by one, sentinels were placed, and
- 58:16Speaker 1: when all were counted, I found that my aged mother,
- 58:20Speaker 1: my young wife, and my three small children were among
- 58:25Speaker 1: the slain. There were no lights in camp, so without
- 58:30Speaker 1: being noticed, I silently turned away and stood by the river.
- 58:36Speaker 1: How long I stood there, I do not know, But
- 58:40Speaker 1: when I saw the warriors arranging for a council, I
- 58:43Speaker 1: took my place. That night, I did not give my
- 58:47Speaker 1: vote for or against any measure, but it was decided
- 58:51Speaker 1: that as there were only eighty warriors left, and as
- 58:56Speaker 1: we were without arms or supplies, and were furthermore surrounded
- 59:02Speaker 1: by the Mexicans far inside their own territory, we could
- 59:07Speaker 1: not hope to fight successfully. So our chief, Mangus Colorado,
- 59:12Speaker 1: gave the order to start at once, in perfect silence,
- 59:16Speaker 1: for our homes in Arizona, leaving the dead upon the field.
- 59:22Speaker 1: I stood until all had passed, hardly knowing what I
- 59:27Speaker 1: would do. I had no weapon, nor did I hardly
- 59:31Speaker 1: wish to fight. Neither did I contemplate recovering the bodies
- 59:35Speaker 1: of my loved ones, for that was forbidden. I did
- 59:40Speaker 1: not pray, nor did I resolve to do anything in
- 59:44Speaker 1: particular for I had no purpose left. I finally followed
- 59:51Speaker 1: the tribe silently, keeping just within hearing distance of the
- 59:55Speaker 1: soft noise of the feet of the retreating apaches. The
- 1:00:00Speaker 1: next morning, some of the Indians killed a small amount
- 1:00:03Speaker 1: of game, and we halted long enough for the tribe
- 1:00:06Speaker 1: to cook and eat when the march was resumed. I
- 1:00:10Speaker 1: had killed no game and did not eat during the
- 1:00:14Speaker 1: first march, as well as while we were camped at
- 1:00:16Speaker 1: this place, I spoke to no one, and no one
- 1:00:20Speaker 1: spoke to me. There was nothing to say. For two
- 1:00:25Speaker 1: days and three nights we were on forced marches, stopping
- 1:00:29Speaker 1: only for meals. Then we made a camp near the
- 1:00:33Speaker 1: Mexican border, where we rested two days. Here I took
- 1:00:37Speaker 1: some food and talked with the other Indians who had
- 1:00:40Speaker 1: lost in the massacre. But none had lost as I had,
- 1:00:45Speaker 1: for I had lost all. Within a few days we
- 1:00:50Speaker 1: arrived at our own settlement. There were the decorations that
- 1:00:54Speaker 1: Alope had made, and there were the playthings of our
- 1:00:58Speaker 1: little ones earned them all, even our teepee. I also
- 1:01:03Speaker 1: burned my mother's teepee and destroyed all her property. I
- 1:01:08Speaker 1: was never again contented in our quiet home. True I
- 1:01:12Speaker 1: could visit my father's grave. But I had vowed vengeance
- 1:01:17Speaker 1: upon the Mexican troopers who had wronged me, and whenever
- 1:01:21Speaker 1: I came near his grave or saw anything to remind
- 1:01:25Speaker 1: me of my former happy days, my heart would ache
- 1:01:29Speaker 1: for revenge upon Mexico. As soon as we had again
- 1:01:35Speaker 1: collected some arms and supplies Mangus Colorado, our chief called
- 1:01:40Speaker 1: a council and found that all our warriors were willing
- 1:01:43Speaker 1: to take the war path against Mexico. I was appointed
- 1:01:47Speaker 1: to solicit the aid of other tribes in this war.
- 1:01:51Speaker 1: When I went to the jaconin Chirakawa Apaches Cochise, their
- 1:01:56Speaker 1: chief called a council at early dawn. Silently, the warriors
- 1:02:01Speaker 1: assembled at an open place in a mountain dell and
- 1:02:05Speaker 1: took their seats on the ground, arranged in rows according
- 1:02:08Speaker 1: to their ranks. Silently they sat smoking. At a signal
- 1:02:13Speaker 1: from the chief, I arose and presented my cause as
- 1:02:17Speaker 1: follows kinsman, you have heard what the Mexicans have recently
- 1:02:23Speaker 1: done without cause. You are my relatives, uncles, cousins, brothers.
- 1:02:30Speaker 1: We are men the same as the Mexicans are. We
- 1:02:33Speaker 1: can do to them what they have done to us.
- 1:02:37Speaker 1: Let us go forward and trail them. I will lead
- 1:02:41Speaker 1: you to their city. We will attack them in their homes.
- 1:02:45Speaker 1: I will fight in the front of the battle. I
- 1:02:48Speaker 1: only ask you to follow me to avenge this wrong
- 1:02:52Speaker 1: done by these Mexicans. Will you come, It is well
- 1:02:56Speaker 1: you will all come. Remember the rule in war, men
- 1:03:01Speaker 1: may return or they may be killed. If any of
- 1:03:05Speaker 1: these young men are killed, I want no blame from
- 1:03:08Speaker 1: their kinsmen, for they themselves have chosen to go. If
- 1:03:13Speaker 1: I am killed, no one need mourn for me. My
- 1:03:17Speaker 1: people have all been killed in that country, and I
- 1:03:21Speaker 1: too will die if need be. I returned to my
- 1:03:25Speaker 1: own settlement, reported this success to my chieftain, and immediately
- 1:03:30Speaker 1: departed to the southward into the land of the net
- 1:03:33Speaker 1: nay Apaches. Their chief, Hohle, heard me without comment, but
- 1:03:38Speaker 1: he immediately issued orders for a council, and when all
- 1:03:42Speaker 1: were ready, gave a sign that I might speak. I
- 1:03:46Speaker 1: addressed them as I had addressed the Choconan tribe, and
- 1:03:50Speaker 1: they also promised to help us. It was in the
- 1:03:53Speaker 1: summer of eighteen fifty nine, almost a year from the
- 1:03:57Speaker 1: date of the massacre of Kaskillah, that these three tribes
- 1:04:01Speaker 1: were assembled on the Mexican border to go upon the
- 1:04:04Speaker 1: war path. Their faces were painted, the war bands fastened
- 1:04:09Speaker 1: upon their brows, their long scalp locks, ready for the
- 1:04:13Speaker 1: hand and knife of the warrior who would overcome them.
- 1:04:17Speaker 1: Their families had been hidden away in a mountain rendezvous
- 1:04:20Speaker 1: near the Mexican border. With these families, a guard was
- 1:04:25Speaker 1: posted and a number of places of rendezvous designated in
- 1:04:29Speaker 1: case the camp should be disturbed. When all were ready,
- 1:04:33Speaker 1: the chieftains gave command to go forward. None of us
- 1:04:36Speaker 1: were mounted, and each warrior wore moccasins and also a
- 1:04:40Speaker 1: cloth wrapped about his loins. This cloth could be spread
- 1:04:44Speaker 1: over him when he slept, and when on the march,
- 1:04:47Speaker 1: would be ample protection as clothing in battle. If the
- 1:04:52Speaker 1: fight was hard, we did not wish much clothing. Each
- 1:04:56Speaker 1: warrior carried three days rations, but as we often killed
- 1:05:00Speaker 1: game while on the march, we seldom were without food.
- 1:05:05Speaker 1: We traveled in three divisions, the Beadoncahey apaches led by
- 1:05:09Speaker 1: Mangus Colorado, the Chikonan apaches by Cochies, and the net
- 1:05:14Speaker 1: Night apaches by ho However, there was no regular order
- 1:05:19Speaker 1: inside the separate tribes. We usually marched about fourteen hours
- 1:05:24Speaker 1: per day, making three stops for meals, and traveling forty
- 1:05:29Speaker 1: to forty five miles a day, I acted as guide
- 1:05:33Speaker 1: into Mexico, and we followed the river courses and mountain
- 1:05:37Speaker 1: ranges because we could better thereby keep our movements concealed.
- 1:05:42Speaker 1: We entered Sonora and went southward past Kitako, Nakozati, and
- 1:05:47Speaker 1: many smaller settlements. When we were almost at Arispe, we
- 1:05:52Speaker 1: camped and eight men rode out from the city to
- 1:05:55Speaker 1: parley with us. These we captured, killed, and scalped. This
- 1:06:01Speaker 1: was to draw the troops from the city, and the
- 1:06:04Speaker 1: next day they came. The skirmishing lasted all day without
- 1:06:08Speaker 1: a general engagement, but just at night we captured their
- 1:06:12Speaker 1: supply train, so we had plenty of provisions and some
- 1:06:16Speaker 1: more guns. That night we posted sentinels and did not
- 1:06:21Speaker 1: move our camp, but rested quietly all night, for we
- 1:06:25Speaker 1: expected heavy work the next day. Early the next morning,
- 1:06:29Speaker 1: the warriors were assembled to pray not for help, but
- 1:06:33Speaker 1: that they might have health and avoid ambush or deceptions
- 1:06:37Speaker 1: by the enemy, as we had anticipated. About ten o'clock
- 1:06:41Speaker 1: in the morning, the whole Mexican force came out. There
- 1:06:45Speaker 1: were two companies of cavalry and two of infantry. I
- 1:06:50Speaker 1: recognized the cavalry as the soldiers who had killed my
- 1:06:53Speaker 1: people at Kaskilla. This I told to the chieftains, and
- 1:06:58Speaker 1: they said that I might direct the battle. I was
- 1:07:02Speaker 1: no chief, and never had been, but because I had
- 1:07:06Speaker 1: been more deeply wrong than others, this honor was conferred
- 1:07:09Speaker 1: upon me, and I resolved to prove worthy of the trust.
- 1:07:15Speaker 1: I arranged the Indians in a hollow circle near the river,
- 1:07:19Speaker 1: and the Mexicans drew their infantry up in two lines,
- 1:07:23Speaker 1: with the cavalry in reserve. We were in the timber,
- 1:07:26Speaker 1: and they advanced until within about four hundred yards, when
- 1:07:31Speaker 1: they halted and opened fire. Soon I led a charge
- 1:07:35Speaker 1: against them, at the same time, sending some braves to
- 1:07:38Speaker 1: attack their rear. In all the battle I thought of
- 1:07:42Speaker 1: my murdered mother, wife and babies, of my father's grave,
- 1:07:47Speaker 1: and of my vow of vengeance. And I fought with fury.
- 1:07:53Speaker 1: Many fell by my hand, and constantly eyelid the advance.
- 1:07:58Speaker 1: Many braves were killed. The battle lasted about two hours.
- 1:08:03Speaker 1: At the last four Indians were alone in the center
- 1:08:06Speaker 1: of the field, myself and three other warriors. Our arrows
- 1:08:12Speaker 1: were all gone, our spears broken off in the bodies
- 1:08:15Speaker 1: of dead enemies. We had only our hands and knives
- 1:08:20Speaker 1: with which to fight, but all who had stood against
- 1:08:23Speaker 1: us were dead. Then two armed soldiers came upon us
- 1:08:28Speaker 1: from another part of the field. They shot down two
- 1:08:31Speaker 1: of our men, and we The remaining two fled toward
- 1:08:36Speaker 1: our own warriors. My companion was struck down by a saber,
- 1:08:40Speaker 1: but I reached our warriors, seized a spear and turned.
- 1:08:45Speaker 1: The one who pursued me missed his aim and fell
- 1:08:49Speaker 1: by my spear with his saber. I met the trooper
- 1:08:53Speaker 1: who had killed my companion, and we grappled and fell.
- 1:08:57Speaker 1: I killed him with my knife and quickly ro over
- 1:09:00Speaker 1: his body, brandishing his saber, seeking for other troopers to kill.
- 1:09:06Speaker 1: There were none, but the Apaches had seen over the
- 1:09:11Speaker 1: bloody field, covered with the bodies of Mexicans, rang the
- 1:09:15Speaker 1: fierce Apache war whoop, still covered with the blood of
- 1:09:20Speaker 1: my enemies, still holding my conquering weapon, still hot with
- 1:09:25Speaker 1: the joy of battle, victory and vengeance. I was surrounded
- 1:09:29Speaker 1: by the Apache braves and made war chief of all
- 1:09:33Speaker 1: the Apaches. Then I gave orders for scalping the slain.
- 1:09:38Speaker 1: I could not call back my loved ones. I could
- 1:09:42Speaker 1: not bring back the dead Apaches. But I could rejoice
- 1:09:46Speaker 1: in this revenge. The Apaches had avenged the massacre of Kaskalla.
- 1:09:54Speaker 1: End of Part two of the Apaches, Part one of
- 1:09:57Speaker 1: the Mexicans seven fighting under difficulties. All the other Apaches
- 1:10:04Speaker 1: were satisfied after the Battle of Kaskia, but I still
- 1:10:09Speaker 1: desired more revenge. For several months, we were busy with
- 1:10:13Speaker 1: the chase and other peaceful pursuits. Finally, I succeeded in
- 1:10:17Speaker 1: persuading two other warriors, Akochne and Kodeni, to go with
- 1:10:22Speaker 1: me to invade the Mexican country. We left our families
- 1:10:26Speaker 1: with the tribe and went on the war path. We
- 1:10:29Speaker 1: were on foot and carried three days rations. We entered
- 1:10:33Speaker 1: Mexico on the north line of Sonora and followed the
- 1:10:36Speaker 1: Sierra de Attunes mountains to the south end of the range.
- 1:10:41Speaker 1: Here we decided to attack a small village. I do
- 1:10:45Speaker 1: not know the name of this village. At daylight, we
- 1:10:48Speaker 1: approached from the mountains. Five horses were hitched outside. We
- 1:10:53Speaker 1: advanced cautiously, but just before we reached the horses, the
- 1:10:58Speaker 1: Mexicans opened fire from the houses. My two companions were killed.
- 1:11:04Speaker 1: Mexicans swarmed on every side. Some were mounted, some were
- 1:11:08Speaker 1: on foot, and all seemed to be armed. Three times
- 1:11:12Speaker 1: that day I was surrounded, but I kept fighting, dodging
- 1:11:15Speaker 1: and hiding. Several times during the day, while in concealment,
- 1:11:20Speaker 1: I had a chance to take deliberate aim at some
- 1:11:23Speaker 1: Mexican who gun in hand was looking for me. I
- 1:11:27Speaker 1: do not think I missed my aim either time. With
- 1:11:30Speaker 1: the gathering darkness, I found more time to retreat toward Arizona,
- 1:11:35Speaker 1: but the Mexicans did not quit the chase. Several times
- 1:11:39Speaker 1: the next day, mounted Mexicans tried to head me off.
- 1:11:42Speaker 1: Many times they fired on me, but I had no
- 1:11:45Speaker 1: more arrows, so I depended upon running and hiding. Although
- 1:11:50Speaker 1: I was very tired, I had not eaten since the
- 1:11:53Speaker 1: chase began, nor had I dared to stop for rest.
- 1:11:58Speaker 1: The second night, I got clear of my person, but
- 1:12:01Speaker 1: I never slackened my pace until I reached our home
- 1:12:04Speaker 1: in Arizona. I came into our camp without booty, without
- 1:12:09Speaker 1: my companions, exhausted but not discouraged, the wives and children
- 1:12:16Speaker 1: of my two dead companions were cared for by their people.
- 1:12:19Speaker 1: Some of the Apaches blamed me for the evil result
- 1:12:22Speaker 1: of the expedition, but I said nothing. Having failed, it
- 1:12:27Speaker 1: was only proper that I should remain silent. But my
- 1:12:31Speaker 1: feelings towards the Mexicans did not change. I still hated
- 1:12:35Speaker 1: them and longed for revenge. I never ceased to plan
- 1:12:40Speaker 1: for their punishment, but it was hard to get the
- 1:12:43Speaker 1: other warriors to listen to my proposed raids. In a
- 1:12:47Speaker 1: few months after this last adventure, I persuaded two other
- 1:12:52Speaker 1: warriors to join me in raiding the Mexican frontier. On
- 1:12:56Speaker 1: our former raid, we had gone through the net Night
- 1:12:58Speaker 1: Apaches Range into somenth Aura. This time we went through
- 1:13:02Speaker 1: the country of the Chaconan and entered the Sierra Madre Mountains.
- 1:13:07Speaker 1: We traveled south, secured more rations, and prepared to begin
- 1:13:11Speaker 1: our raids. We had selected a village near the mountains,
- 1:13:15Speaker 1: which we intended to attack at daylight. While asleep that night,
- 1:13:20Speaker 1: Mexican scouts discovered our camp and fired on us, killing
- 1:13:24Speaker 1: one warrior. In the morning, we observed a company of
- 1:13:28Speaker 1: Mexican troops coming from the south. They were mounted and
- 1:13:32Speaker 1: carried supplies for a long journey. We followed their trail
- 1:13:36Speaker 1: until we were sure that they were headed for our
- 1:13:39Speaker 1: range in Arizona. Then we hurried past them and in
- 1:13:43Speaker 1: three days reached our own settlement. We arrived at noon,
- 1:13:47Speaker 1: and that afternoon, about three o'clock, these Mexican troops attacked
- 1:13:51Speaker 1: our settlement. Their first folly killed three small boys. Many
- 1:13:56Speaker 1: of the warriors of our tribe were away from home.
- 1:14:00Speaker 1: Some of us who were in camp were able to
- 1:14:02Speaker 1: drive the troops out of the mountains. Before night. We
- 1:14:05Speaker 1: killed eight Mexicans and lost five two warriors and three boys.
- 1:14:11Speaker 1: The Mexicans rode due south in full retreat. Four warriors
- 1:14:15Speaker 1: were detailed to follow them, and in three days these
- 1:14:19Speaker 1: trailers returned, saying that the Mexican cavalry had left Arizona
- 1:14:23Speaker 1: going southward. We were quite sure they would not return soon.
- 1:14:29Speaker 1: Soon after this, in the summer of eighteen sixty, I
- 1:14:33Speaker 1: was again able to take the war path against the Mexicans,
- 1:14:37Speaker 1: this time with twenty five warriors. We followed the trail
- 1:14:41Speaker 1: of the Mexican troops last mentioned and entered the Sierra
- 1:14:45Speaker 1: de Sahuariba mountains the second day. In these mountains, our
- 1:14:49Speaker 1: scouts discovered mounted Mexican troops. There was only one company
- 1:14:54Speaker 1: of cavalry in this command, and I thought that by properly,
- 1:14:58Speaker 1: surprising them we could defeat them. We ambushed the trail
- 1:15:03Speaker 1: over which they were to come. This was at a
- 1:15:06Speaker 1: place where the whole company must pass through a mountain defile.
- 1:15:10Speaker 1: We reserved fire until all of the troops had passed through.
- 1:15:14Speaker 1: Then the signal was given. The Mexican troopers, seemingly without
- 1:15:19Speaker 1: a word of command, dismounted and placing their horses on
- 1:15:23Speaker 1: the outside of the company for breastworks, made a good
- 1:15:27Speaker 1: fight against us. I saw that we could not dislodge
- 1:15:31Speaker 1: them without using all our ammunition, so I led a charge.
- 1:15:35Speaker 1: The warriors suddenly pressed in from all sides, and we
- 1:15:39Speaker 1: fought hand to hand. During this encounter, I raised my
- 1:15:43Speaker 1: spear to kill a Mexican soldier just as he leveled
- 1:15:47Speaker 1: his gun at me. I was advancing rapidly and my
- 1:15:51Speaker 1: foot slipping in a pool of blood, I fell under
- 1:15:54Speaker 1: the Mexican trooper. He struck me over the head with
- 1:15:57Speaker 1: the butt of his gun, knocking me senseless. Just at
- 1:16:01Speaker 1: that instant, a warrior who followed in my footstiffs killed
- 1:16:05Speaker 1: the Mexican with a spear. In a few minutes, not
- 1:16:08Speaker 1: a Mexican soldier was left alive. When the Apache war
- 1:16:13Speaker 1: cry had died away and their enemies had been scalped.
- 1:16:17Speaker 1: They began to care for their dead and wounded. I
- 1:16:20Speaker 1: was found lying unconscious where I had fallen. They bathed
- 1:16:24Speaker 1: my head in cold water and restored me to consciousness.
- 1:16:28Speaker 1: Then they bound up my wound, and the next morning,
- 1:16:31Speaker 1: although weak from loss of blood and suffering from a
- 1:16:34Speaker 1: severe headache, I was able to march on the return
- 1:16:38Speaker 1: to Arizona. I did not fully recover for months, and
- 1:16:42Speaker 1: I still wear the scar given me by that musketeer.
- 1:16:46Speaker 1: In this fight, we had lost so heavily that there
- 1:16:50Speaker 1: really was no glory in our victory, and we returned
- 1:16:54Speaker 1: to Arizona. No one seemed to want to go on
- 1:16:57Speaker 1: the warpath again that year. In the summer eighteen sixty one,
- 1:17:02Speaker 1: with twelve warriors, I again went into Mexico. We entered
- 1:17:06Speaker 1: Chihuahua and followed south on the east side of the
- 1:17:09Speaker 1: Sierra Madre Mountains. Four days journey, then crossed over to
- 1:17:14Speaker 1: the Sierra de Saharipa range, not far east of Casa Grande.
- 1:17:19Speaker 1: Here we rested one day and sent out scouts to reconnoiter.
- 1:17:24Speaker 1: They reported pack trains camped five miles west of us.
- 1:17:28Speaker 1: The next morning, just at daybreak, as these drivers were
- 1:17:32Speaker 1: starting with their mule pack train, we attacked them. They
- 1:17:36Speaker 1: rode away for their lives, leaving us the booty. The
- 1:17:40Speaker 1: mules were loaded with provisions, most of which we took home.
- 1:17:44Speaker 1: Two mules were loaded with side meat or bacon, this
- 1:17:48Speaker 1: we threw away. We started to take these pack trains home,
- 1:17:52Speaker 1: going northward through Sonora, but when near Casita, Mexican troops
- 1:17:58Speaker 1: overtook us. It was daybreak and we were just finishing
- 1:18:02Speaker 1: our breakfast. We had no idea that we had been
- 1:18:06Speaker 1: pursued or that our enemies were near, until they opened fire.
- 1:18:10Speaker 1: At the first folley. A bullet struck me a glancing lick,
- 1:18:14Speaker 1: just at the lower corner of the left eye, and
- 1:18:18Speaker 1: I fell unconscious. All the other Indians fled to cover.
- 1:18:22Speaker 1: The Mexicans, thinking me dead, started in pursuit of the
- 1:18:26Speaker 1: fleeing Indians. In a few moments, I regained consciousness and
- 1:18:30Speaker 1: had started at full speed for the woods when another
- 1:18:34Speaker 1: company coming up opened fire on me. Then the soldiers
- 1:18:39Speaker 1: who had been chasing the other Indians turned and I
- 1:18:42Speaker 1: stood between two hostile companies. But I did not stand long.
- 1:18:48Speaker 1: Bullets whistled in every direction, and at close range to me.
- 1:18:53Speaker 1: One inflicted a slight flesh wound on my side. But
- 1:18:56Speaker 1: I kept running, dodging and fighting until I got clear
- 1:19:01Speaker 1: of my pursuers. I climbed up a steep canyon where
- 1:19:05Speaker 1: the cavalry could not follow. The troopers saw me, but
- 1:19:09Speaker 1: did not dismount and try to follow. I think they
- 1:19:12Speaker 1: were wise not to come on. It had been understood
- 1:19:16Speaker 1: that in case of surprise with this booty, our place
- 1:19:19Speaker 1: of rendezvous should be the Santa be The mountains in Arizona.
- 1:19:24Speaker 1: We did not reassemble in Mexico, but traveled separately, and
- 1:19:28Speaker 1: in three days we were encamped in our place of rendezvous.
- 1:19:33Speaker 1: From this place we returned home empty handed. We had
- 1:19:37Speaker 1: not even a partial victory to report. I again returned wounded,
- 1:19:43Speaker 1: but I was not yet discouraged. Again I was blamed
- 1:19:47Speaker 1: by our people, and again I had no reply. After
- 1:19:53Speaker 1: our return, many of the warriors had gone on a hunt,
- 1:19:57Speaker 1: and some of them had gone north to trade for
- 1:19:59Speaker 1: blankets from the Navajo Indians. I remained at home, trying
- 1:20:04Speaker 1: to get my wounds healed. One morning, just at daybreak,
- 1:20:07Speaker 1: when the squaws were lighting the camp fires to prepare breakfast,
- 1:20:12Speaker 1: three companies of Mexican troops who had surrounded our settlement
- 1:20:16Speaker 1: in the night, opened fire. There was no time for fighting. Men,
- 1:20:21Speaker 1: women and children fled for their lives. Many women and
- 1:20:25Speaker 1: children and a few warriors were killed, and four women
- 1:20:28Speaker 1: were captured. My left eye was still swollen shut, but
- 1:20:33Speaker 1: with the other I saw well enough to hit one
- 1:20:36Speaker 1: of the officers with an arrow and then make good
- 1:20:39Speaker 1: my escape among the rocks. The troopers burned our teepees
- 1:20:44Speaker 1: and took our arms, provisions, ponies, and blankets. Winter was
- 1:20:49Speaker 1: at hand. There were not more than twenty warriors in
- 1:20:52Speaker 1: camp at this time, and only a few of us
- 1:20:56Speaker 1: had secured weapons during the excitement of the attack. A
- 1:21:00Speaker 1: few warriors followed the trail of the troops as they
- 1:21:02Speaker 1: went back to Mexico with their booty, but were unable
- 1:21:06Speaker 1: to offer battle. It was a long long time before
- 1:21:11Speaker 1: we were able to go on the war path against
- 1:21:13Speaker 1: the Mexicans. The four women who were captured at this
- 1:21:17Speaker 1: time by the Mexicans were taken into Sonora, Mexico, where
- 1:21:22Speaker 1: they were compelled to work for the Mexicans. After some years,
- 1:21:27Speaker 1: they escaped to the mountains and started to find our
- 1:21:30Speaker 1: tribe They had knives which they had stolen from the Mexicans,
- 1:21:34Speaker 1: but they had no other weapons. They had no blankets,
- 1:21:39Speaker 1: so at night they would make a little teepee by
- 1:21:41Speaker 1: cutting brush with their knives and setting them up for
- 1:21:45Speaker 1: the walls. The top was covered over with brush. In
- 1:21:49Speaker 1: this temporary teepee they would all sleep. One night, when
- 1:21:53Speaker 1: their camp fire was low, they heard growling just outside
- 1:21:57Speaker 1: the teepee. Francisco, the younger woman of the party, about
- 1:22:01Speaker 1: seventeen years of age, started to build up the fire
- 1:22:05Speaker 1: when a mountain lion crashed through the teepee and attacked her.
- 1:22:09Speaker 1: The suddenness of the attack made her drop her knife,
- 1:22:13Speaker 1: but she fought as best she could with her hand.
- 1:22:16Speaker 1: She was no match for the lion. However, her left
- 1:22:19Speaker 1: shoulder was crushed and partly torn away. The lion kept
- 1:22:23Speaker 1: trying to catch her by the throat, this she prevented
- 1:22:26Speaker 1: with her hands for a long time. He dragged her
- 1:22:30Speaker 1: for about three hundred yards. Then she found her strength
- 1:22:34Speaker 1: was failing her from loss of blood, and she called
- 1:22:37Speaker 1: to the other women for help. The lion had been
- 1:22:40Speaker 1: dragging her by one foot, and she had been catching
- 1:22:43Speaker 1: hold of his legs and of the rocks and underbrush
- 1:22:46Speaker 1: to delay him. Finally he stopped and stood over her.
- 1:22:51Speaker 1: She again called her companions, and they attacked him with
- 1:22:54Speaker 1: their knives and killed him. Then they dressed her wounds
- 1:22:58Speaker 1: and nursed her in the mountain for about a month.
- 1:23:02Speaker 1: When she was able to walk, they resumed their journey
- 1:23:05Speaker 1: and reached our tribe in safety. This woman, Francisco, was
- 1:23:10Speaker 1: held as a prisoner of war with the other Apaches
- 1:23:14Speaker 1: and died on the Fort Sill Reservation in eighteen ninety two.
- 1:23:18Speaker 1: Her face was always disfigured with those scars, and she
- 1:23:22Speaker 1: never regained perfect use of her hands. The three older
- 1:23:26Speaker 1: women died before we became prisoners of war. Many women
- 1:23:30Speaker 1: and children were carried away at different times by Mexicans.
- 1:23:34Speaker 1: Not many of them ever returned, and those who did
- 1:23:38Speaker 1: underwent many hardships in order to be again united with
- 1:23:42Speaker 1: their people. Those who did not escape were slaves to
- 1:23:46Speaker 1: the Mexicans or perhaps even more degraded. When warriors were
- 1:23:51Speaker 1: captured by the Mexicans, they were kept in chains. Four
- 1:23:56Speaker 1: warriors who were captured once at a place north of
- 1:23:58Speaker 1: Casa Grande called by the Indians on Us, were kept
- 1:24:02Speaker 1: in chains for a year and a half when they
- 1:24:06Speaker 1: were exchanged for Mexicans whom we had captured. We never
- 1:24:10Speaker 1: chained prisoners or kept them in confinement, but they seldom
- 1:24:14Speaker 1: got away. Mexican men, when captured, were compelled to cut
- 1:24:18Speaker 1: wood and herd horses. Mexican women and children were treated
- 1:24:23Speaker 1: as our own people. Chapter eight Raids that were successful.
- 1:24:30Speaker 1: In the summer of eighteen sixty two, I took eight
- 1:24:34Speaker 1: men and invaded Mexican territory. We went south on the
- 1:24:38Speaker 1: west side of the Sierra Madre mountains for five days,
- 1:24:42Speaker 1: then in the night crossed over to the southern part
- 1:24:45Speaker 1: of the Sierra de Saharipa range. Here we again camped
- 1:24:50Speaker 1: to watch for pack trains. About ten o'clock next morning,
- 1:24:54Speaker 1: four drivers mounted came past our camp with a pack
- 1:24:58Speaker 1: mule train. As soon as they saw us, they rode
- 1:25:02Speaker 1: for their lives, leaving us the booty. This was a
- 1:25:06Speaker 1: long train and packed with blankets, calico saddles, tinware, and
- 1:25:12Speaker 1: loaf sugar. We hurried home as fast as we could
- 1:25:16Speaker 1: with these provisions, and on our return, while passing through
- 1:25:20Speaker 1: a canyon in the Santa Catalina Range of mountains in Arizona,
- 1:25:24Speaker 1: met a white man driving a mule pack train. When
- 1:25:28Speaker 1: we first saw him, he had already seen us and
- 1:25:31Speaker 1: was riding at full tilt up the canyon. We examined
- 1:25:35Speaker 1: his train and found that his mules were all loaded
- 1:25:38Speaker 1: with cheese. We put them in with the other train
- 1:25:42Speaker 1: and resumed our journey. We did not attempt to trail
- 1:25:45Speaker 1: the driver, and I am sure he did not try
- 1:25:48Speaker 1: to follow us. In two days we arrived at home.
- 1:25:53Speaker 1: Then Mangus Colorado, our chief, assembled the tribe. We gave
- 1:25:57Speaker 1: a feast, divided the spoils, and danced all night. Some
- 1:26:02Speaker 1: of the pack mules were killed and eaten. This time,
- 1:26:05Speaker 1: after our return, we kept out scouts so that we
- 1:26:08Speaker 1: would know if Mexican troops should attempt to follow us.
- 1:26:12Speaker 1: On the third day, our scouts came into camp and
- 1:26:15Speaker 1: reported Mexican cavalry dismounted and approaching our settlement. All our
- 1:26:22Speaker 1: warriors were in camp. Mangus Colorado took command of one
- 1:26:26Speaker 1: division and I of the other. We hoped to get
- 1:26:30Speaker 1: possession of their horses, then surround the troops in the
- 1:26:33Speaker 1: mountains and destroy the whole company. This we were unable
- 1:26:38Speaker 1: to do, for they too had scouts. However, within four
- 1:26:42Speaker 1: hours after we started. We had killed ten troopers with
- 1:26:46Speaker 1: the loss of only one man, and the Mexican cavalry
- 1:26:50Speaker 1: was in full retreat, followed by thirty armed apaches, who
- 1:26:55Speaker 1: gave them no rest until they were far inside the
- 1:26:58Speaker 1: Mexican country. No more troops came that winter. For a
- 1:27:03Speaker 1: long time. We had plenty of provisions, plenty of blankets,
- 1:27:07Speaker 1: and plenty of clothing. We also had plenty of cheese
- 1:27:13Speaker 1: and sugar. Another summer, eighteen sixty three, I selected three
- 1:27:18Speaker 1: warriors and went on a raid into Mexico. We went
- 1:27:22Speaker 1: south into Sonora, camping in the Sierra de Saharipa mountains.
- 1:27:27Speaker 1: About forty miles west of Casa Grande is a small
- 1:27:30Speaker 1: village in the mountains called by the Indians Grasanas. We
- 1:27:35Speaker 1: camped near this place and concluded to make an attack.
- 1:27:39Speaker 1: We had noticed that just at midday no one seemed
- 1:27:43Speaker 1: to be stirring, so we planned to make our attack
- 1:27:46Speaker 1: at the noon hour the next day. We stole into
- 1:27:49Speaker 1: the town at noon. We had no guns, but were
- 1:27:53Speaker 1: armed with spears and bows and arrows. When the war
- 1:27:57Speaker 1: whoop was given to open the attack, the Mexicans fled
- 1:28:00Speaker 1: in every direction. Not one of them made any attempt
- 1:28:05Speaker 1: to fight us. We shot some arrows at the retreating Mexicans,
- 1:28:09Speaker 1: but killed only one. Soon all was silent in the
- 1:28:13Speaker 1: town and no Mexicans could be seen. When we discovered
- 1:28:17Speaker 1: that all the Mexicans were gone, we looked through their
- 1:28:20Speaker 1: houses and saw many curious things. These Mexicans kept many
- 1:28:25Speaker 1: more kinds of property than the Apaches did. Many of
- 1:28:29Speaker 1: the things we saw in the houses we could not understand,
- 1:28:32Speaker 1: but in the stores we saw much that we wanted.
- 1:28:36Speaker 1: So we drove in a herd of horses and mules
- 1:28:39Speaker 1: and packed as much provisions and supplies as we could
- 1:28:42Speaker 1: on them. Then we formed these animals into a pack
- 1:28:46Speaker 1: train and returned safely to Arizona. The Mexicans did not
- 1:28:51Speaker 1: even trail us. When we arrived in camp. We called
- 1:28:55Speaker 1: the tribe together and feasted all day. We gave presents
- 1:28:59Speaker 1: to everyone. That night, the dance began, and it did
- 1:29:03Speaker 1: not cease until noon the next day. This was perhaps
- 1:29:07Speaker 1: the most successful raid ever made by us into Mexican territory.
- 1:29:13Speaker 1: I do not know the value of the booty, but
- 1:29:15Speaker 1: it was very great, for we had supplies enough to
- 1:29:19Speaker 1: last our whole tribe for a year or more. End
- 1:29:24Speaker 1: of Part one of the Mexicans Section four, The Mexicans,
- 1:29:29Speaker 1: Part two. In the fall of eighteen sixty four, twenty
- 1:29:34Speaker 1: warriors were willing to go with me on another raid
- 1:29:37Speaker 1: into Mexico. These were all chosen men, well armed and
- 1:29:41Speaker 1: equipped for battle. As usual, we provided for the safety
- 1:29:45Speaker 1: of our families before starting on this raid. Our whole
- 1:29:49Speaker 1: tribe scattered and then reassembled at a camp about forty
- 1:29:53Speaker 1: miles from the former place. In this way, it would
- 1:29:56Speaker 1: be hard for the Mexicans to trail them, and we
- 1:30:00Speaker 1: would know where to find our families when we returned. Moreover,
- 1:30:04Speaker 1: if any hostile Indian should see this large number of
- 1:30:07Speaker 1: warriors leaving our range, they might attack our camp. But
- 1:30:11Speaker 1: if they found no one at the usual place, their
- 1:30:14Speaker 1: raid would fail. We went south through the chaconin Apaches range,
- 1:30:19Speaker 1: entered Sonora, Mexico, at a point directly south of Tombstone, Arizona,
- 1:30:25Speaker 1: and went into hiding in the Sierra Dertunes mountains. We
- 1:30:30Speaker 1: attacked several settlements in the neighborhood and secured plenty of
- 1:30:34Speaker 1: provisions and supplies. After about three days, we attacked and
- 1:30:39Speaker 1: captured a mule pack train at a place called by
- 1:30:42Speaker 1: the Indians Pontoco. It is situated in the mountains due west,
- 1:30:46Speaker 1: about one day's journey from Arispe. There were three drivers
- 1:30:51Speaker 1: with this train. One was killed and two escaped. The
- 1:30:55Speaker 1: train was loaded with mescal, which was contained in bottles
- 1:30:58Speaker 1: held in wicker basque. As soon as we made camp,
- 1:31:02Speaker 1: the Indians began to get drunk and fight each other.
- 1:31:05Speaker 1: I too drank enough mascowl to feel the effect of it,
- 1:31:09Speaker 1: but I was not drunk. I ordered the fighting stopped,
- 1:31:13Speaker 1: but the order was disobeyed. Soon almost a general fight
- 1:31:18Speaker 1: was in progress. I tried to place a guard out
- 1:31:21Speaker 1: around our camp, but all were drunk and refused to serve.
- 1:31:26Speaker 1: I expected an attack from Mexican troops at any moment,
- 1:31:29Speaker 1: and really it was a serious matter for me, for
- 1:31:33Speaker 1: being in command, I would be held responsible for any
- 1:31:37Speaker 1: ill luck attending the expedition. Finally, the camp became comparatively still,
- 1:31:43Speaker 1: for the Indians were too drunk to walk or even
- 1:31:46Speaker 1: to fight. While they were in this stupor, I poured
- 1:31:49Speaker 1: out all the maskal. Then I put out all the
- 1:31:52Speaker 1: fires and moved the pack mules to a considerable distance
- 1:31:56Speaker 1: from camp. After this, I returned to camp to try
- 1:31:59Speaker 1: to do something for the wounded. I found that only
- 1:32:02Speaker 1: two were dangerously wounded. From the leg of one of
- 1:32:06Speaker 1: these I cut an arrow head, and from the shoulder
- 1:32:09Speaker 1: of another I withdrew a spear point. When all the
- 1:32:13Speaker 1: wounds had been cared for, I myself kept guard until morning.
- 1:32:17Speaker 1: The next day. We loaded our wounded on the pack
- 1:32:20Speaker 1: mules and started for Arizona. The next day we captured
- 1:32:25Speaker 1: some cattle from a herd and drove them home with us.
- 1:32:28Speaker 1: But it was a very difficult matter to drive cattle
- 1:32:31Speaker 1: when we were on foot. Caring for the wounded and
- 1:32:34Speaker 1: keeping the cattle from escaping made our journey tedious. But
- 1:32:39Speaker 1: we were not trailed and arrived safely at home with
- 1:32:42Speaker 1: all the booty. We then gave a feast and dance
- 1:32:46Speaker 1: and divided the spoils. After the dance, we killed all
- 1:32:49Speaker 1: the cattle and dried the meat. We dressed the hides,
- 1:32:53Speaker 1: and then the dried meat was packed in between these
- 1:32:56Speaker 1: hides and stored away. All that winter, we had plenty
- 1:33:00Speaker 1: of meat. These were the first cattle we ever had.
- 1:33:04Speaker 1: As usual, we killed and ate some of the mules.
- 1:33:08Speaker 1: We had little use for mules, and if we could
- 1:33:10Speaker 1: not trade them for something of value, we killed them.
- 1:33:14Speaker 1: In the summer of eighteen sixty five, with four warriors,
- 1:33:18Speaker 1: I went again into Mexico. Heretofore we had gone on foot.
- 1:33:23Speaker 1: We were accustomed to fight on foot, Besides, we could
- 1:33:27Speaker 1: more easily conceal ourselves when dismounted. But this time we
- 1:33:31Speaker 1: wanted more cattle, and it was hard to drive them
- 1:33:34Speaker 1: when we were on foot. We entered Sonora at a
- 1:33:37Speaker 1: point southwest from Tombstone, Arizona, and followed the Sierra der
- 1:33:42Speaker 1: Tuns mountains to the southern limit. Then crossed the country
- 1:33:47Speaker 1: as far south as the mouth of Yaqui River. Here
- 1:33:50Speaker 1: we saw a great lake, the Gulf of California, extending
- 1:33:55Speaker 1: beyond the limit of sight. Then we turned north, attacked
- 1:34:00Speaker 1: several settlements and secured plenty of supplies. When we had
- 1:34:04Speaker 1: come back northwest of Arispe, we secured about sixty head
- 1:34:09Speaker 1: of cattle and drove them to our homes in Arizona.
- 1:34:13Speaker 1: We did not go directly home, but camped in different
- 1:34:16Speaker 1: valleys with our cattle. We were not trailed. When we
- 1:34:20Speaker 1: arrived at our camp, the tribe was again assembled for
- 1:34:23Speaker 1: feasting and dancing. Presents were given to everybody. Then the
- 1:34:28Speaker 1: cattle were killed and the meat, dried and packed. Chapter nine,
- 1:34:34Speaker 1: Varying Fortunes. In the fall of eighteen sixty five, with
- 1:34:38Speaker 1: nine other warriors, I went into Mexico on foot. We
- 1:34:42Speaker 1: attacked several settlements south of Casa Grande and collected many
- 1:34:46Speaker 1: horses and mules. We made our way northward with these
- 1:34:50Speaker 1: animals through the mountains. When near Rispe, we made camp
- 1:34:54Speaker 1: one evening, and, thinking that we were not being trailed,
- 1:34:58Speaker 1: turned loose. The whole heard, even those we had been riding.
- 1:35:03Speaker 1: They were in a valley surrounded by steep mountains, and
- 1:35:06Speaker 1: we were camped at the mouth of this valley so
- 1:35:09Speaker 1: that the animals could not leave without coming through our camp.
- 1:35:13Speaker 1: Just as we had begun to eat our supper, our
- 1:35:15Speaker 1: scouts came in and announced Mexican troops coming toward our camp.
- 1:35:20Speaker 1: We started for the horses, but troops that our scouts
- 1:35:23Speaker 1: had not seen were on the cliffs above us and
- 1:35:27Speaker 1: opened fire. We scattered in all directions, and the troops
- 1:35:31Speaker 1: recovered all our booty. In three days. We reassembled at
- 1:35:36Speaker 1: our appointed place of rendezvous in the Sierra Madre Mountains
- 1:35:39Speaker 1: in northern Sonora. Mexican troops did not follow us, and
- 1:35:43Speaker 1: we returned to Arizona without any more fighting and with
- 1:35:48Speaker 1: no booty. Again, I had nothing to say, but I
- 1:35:53Speaker 1: was anxious for another raid. Early the next summer, eighteen
- 1:35:57Speaker 1: sixty six, I took thirty mounted warriors and invaded Mexican territory.
- 1:36:03Speaker 1: We went south through Chihuahua as far as Santa Cruz, Sonora,
- 1:36:07Speaker 1: then crossed over the Sierra Madre Mountains, following the river
- 1:36:11Speaker 1: course at the south end of the range. We kept
- 1:36:15Speaker 1: on westward from the Sierra Madre Mountains to the Sierra
- 1:36:18Speaker 1: de Sajaripa mountains and followed that range northward. We collected
- 1:36:23Speaker 1: all the horses, mules, and cattle we wanted and drove
- 1:36:27Speaker 1: them northward through Sonora into Arizona. Mexicans saw us at
- 1:36:32Speaker 1: many times and in many places, but they did not
- 1:36:36Speaker 1: attack us at any time, nor did any troops attempt
- 1:36:39Speaker 1: to follow us. When we arrived at our homes, we
- 1:36:43Speaker 1: gave presents to all, and the tribe feasted and danced.
- 1:36:47Speaker 1: During this raid, we had killed about fifty Mexicans. The
- 1:36:51Speaker 1: next year, eighteen sixty seven, Mangus Colorado led eight warriors
- 1:36:56Speaker 1: on a raid into Mexico. I went as a warrior,
- 1:37:00Speaker 1: for I was always glad to fight the Mexicans. We
- 1:37:03Speaker 1: rode south from near Tombstone, Arizona, into Sonora, Mexico. We
- 1:37:08Speaker 1: attacked some cowboys, and after a fight with them, in
- 1:37:11Speaker 1: which two of their number were killed, we drove all
- 1:37:15Speaker 1: their cattle northward. The second day, we were driving the
- 1:37:18Speaker 1: cattle but had no scouts out. When we were not
- 1:37:22Speaker 1: far from a respae, Mexican troops rode upon us. They
- 1:37:26Speaker 1: were well armed and well mounted, and when we first
- 1:37:29Speaker 1: saw them they were not half a mile away from us.
- 1:37:33Speaker 1: We left the cattle and rode as hard as we
- 1:37:36Speaker 1: could toward the mountains, but they gained on us rapidly.
- 1:37:40Speaker 1: Soon they opened fire, but were so far away from
- 1:37:44Speaker 1: us that we were unable to reach them with our arrows.
- 1:37:47Speaker 1: Finally we reached some timber, and, leaving our ponies, fought
- 1:37:51Speaker 1: from cover. Then the Mexicans halted, collected our ponies, and
- 1:37:56Speaker 1: rode away across the plains toward a respe, driving the
- 1:38:00Speaker 1: cattle with them. We stood and watched them until they
- 1:38:03Speaker 1: disappeared in the distance, and then took up our march
- 1:38:07Speaker 1: for home. We arrived home in five days, with no
- 1:38:11Speaker 1: victory to report, no spoils to divide. And not even
- 1:38:17Speaker 1: the ponies which we had ridden into Mexico. This expedition
- 1:38:21Speaker 1: was considered disgraceful. The warriors who had been with Mangus
- 1:38:26Speaker 1: Colorado on this last expedition wanted to return to Mexico.
- 1:38:31Speaker 1: They were not satisfied. Besides, they felt keenly the taunts
- 1:38:35Speaker 1: of the other warriors Mangus Colorado would not lead them back.
- 1:38:40Speaker 1: So I took command and we went on foot directly
- 1:38:43Speaker 1: towards Arrespe and Sonora and made our camp in the
- 1:38:47Speaker 1: Sierra de Sajariba mountains. There were only six of us,
- 1:38:51Speaker 1: but we raided several settlements at night, captured many horses
- 1:38:55Speaker 1: and mules, and loaded them with provisions, saddles, and blankets.
- 1:39:01Speaker 1: Then we returned to Arizona, traveling only at night. When
- 1:39:05Speaker 1: we arrived at our camp, we sent out scouts to
- 1:39:07Speaker 1: prevent any surprise by Mexicans. Assembled the tribe, feasted, danced,
- 1:39:13Speaker 1: and divided the spoils. Mangus Colorado would not receive any
- 1:39:17Speaker 1: of this booty, but we did not care. No Mexican
- 1:39:21Speaker 1: troops followed us to Arizona. About a year after this,
- 1:39:25Speaker 1: eighteen sixty eight, Mexican troops rounded up all the horses
- 1:39:30Speaker 1: and mules of the tribe not far from our settlement.
- 1:39:34Speaker 1: No raids had been made into Mexico that year, and
- 1:39:37Speaker 1: we were not expecting any attacks. We were all in camp,
- 1:39:41Speaker 1: having just returned from hunting. About two o'clock in the afternoon,
- 1:39:45Speaker 1: two Mexican scouts were seen near our settlement. We killed
- 1:39:49Speaker 1: these scouts, but the troops got under way with the
- 1:39:52Speaker 1: herd of our horses and mules before we saw them.
- 1:39:55Speaker 1: It was useless to try to overtake them on foot,
- 1:39:58Speaker 1: and our tribe had not a horse left. I took
- 1:40:02Speaker 1: twenty warriors and trailed bim. We found the stock at
- 1:40:06Speaker 1: a cattle ranch in Sonora, not far from Nakozai, and
- 1:40:10Speaker 1: attacked the cowboys who had them in charge. We killed
- 1:40:13Speaker 1: two men and lost none. After the fight, we drove
- 1:40:16Speaker 1: off our own stock and all of theirs. We were
- 1:40:20Speaker 1: trailed by nine cowboys. I sent the stock on ahead,
- 1:40:24Speaker 1: and with three warriors, stayed in the rear to intercept
- 1:40:27Speaker 1: any attacking parties. One night, when near the Arizona line,
- 1:40:32Speaker 1: we discovered these cowboys on our trail and watched them
- 1:40:36Speaker 1: camp for the night and picket their horses. About midnight,
- 1:40:40Speaker 1: we stole into their camp and silently led away all
- 1:40:44Speaker 1: their horses, leaving the cowboys asleep. Then we rode hard
- 1:40:49Speaker 1: and overtook our companions, who always traveled at night instead
- 1:40:54Speaker 1: of in the daytime. We turned these horses in with
- 1:40:57Speaker 1: the herd and fell back to again and intercept anyone
- 1:41:01Speaker 1: who might trail us. What these nine cowboys did next morning,
- 1:41:05Speaker 1: I do not know, and I have never heard the
- 1:41:08Speaker 1: Mexicans say anything about it. I know they did not
- 1:41:12Speaker 1: follow us, for we were not molested when we arrived
- 1:41:16Speaker 1: in camp. At home, there was great rejoicing in the tribe.
- 1:41:20Speaker 1: It was considered a good trick to get the Mexicans
- 1:41:23Speaker 1: horses and leave them asleep in the mountains. It was
- 1:41:27Speaker 1: a long time before we again went into Mexico or
- 1:41:31Speaker 1: were disturbed by the Mexicans. Chapter ten Other Raids. When
- 1:41:38Speaker 1: reading the foregoing chapters of Apache Raids, one not acquainted
- 1:41:42Speaker 1: with the lawlessness of the frontier might wonder how this
- 1:41:46Speaker 1: tendency of the Apaches was developed to such a marked degree.
- 1:41:50Speaker 1: But one acquainted with the real conditions the disregard for
- 1:41:54Speaker 1: law by both Mexicans and white men along the borderline
- 1:41:58Speaker 1: of Old Mexico and Arizona in early days can readily
- 1:42:02Speaker 1: understand where the Apache got his education in the art
- 1:42:05Speaker 1: of conducting lawless raids, in order therefore that those who
- 1:42:09Speaker 1: are unacquainted with the conditions as they were in southern
- 1:42:12Speaker 1: Arizona during the eighties may understand the environment of the apaches.
- 1:42:17Speaker 1: This chapter is given. The events herein narrated are taken
- 1:42:22Speaker 1: by the author from many accounts given him by reliable
- 1:42:25Speaker 1: men who lived in this section of country during the
- 1:42:28Speaker 1: period mentioned raid by white men in eighteen eighty two,
- 1:42:34Speaker 1: a company of six Mexican traders, who were known as
- 1:42:38Speaker 1: smugglers because they evaded duties on goods which they brought
- 1:42:42Speaker 1: into the United States and sold in Arizona, were camped
- 1:42:46Speaker 1: in Skeleton Canyon, ten miles north of the north line
- 1:42:50Speaker 1: of Old Mexico. They were known to carry large sums
- 1:42:53Speaker 1: of money, but as they were always armed and ready
- 1:42:56Speaker 1: to defend their possessions, they were not often more blested. However,
- 1:43:01Speaker 1: on this occasion, just as they were rising in the
- 1:43:04Speaker 1: morning to prepare their breakfast, five white men opened fire
- 1:43:08Speaker 1: on them from ambush, and all save one of the
- 1:43:12Speaker 1: Mexicans were killed. This one, though wounded, finally made his escape.
- 1:43:17Speaker 1: A few days after the killing, some cowboys on a
- 1:43:20Speaker 1: round up camped at this place and buried the remains
- 1:43:23Speaker 1: what the coyotes had left of these five Mexicans. Two
- 1:43:27Speaker 1: years later, at the same place, a cowboy found a
- 1:43:31Speaker 1: leather bag containing seventy two Mexican dollars, which small amount
- 1:43:35Speaker 1: of money had been overlooked by the robbers. The men
- 1:43:39Speaker 1: who did this killing lived in Arizona for many years afterwards,
- 1:43:43Speaker 1: and although it was known that they had committed the depredation,
- 1:43:47Speaker 1: no arrests followed, and no attempt was made by any
- 1:43:51Speaker 1: of the Mexicans to recover the property of their fellow citizens.
- 1:43:57Speaker 1: Mexican Raid. In eighteen eighty four, a cattleman and four
- 1:44:01Speaker 1: cowboys from his branch started to drive some fat cattle
- 1:44:05Speaker 1: to market at Tombstone, Arizona. The route they took led
- 1:44:09Speaker 1: partly through Old Mexico and partly through Arizona. One night,
- 1:44:14Speaker 1: they camped in a canyon just south of the Mexican border.
- 1:44:18Speaker 1: Next morning, at daylight, the cowboy, who had been on
- 1:44:21Speaker 1: her duty the last half of the night, had just
- 1:44:24Speaker 1: come in and aroused the camp when the Mexicans opened
- 1:44:28Speaker 1: fire on them from ambush. The cattleman and one of
- 1:44:31Speaker 1: the cowboys were severely wounded at the first folley and
- 1:44:35Speaker 1: took shelter behind the camp wagon, from which position they
- 1:44:38Speaker 1: fired as long as their ammunition lasted. The other three
- 1:44:42Speaker 1: were only slightly wounded and reached cover, but only one
- 1:44:46Speaker 1: escaped with his life. He remained in hiding for two
- 1:44:50Speaker 1: days before his comrades found him. He saw the Mexicans
- 1:44:54Speaker 1: rob the bodies of the dead and lead away their
- 1:44:57Speaker 1: saddle horses after having cooked breakfast for themselves in the
- 1:45:01Speaker 1: deserted camp. He was severely wounded and all his ammunition
- 1:45:06Speaker 1: was gone, Hence he could only wait. On the second
- 1:45:10Speaker 1: day after this raid, some of the cattle strayed back
- 1:45:13Speaker 1: to the old ranch, thereby giving notice to the cowboys
- 1:45:17Speaker 1: that there had been foul play. They found their wounded
- 1:45:20Speaker 1: companions lying delirious near the decaying bodies of their comrades.
- 1:45:25Speaker 1: No arrests were ever made in Mexico for these murders,
- 1:45:29Speaker 1: and no attempt was made to recover damage or prosecute
- 1:45:33Speaker 1: the robbers. The two instances above narrated will serve to
- 1:45:37Speaker 1: show the reader what kind of an example was set
- 1:45:40Speaker 1: for the Apaches by at least a portion of the
- 1:45:43Speaker 1: inhabitants of the two Christian nations with whom they came
- 1:45:47Speaker 1: in contact Apache raids. It is thought well to give
- 1:45:53Speaker 1: in this chapter some of the depredations of the Apaches
- 1:45:56Speaker 1: not told by Geronimo. They are given as told by
- 1:46:00Speaker 1: our own citizens and from the white man's point of view.
- 1:46:05Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty four, Judge McCormick and wife, accompanied by
- 1:46:09Speaker 1: their young son, were driving from Silver City to Lordsburg
- 1:46:13Speaker 1: when they were ambushed by Apaches. The bodies of the
- 1:46:17Speaker 1: adults were found soon afterward, but the child's body was
- 1:46:21Speaker 1: never recovered. Years afterward, an Apache squaw told some of
- 1:46:26Speaker 1: the settlers in Arizona that the little boy, about eight
- 1:46:29Speaker 1: years old, cried so much and was so stubborn that
- 1:46:33Speaker 1: they had to kill him, although their original intention was
- 1:46:37Speaker 1: to spare his life. In eighteen eighty two, a man
- 1:46:41Speaker 1: named Hunt was wounded in a row in a saloon
- 1:46:44Speaker 1: in Tombstone, Arizona. During this row, two other men had
- 1:46:48Speaker 1: been killed, and to avoid arrest, Hunt and his brother
- 1:46:52Speaker 1: went into the mountains and camped about ten miles north
- 1:46:56Speaker 1: of Willow's Springs to await the healing of his wounds.
- 1:47:00Speaker 1: A few days after they came there, Apache Indians attacked
- 1:47:04Speaker 1: them and killed the wounded brother, but the other, by
- 1:47:08Speaker 1: hard riding, made good his escape. In eighteen eighty three,
- 1:47:12Speaker 1: two Eastern boys went into Arizona to prospect. Their real
- 1:47:17Speaker 1: outing began at Willow's Springs, where they had stayed two
- 1:47:20Speaker 1: days with the cowboys. These cowboys had warned them against
- 1:47:24Speaker 1: the Apaches, but the young men seemed entirely fearless and
- 1:47:29Speaker 1: pushed on into the mountains. On the second morning after
- 1:47:33Speaker 1: they left the settlement, one of the boys was getting
- 1:47:35Speaker 1: breakfast while the other went to bring in the pack
- 1:47:38Speaker 1: horses that had been hobbled and turned loose the night
- 1:47:41Speaker 1: before to graze. Just about the time he found the horses,
- 1:47:45Speaker 1: two Apache warriors rode out from cover toward him, and
- 1:47:49Speaker 1: he made a hasty retreat to camp, jumping off of
- 1:47:52Speaker 1: a bluff and in so doing breaking his leg. A
- 1:47:56Speaker 1: consultation was then held between the two Easterners, and it
- 1:48:00Speaker 1: was decided that perhaps all the stories they had been
- 1:48:03Speaker 1: told of the Apache raids were true, and that it
- 1:48:07Speaker 1: was advisable to surrender. Accordingly, a white handkerchief was tied
- 1:48:12Speaker 1: to the end of a pole and raised cautiously above
- 1:48:15Speaker 1: the top of the bluff. In about ten minutes, the
- 1:48:19Speaker 1: two Indians, one a very old warrior and the other
- 1:48:22Speaker 1: a mere boy. Evidently his son, rode into camp and dismounted.
- 1:48:28Speaker 1: The old warrior examined the broken limb, then, without a word,
- 1:48:33Speaker 1: proceeded to take off the shirt of the uninjured youth
- 1:48:36Speaker 1: with strips of which he carefully bound up the broken leg.
- 1:48:40Speaker 1: After this, the two Indians ate the prepared breakfast and
- 1:48:44Speaker 1: remounted their ponies. Then the old warrior, indicating the direction
- 1:48:49Speaker 1: with his thumb, said doctor Lordsburg three days, and silently
- 1:48:55Speaker 1: rode away. The young men rode twenty five miles to
- 1:48:58Speaker 1: Sant Simone, where the cowboys fitted them out with a
- 1:49:01Speaker 1: wagon to continue their journey to Lordsburg, seventy five miles further,
- 1:49:06Speaker 1: where a physician services could be secured. In eighteen eighty three,
- 1:49:12Speaker 1: two prospectors Alberts and Ryes by name, were driving eighteen
- 1:49:17Speaker 1: consisting of a horse and a mule through Turkey Creek
- 1:49:20Speaker 1: Bottoms when they were shot by the Indians. The wagon
- 1:49:24Speaker 1: and harness were left in the road, and the mule
- 1:49:26Speaker 1: was found dead in the road two hundred yards from
- 1:49:29Speaker 1: that place. Evidently, the Indians had not much use for him.
- 1:49:33Speaker 1: The guns of the prospectors were found later, but the
- 1:49:37Speaker 1: horse they drove was not recovered. In none of the
- 1:49:40Speaker 1: above named instances were the bodies of the victims mutilated. However,
- 1:49:46Speaker 1: there are many recorded instances in which the Apache Indians
- 1:49:50Speaker 1: did mutilate the bodies of their victims, but it is
- 1:49:54Speaker 1: claimed by Geronimo that these were outlawed Indians, as his
- 1:49:58Speaker 1: regular warriors were in store, reducted to scalp none except
- 1:50:02Speaker 1: those killed in battle, and to torture none except to
- 1:50:06Speaker 1: make them reveal desired information. In eighteen eighty four, two
- 1:50:11Speaker 1: cowboys in the employment of the San Simone Cattle Company
- 1:50:15Speaker 1: were camped at Willow Springs, eighteen miles southwest of Skeleton
- 1:50:19Speaker 1: Canyon and not far from Old Mexico. Just at sundown,
- 1:50:24Speaker 1: their camp was surrounded by Apaches in warpaint, who said
- 1:50:28Speaker 1: they had been at war with the Mexicans and wished
- 1:50:32Speaker 1: to return to the United States. There were about seventy
- 1:50:35Speaker 1: five Indians in the whole tribe, the squaws and children
- 1:50:39Speaker 1: coming up later. They had with them about one hundred
- 1:50:43Speaker 1: and fifty Mexican horses. The Indians took possession of the
- 1:50:47Speaker 1: camp and remained for about ten days, getting their supplies
- 1:50:51Speaker 1: of meat by killing cattle. Of the company with this
- 1:50:55Speaker 1: band of Indians was a white boy about fourteen years old,
- 1:50:59Speaker 1: who had evident been with them from infancy, for he
- 1:51:02Speaker 1: could not speak a word of English and did not
- 1:51:05Speaker 1: understand much Spanish, but spoke the Apache language readily. They
- 1:51:10Speaker 1: would allow but one of the cowboys to leave camp
- 1:51:13Speaker 1: at a time, keeping the other under guard. They had
- 1:51:17Speaker 1: sentinels with spyglasses on all the hills and peaks surrounding
- 1:51:21Speaker 1: the camp. One evening, when one of the cowboys, William Byrne,
- 1:51:26Speaker 1: had been allowed to pass out of the camp, he
- 1:51:29Speaker 1: noticed an Indian dismounted, and as he approached, discovered that
- 1:51:33Speaker 1: the Indian had him under range of his rifle. He
- 1:51:36Speaker 1: immediately dismounted and standing on the opposite side from the
- 1:51:40Speaker 1: red skin through his own winchester across his horse's neck,
- 1:51:44Speaker 1: when the Indian sprang on his horse and galloped toward
- 1:51:48Speaker 1: him at full speed, making signs to him not to shoot,
- 1:51:52Speaker 1: And when he approached him, dismounted and pointing to the ground,
- 1:51:56Speaker 1: showed burn many fresh deer tracks. Then, as an understanding
- 1:52:01Speaker 1: had been established, the cowboy remounted and went on his way,
- 1:52:05Speaker 1: leaving the Apache to hunt the deer. One day, when
- 1:52:09Speaker 1: this cowboy was about ten miles from camp, he found
- 1:52:12Speaker 1: two splendid horses of the Indians. These horses had strayed
- 1:52:17Speaker 1: from the herd. Thinking that they would in a way
- 1:52:20Speaker 1: compensate for the cattle the Apaches were eating, he drove
- 1:52:24Speaker 1: them on for about five miles into a canyon where
- 1:52:27Speaker 1: there was plenty of grass and water, and left them there,
- 1:52:31Speaker 1: intending to come back after the departure of the Indians
- 1:52:34Speaker 1: and take possession of them. On the tenth day after
- 1:52:38Speaker 1: the arrival of this band of Indians, United States troops,
- 1:52:42Speaker 1: accompanied by two Indians who had been sent to make
- 1:52:45Speaker 1: the arrangements, arrived in camp, paid for the cattle the
- 1:52:49Speaker 1: Apaches had eaten, took the Indians and their stock, and
- 1:52:53Speaker 1: moved on towards Fort Bowie. The cowboys immediately started for
- 1:52:57Speaker 1: the canyon where the two horses had been left, but
- 1:53:00Speaker 1: had not gone far when they met two Indians driving
- 1:53:03Speaker 1: these horses in front of them as they pushed on
- 1:53:06Speaker 1: to overtake the tribe. Evidently, the shrewdness of the paleface
- 1:53:11Speaker 1: had not outwitted the red Man that time. Geronimo says
- 1:53:16Speaker 1: he was in no wise connected with the events herein mentioned,
- 1:53:20Speaker 1: but refuses to state whether he knows anything about them.
- 1:53:24Speaker 1: He holds it unmanly to tell of any depredations of
- 1:53:27Speaker 1: Red men except those for which he was responsible. Such
- 1:53:32Speaker 1: were the events transpiring in Quotes Apache land during the
- 1:53:37Speaker 1: days when Geronimo was leading his warriors to avenge the
- 1:53:41Speaker 1: Quote's wrongs of his people. This chapter will serve to
- 1:53:45Speaker 1: show that the Apache had plenty of examples of lawlessness
- 1:53:49Speaker 1: furnished him, and also that he was a very apt
- 1:53:54Speaker 1: scholar in this school of savage lawlessness. And of Part
- 1:53:59Speaker 1: two of the Mexicans, Section five, Part three of the Mexicans,
- 1:54:05Speaker 1: and Part one of the White Men the Mexicans, Part three,
- 1:54:10Speaker 1: Chapter eleven, Heavy Fighting. About eighteen seventy three, we were
- 1:54:16Speaker 1: again attacked by Mexican troops in our settlement, but we
- 1:54:20Speaker 1: defeated them. Then we decided to make raids into Mexico.
- 1:54:25Speaker 1: We moved our whole camp, packing all our belongings on
- 1:54:28Speaker 1: mules and horses, went into Mexico and made camp in
- 1:54:32Speaker 1: the mountains near Nakoi. In moving our camp in this way,
- 1:54:36Speaker 1: we wanted no one to spy on us, and if
- 1:54:39Speaker 1: we passed a Mexican's home, we usually killed the inmates. However,
- 1:54:44Speaker 1: if they offered to surrender and made no resistance or
- 1:54:48Speaker 1: trouble in any way, we would take them prisoners. Frequently
- 1:54:52Speaker 1: we would change our place of rendezvous. Then we would
- 1:54:55Speaker 1: take with us our prisoners if they were willing to go,
- 1:54:59Speaker 1: but if they were unruly, they might be killed. I
- 1:55:02Speaker 1: remember one Mexican in the Sierra Madre Mountains who saw
- 1:55:05Speaker 1: us moving and delayed us for some time. We took
- 1:55:09Speaker 1: the trouble to get him, thinking the plunder of his
- 1:55:11Speaker 1: house would pay us for the delay, But after we
- 1:55:14Speaker 1: had killed him, we found nothing in his house worth having.
- 1:55:18Speaker 1: We ranged in these mountains for over a year, raiding
- 1:55:22Speaker 1: the Mexican settlements for our supplies, but not having any
- 1:55:26Speaker 1: general engagement with Mexican troops. Then we returned to our
- 1:55:29Speaker 1: homes in Arizona. After remaining in Arizona about a year,
- 1:55:34Speaker 1: we returned to Mexico and went into hiding in the
- 1:55:37Speaker 1: Sierra Madre Mountains. Our camp was near Nakori, and we
- 1:55:42Speaker 1: had just organized bands of warriors for raiding the country
- 1:55:45Speaker 1: when our scouts discovered Mexican troops coming toward our camp
- 1:55:49Speaker 1: to attack us. Battle of White Hill. The chief of
- 1:55:54Speaker 1: the net nay Apaches Hole was with me and commanded
- 1:55:58Speaker 1: one division. The warriors were all marched toward the troops
- 1:56:01Speaker 1: and met them at a place about five miles from
- 1:56:04Speaker 1: our camp. We showed ourselves to the soldiers, and they
- 1:56:08Speaker 1: quickly rode to the top of a hill and dismounted,
- 1:56:11Speaker 1: placing their horses on the outside for breastworks. It was
- 1:56:15Speaker 1: a round hill, very steep and rocky, and there was
- 1:56:19Speaker 1: no timber on its sides. There were two companies of
- 1:56:23Speaker 1: Mexican cavalry, and we had about sixty warriors. We crept
- 1:56:28Speaker 1: up the hill behind the rocks, and they kept up
- 1:56:31Speaker 1: a constant fire. But I had cautioned our warriors not
- 1:56:35Speaker 1: to expose themselves to the Mexicans. I knew that the
- 1:56:39Speaker 1: troopers would waste their ammunition soon. We had killed all
- 1:56:43Speaker 1: their horses, but the soldiers would lie behind these and
- 1:56:46Speaker 1: shoot at us. While we had killed several Mexicans, we
- 1:56:50Speaker 1: had not yet lost a man. However, it was impossible
- 1:56:54Speaker 1: to get very close to them in this way, and
- 1:56:57Speaker 1: I deemed it best to leave a charge again against them.
- 1:57:01Speaker 1: We had been fighting ever since about one o'clock and
- 1:57:04Speaker 1: about the middle of the afternoon, seeing that we were
- 1:57:07Speaker 1: making no further progress, I gave the sign for the advance.
- 1:57:12Speaker 1: The war whoop sounded, and we leaped forward from every
- 1:57:16Speaker 1: stone over the Mexican's dead horses, fighting hand to hand.
- 1:57:21Speaker 1: The attack was so sudden that the Mexicans, running first
- 1:57:24Speaker 1: this way and then that, became so confused that in
- 1:57:28Speaker 1: a few minutes we had killed them all. Then we
- 1:57:31Speaker 1: scalped the slain, carried away our dead, and secured all
- 1:57:35Speaker 1: the arms we needed. That night we moved our camp
- 1:57:39Speaker 1: eastward through the Sierra Madre Mountains into Chihuahua. No troops
- 1:57:43Speaker 1: molested us here, and after about a year we returned
- 1:57:47Speaker 1: to Arizona. Almost every year we would live a part
- 1:57:51Speaker 1: of the time in Old Mexico. There were at this
- 1:57:54Speaker 1: time many settlements in Arizona. Game was not plentiful, and besides,
- 1:57:59Speaker 1: we like to go down into Old Mexico. Besides the
- 1:58:03Speaker 1: lands of the net Naie Apaches, our friends and kinsmen
- 1:58:07Speaker 1: extended far into Mexico. Their chief Hole was as a
- 1:58:11Speaker 1: brother to me, and we spent much of our time
- 1:58:14Speaker 1: in his territory. About eighteen eighty we were in camp
- 1:58:18Speaker 1: in the mountains south of Casa Grande when a company
- 1:58:21Speaker 1: of Mexican troops attacked us. There were twenty four Mexican
- 1:58:25Speaker 1: soldiers and about forty Indians. The Mexicans surprised us in
- 1:58:29Speaker 1: camp and fired on us, killing two Indians the first folley.
- 1:58:34Speaker 1: I do not know how they were able to find
- 1:58:36Speaker 1: our camp unless they had excellent scouts and our guards
- 1:58:40Speaker 1: were careless. But there they were shooting at us before
- 1:58:43Speaker 1: we knew they were near. We were in the timber,
- 1:58:47Speaker 1: and I gave the order to go forward and fight
- 1:58:49Speaker 1: at close range. We kept behind rocks and trees until
- 1:58:53Speaker 1: we came within ten yards of their line. Then we
- 1:58:57Speaker 1: stood up and both sides shot until all the men
- 1:59:00Speaker 1: Mexicans were killed. We lost twelve warriors in this battle.
- 1:59:04Speaker 1: This place was called by the Indian Scolata. When we
- 1:59:08Speaker 1: had buried our dead and secured what supplies the Mexicans had,
- 1:59:11Speaker 1: we went northeast at a place near Nikoi. Mexican troops
- 1:59:16Speaker 1: attacked us. At this place called by the Indians Nakodae.
- 1:59:20Speaker 1: There were about eighty warriors, but Dooncahey and at nay
- 1:59:24Speaker 1: Apaches there were three companies of Mexican troops. They attacked
- 1:59:29Speaker 1: us in an open field and we scattered, firing as
- 1:59:33Speaker 1: we ran. They followed us, but we dispersed and soon
- 1:59:37Speaker 1: were free from their pursuit. Then we reassembled in the
- 1:59:40Speaker 1: Sierra Madre mountains. Here a council was held, and as
- 1:59:44Speaker 1: Mexican troops were coming from many quarters, we disbanded. In
- 1:59:49Speaker 1: about four months, we reassembled at Casa Grande to make
- 1:59:52Speaker 1: a treaty of peace. The chiefs of the town of
- 1:59:55Speaker 1: Casa Grande and all of the men of Casa Grande
- 1:59:58Speaker 1: made a treaty with us. We shook hands and promised
- 2:00:02Speaker 1: to be brothers. Then we began to trade, and the
- 2:00:06Speaker 1: Mexicans gave us mescal. Soon nearly all the Indians were drunk.
- 2:00:11Speaker 1: While they were drunk, two companies of Mexican troops from
- 2:00:15Speaker 1: another town attacked us, killed twenty Indians and captured many more.
- 2:00:21Speaker 1: We fled in all directions Chapter twelve, Geronimo's Mightiest Battle.
- 2:00:29Speaker 1: After the treachery and massacre of Casagrande, we did not
- 2:00:33Speaker 1: reassemble for a long while, and when we did we
- 2:00:36Speaker 1: returned to Arizona. We remained in Arizona for some time,
- 2:00:41Speaker 1: living in San Carlos reservation at a place now called Geronimo.
- 2:00:46Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty three we went into Mexico again. We
- 2:00:50Speaker 1: remained in the mountain ranges of Mexico for about fourteen months,
- 2:00:54Speaker 1: and during this time we had many skirmishes with Mexican troops.
- 2:00:58Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty four, we returned to Arizona to get
- 2:01:01Speaker 1: other apaches to come with us into Mexico. The Mexicans
- 2:01:05Speaker 1: were gathering troops in the mountains where we had been ranging,
- 2:01:09Speaker 1: and their numbers were so much greater than ours that
- 2:01:12Speaker 1: we could not hope to fight them successfully, and we
- 2:01:15Speaker 1: were tired of being chased about from place to place.
- 2:01:19Speaker 1: In Arizona, we had troubled with the United States soldiers
- 2:01:23Speaker 1: explained in next chapter, and returned to Mexico. We had
- 2:01:27Speaker 1: lost about fifteen warriors in Arizona and had gained no recruits.
- 2:01:33Speaker 1: With our reduced number, we camped in the mountains north
- 2:01:37Speaker 1: of Arespay Mexican troops were seen by our scouts in
- 2:01:40Speaker 1: several directions. The United States troops were coming down from
- 2:01:44Speaker 1: the north. We were well armed with guns and supplied
- 2:01:48Speaker 1: with ammunition, but we did not care to be surrounded
- 2:01:51Speaker 1: by the troops of two governments. So we started to
- 2:01:54Speaker 1: move our camp southward. One night, we made camp some
- 2:01:59Speaker 1: distance the mountains by a stream. There was not much
- 2:02:03Speaker 1: water in the stream, but a deep channel was worn
- 2:02:06Speaker 1: through the prairie, and small trees were beginning to grow
- 2:02:09Speaker 1: here and there along the bank of this stream. In
- 2:02:13Speaker 1: those days, we never camped without placing scouts, for we
- 2:02:16Speaker 1: knew that we were liable to be attacked at any time.
- 2:02:20Speaker 1: The next morning, just at daybreak, our scouts came in,
- 2:02:24Speaker 1: aroused the camp, and notified us that Mexican troops were approaching.
- 2:02:29Speaker 1: Within five minutes, the Mexicans began firing on us. We
- 2:02:34Speaker 1: took to the ditches made by the stream and had
- 2:02:36Speaker 1: the women and children busy digging these deeper. I gave
- 2:02:41Speaker 1: strict orders to waste no ammunition and keep under cover.
- 2:02:45Speaker 1: We killed many Mexicans that day, and in turn lost heavily.
- 2:02:50Speaker 1: For the fight lasted all day. Frequently troops would charge
- 2:02:55Speaker 1: at one point, be repulsed, then rally and charge at
- 2:02:59Speaker 1: another point. About noon, we began to hear them speaking
- 2:03:03Speaker 1: my name with curses. In the afternoon, the general came
- 2:03:07Speaker 1: on the field and the fighting became more furious. I
- 2:03:11Speaker 1: gave orders to my warriors to try to kill all
- 2:03:14Speaker 1: the Mexican officers. About three o'clock, the General called all
- 2:03:18Speaker 1: the officers together at the right side of the field.
- 2:03:22Speaker 1: The place where they assembled was not very far from
- 2:03:25Speaker 1: the main stream, and a little ditch ran out close
- 2:03:29Speaker 1: to where the officers stood. Cautiously, I crawled out this ditch,
- 2:03:34Speaker 1: very close to where the council was being held. The
- 2:03:37Speaker 1: General was an old warrior. The wind was blowing in
- 2:03:40Speaker 1: my direction so that I could hear all he said,
- 2:03:44Speaker 1: and I understood most of it. This is about what
- 2:03:47Speaker 1: he told them officers. Yonder in those ditches is the
- 2:03:52Speaker 1: red devil Geronimo and his hated band. This must be
- 2:03:56Speaker 1: his last day. Right on him from both sides of
- 2:03:59Speaker 1: the day. Witches kill men, women and children. Take no prisoners.
- 2:04:04Speaker 1: Dead Indians are what we want. Do not spare your
- 2:04:08Speaker 1: own men. Exterminate this band at any cost. I will
- 2:04:12Speaker 1: post the wounded to shoot all deserters. Go back to
- 2:04:15Speaker 1: your companies and advance. Just as the command to go
- 2:04:20Speaker 1: forward was given, I took deliberate aim at the General
- 2:04:24Speaker 1: and he fell in an instant. The ground around me
- 2:04:28Speaker 1: was riddled with bullets, but I was untouched. The apaches
- 2:04:34Speaker 1: had seen from all along the ditches arose the fierce
- 2:04:38Speaker 1: war cry of my people. The columns wavered an instant
- 2:04:41Speaker 1: and then swept on. They did not retreat until our
- 2:04:45Speaker 1: fire had destroyed the front ranks. After this their fighting
- 2:04:50Speaker 1: was not so fierce. Yet they continued to rally and
- 2:04:53Speaker 1: readvance until dark. They also continued to speak my name
- 2:04:58Speaker 1: with threats and curses. That night, before the firing had ceased,
- 2:05:03Speaker 1: a dozen Indians had crawled out of the ditches and
- 2:05:06Speaker 1: set fire to the long prairie grass behind the Mexican troops.
- 2:05:10Speaker 1: During the confusion that followed, we escaped to the mountains.
- 2:05:15Speaker 1: This was the last battle that I ever fought with Mexicans.
- 2:05:19Speaker 1: United States troops were trailing us continually from this time
- 2:05:24Speaker 1: until the treaty was made with General Miles in Skeleton Canyon.
- 2:05:29Speaker 1: During my many wars with the Mexicans, I received eight
- 2:05:32Speaker 1: wounds as follows. Shot in the right leg above the
- 2:05:36Speaker 1: knee and still carry the bullet shot through the left forearm.
- 2:05:41Speaker 1: Wounded in the right leg below the knee with a saber.
- 2:05:45Speaker 1: Wounded on top of the head with the butt of
- 2:05:47Speaker 1: a musket shot just below the outer corner of the
- 2:05:51Speaker 1: left eye, shot in the left side, shot in the back.
- 2:05:56Speaker 1: I have killed many Mexicans. I do not know how
- 2:05:59Speaker 1: many for free. I did not count them. Some of
- 2:06:02Speaker 1: them were not worth counting. It has been a long
- 2:06:05Speaker 1: time since then, but still I have no love for
- 2:06:08Speaker 1: the Mexicans with me. They were always treacherous and malicious.
- 2:06:14Speaker 1: I am old now and shall never go on the
- 2:06:17Speaker 1: war path again. But if I were young and followed
- 2:06:21Speaker 1: the war path, it would lead into Old Mexico. Part three,
- 2:06:29Speaker 1: The White Men, Chapter thirteen, Coming of the white Men.
- 2:06:34Speaker 1: About the time of the massacre of Kaskilla eighteen fifty eight,
- 2:06:39Speaker 1: we heard that some white men were measuring land to
- 2:06:42Speaker 1: the south of us. In company with a number of
- 2:06:45Speaker 1: other warriors. I went to visit them. We could not
- 2:06:48Speaker 1: understand them very well, for we had no interpreter, but
- 2:06:53Speaker 1: we made a treaty with them by shaking hands and
- 2:06:56Speaker 1: promising to be brothers. Then we made our camp near
- 2:06:59Speaker 1: the camp, and they came to trade with us. We
- 2:07:03Speaker 1: gave them buckskin, blankets, and ponies in exchange for shirts
- 2:07:07Speaker 1: and provisions. We also brought them game, for which they
- 2:07:11Speaker 1: gave us some money. We did not know the value
- 2:07:13Speaker 1: of this money, but we kept it and later learned
- 2:07:17Speaker 1: from the Navajo Indians that it was very valuable. Every
- 2:07:21Speaker 1: day they measured land with curious instruments and put down
- 2:07:25Speaker 1: marks which we could not understand. They were good men,
- 2:07:29Speaker 1: and we were sorry when they had gone on into
- 2:07:31Speaker 1: the west. They were not soldiers. These were the first
- 2:07:35Speaker 1: white men I ever saw. About ten years later some
- 2:07:39Speaker 1: more white men came. These were all warriors. They made
- 2:07:43Speaker 1: their camp on the Hiela River south of Hot Springs.
- 2:07:47Speaker 1: At first they were friendly and we did not dislike them,
- 2:07:50Speaker 1: but they were not as good as those who came first.
- 2:07:54Speaker 1: After about a year, some trouble arose between them and
- 2:07:57Speaker 1: the Indians, and I took them Warpath as a warrior,
- 2:08:01Speaker 1: not as a chief. I had not been wronged, but
- 2:08:05Speaker 1: some of my people had been, and I fought with
- 2:08:08Speaker 1: my tribe for the soldiers and not the Indians were
- 2:08:12Speaker 1: at fault. Not long after this, some of the officers
- 2:08:16Speaker 1: of the United States troops invited our leaders to hold
- 2:08:20Speaker 1: a conference at Apache Pass, Fort Bowie. Just before noon,
- 2:08:25Speaker 1: the Indians were shown into a tent and told that
- 2:08:28Speaker 1: they would be given something to eat. When in the
- 2:08:31Speaker 1: tent they were attacked by soldiers. Our chief Mangus Colorado
- 2:08:36Speaker 1: and several other warriors by cutting through the tent, escaped,
- 2:08:41Speaker 1: but most of the warriors were killed or captured. Among
- 2:08:45Speaker 1: the badonkahey Apaches killed at this time were sansa Qua, Detache, Nicokahe,
- 2:08:51Speaker 1: and Gopi. After this treachery, the Indians went back to
- 2:08:55Speaker 1: the mountains and left the fort entirely alone. I do
- 2:08:59Speaker 1: not think that the agent had anything to do with
- 2:09:01Speaker 1: planning this, for he had always treated us well. I
- 2:09:05Speaker 1: believe it was entirely planned by the soldiers from the
- 2:09:10Speaker 1: very first. The soldiers sent out to our western country,
- 2:09:13Speaker 1: and the officers in charge of them did not hesitate
- 2:09:17Speaker 1: to wrong the Indians. They never explained to the government
- 2:09:21Speaker 1: when an Indian was wronged, but always reported the misdeeds
- 2:09:25Speaker 1: of the Indians. Much that was done by mean white
- 2:09:29Speaker 1: men was reported at Washington as the deeds of my people.
- 2:09:33Speaker 1: The Indians always tried to live peaceably with the white
- 2:09:36Speaker 1: soldiers and settlers. One day, during the time that the
- 2:09:40Speaker 1: soldiers were stationed at Apache Pass, I made a treaty
- 2:09:44Speaker 1: with the post. This was done by shaking hands and
- 2:09:47Speaker 1: promising to be brothers. Cochise and Mangus Colorado did likewise,
- 2:09:52Speaker 1: I do not know the name of the officer in command,
- 2:09:56Speaker 1: but this was the first regiment that ever came to
- 2:09:58Speaker 1: Apache Pass. This treaty was made about a year before
- 2:10:02Speaker 1: we were attacked in a tent as above related. In
- 2:10:06Speaker 1: a few days after the attack at Apache Pass, we
- 2:10:09Speaker 1: organized in the mountains and returned to fight the soldiers.
- 2:10:14Speaker 1: There were two tribes, the Badankahey and the chaconan Apaches,
- 2:10:18Speaker 1: both commanded by Cochise. After a few days skirmishing, we
- 2:10:22Speaker 1: attacked a freight train that was coming in with supplies
- 2:10:26Speaker 1: for the fort. We killed some of the men and
- 2:10:29Speaker 1: captured the others. These prisoners, our chief offered to trade
- 2:10:33Speaker 1: for the Indians whom the soldiers had captured at the
- 2:10:36Speaker 1: massacre in the tent. This the officers refused, so we
- 2:10:40Speaker 1: killed our prisoners, disbanded, and went into hiding in the mountains.
- 2:10:45Speaker 1: Of those who took part in this affair, I am
- 2:10:48Speaker 1: the only one now living. In a few days, troops
- 2:10:52Speaker 1: were sent out to search for us, but as we
- 2:10:55Speaker 1: were disbanded, it was of course impossible for them to
- 2:10:59Speaker 1: locate any style camp. During the time they were searching
- 2:11:02Speaker 1: for us, many of our warriors, who were thought by
- 2:11:06Speaker 1: the soldiers to be peaceable. Indians talked to the officers
- 2:11:10Speaker 1: and men, advising them where they might find the camp
- 2:11:13Speaker 1: they sought, And while they searched, we watched them from
- 2:11:17Speaker 1: our hiding places and laughed at their failures. After this trouble,
- 2:11:22Speaker 1: all of the Indians agreed not to be friendly with
- 2:11:26Speaker 1: the white men anymore. There was no general engagement, but
- 2:11:30Speaker 1: a long struggle followed. Sometimes we attacked the white men,
- 2:11:35Speaker 1: sometimes they attacked us. First a few Indians would be killed,
- 2:11:39Speaker 1: and then a few soldiers. I think the killing was
- 2:11:42Speaker 1: about equal on each side. The number killed in these
- 2:11:46Speaker 1: troubles did not amount to much, but this treachery on
- 2:11:50Speaker 1: the part of the soldiers had angered the Indians and
- 2:11:53Speaker 1: revived memories of other wrongs, so that we never again
- 2:11:58Speaker 1: trusted the United States troops. End of Part one of
- 2:12:03Speaker 1: the White Men, Section six, Part two of the White Men,
- 2:12:09Speaker 1: Chapter fourteen. Greatest of wrongs, perhaps the greatest wrong ever
- 2:12:14Speaker 1: done to the Indians, was the treatment received by our
- 2:12:18Speaker 1: tribe from the United States troops. About eighteen sixty three,
- 2:12:22Speaker 1: the chief of our tribe, Mangus, Colorado, went to make
- 2:12:26Speaker 1: a treaty of peace for our people with the White
- 2:12:29Speaker 1: settlement at Apache Tejo, New Mexico. It had been reported
- 2:12:34Speaker 1: to us that the white men in this settlement were
- 2:12:36Speaker 1: more friendly and more reliable than those in Arizona, that
- 2:12:40Speaker 1: they would live up to their treaties and would not
- 2:12:43Speaker 1: wrong the Indians. Mangus Colorado with three other warriors went
- 2:12:48Speaker 1: to Apache Tejo and held a council with these citizens
- 2:12:52Speaker 1: and soldiers. They told him that if he would come
- 2:12:55Speaker 1: with his tribe and live near them, they would issue
- 2:12:58Speaker 1: to him from the govern blankets, flower provisions, beef, and
- 2:13:04Speaker 1: all manner of supplies. Our chief promised to return to
- 2:13:08Speaker 1: apache Tejo within two weeks. When he came back to
- 2:13:11Speaker 1: our settlement, he assembled the whole tribe in council. I
- 2:13:16Speaker 1: did not believe that the people at apache Tejo would
- 2:13:19Speaker 1: do as they said, and therefore I opposed the plan.
- 2:13:24Speaker 1: But it was decided that with part of the tribe,
- 2:13:27Speaker 1: Mangus Colorado should return to apache Tejo and receive an
- 2:13:31Speaker 1: issue of rations and supplies. If they were as represented,
- 2:13:36Speaker 1: and if these white men would keep the treaty faithfully,
- 2:13:40Speaker 1: the remainder of the tribe would join him, and we
- 2:13:43Speaker 1: would make our permanent home at Apache Caho. I was
- 2:13:47Speaker 1: to remain in charge of that portion of the tribe
- 2:13:50Speaker 1: which stayed in Arizona. We gave almost all of our
- 2:13:54Speaker 1: arms and ammunition to the party going to Apache Teho,
- 2:13:58Speaker 1: so that in case there should be treachery, they would
- 2:14:01Speaker 1: be prepared for any surprise. Mangus Colorado and about half
- 2:14:06Speaker 1: of our people went to New Mexico, happy that now
- 2:14:09Speaker 1: they had found white men who would be kind to
- 2:14:11Speaker 1: them and with whom they could live in peace and plenty.
- 2:14:16Speaker 1: No word ever came to us from them. From other sources, however,
- 2:14:21Speaker 1: we heard that they had been treacherously captured and slain.
- 2:14:25Speaker 1: In this dilemma, we did not know just exactly what
- 2:14:28Speaker 1: to do, but fearing that the troops who had captured
- 2:14:31Speaker 1: them would attack us, we retreated into the mountains near
- 2:14:35Speaker 1: Apache Pass. During the weeks that followed the departure of
- 2:14:39Speaker 1: our people, we had been in suspense and failing to
- 2:14:43Speaker 1: provide more supplies, had exhausted all of our store of provisions.
- 2:14:47Speaker 1: This was another reason for moving camp on this retreat.
- 2:14:51Speaker 1: While passing through the mountains, we discovered four men with
- 2:14:55Speaker 1: a herd of cattle. Two of the men were in
- 2:14:58Speaker 1: front in a buggy and two were behind on horseback.
- 2:15:02Speaker 1: We killed all four, but did not scout them. They
- 2:15:05Speaker 1: were not warriors. We drove the cattle back into the mountains,
- 2:15:10Speaker 1: made a camp, and began to kill the cattle and
- 2:15:13Speaker 1: pack the meat. Before we had finished this work, we
- 2:15:16Speaker 1: were surprised and attacked by United States troops, who killed
- 2:15:20Speaker 1: in all seven Indians, one warrior, three women, and three children.
- 2:15:26Speaker 1: The government troops were mounted, and so were we, but
- 2:15:29Speaker 1: we were poorly armed, having given most of our weapons
- 2:15:32Speaker 1: to the division of our tribe that had gone to
- 2:15:35Speaker 1: Apache Tejo, so we fought mainly with spears, bows and arrows.
- 2:15:41Speaker 1: At first I had a spear, a bow, and a
- 2:15:44Speaker 1: few arrows, but in a short time my spear and
- 2:15:47Speaker 1: all my arrows were gone. Once I was surrounded, but
- 2:15:51Speaker 1: by dodging from side to side of my horse as
- 2:15:54Speaker 1: he ran, I escaped. It was necessary during this fight
- 2:15:58Speaker 1: for many of the war warriors to leave their horses
- 2:16:01Speaker 1: and escape on foot, but my horse was trained to
- 2:16:05Speaker 1: come at call, and as soon as I reached a
- 2:16:08Speaker 1: safe place, if not too closely pursued, I would call
- 2:16:12Speaker 1: him to me. During this fight, we scattered in all directions,
- 2:16:16Speaker 1: and two days later reassembled at our appointed place. Of rendezvous,
- 2:16:20Speaker 1: about fifty miles from the scene of this battle. About
- 2:16:24Speaker 1: ten days later, the same United States troops attacked our
- 2:16:28Speaker 1: new camp at sunrise. The fight lasted all day, but
- 2:16:32Speaker 1: our arrows and spears were all gone before ten o'clock,
- 2:16:36Speaker 1: and for the remainder of the day we had only
- 2:16:39Speaker 1: rocks and clubs with which to fight. We could do
- 2:16:42Speaker 1: little damage with these weapons, and at night we moved
- 2:16:46Speaker 1: our camp about four miles back into the mountains, where
- 2:16:49Speaker 1: it would be hard for the cavalry to follow us.
- 2:16:52Speaker 1: The next day, our scouts, who had been left behind
- 2:16:56Speaker 1: to observe the movements of the soldiers, returned saying that
- 2:17:00Speaker 1: troops had gone back towards San Carlos Reservation. A few
- 2:17:04Speaker 1: days after this, we were again attacked by another company
- 2:17:07Speaker 1: of United States troops. Just before this fight, we had
- 2:17:11Speaker 1: been joined by a band of Chaconan Indians under cochief,
- 2:17:14Speaker 1: who took command of both divisions. We were repulsed and
- 2:17:18Speaker 1: decided to disband. After we had disbanded our tribe, the
- 2:17:23Speaker 1: badonkahey Apaches reassembled near their old camp, vainly waiting for
- 2:17:28Speaker 1: the return of Mangus Colorado and our kinsmen. No tidings
- 2:17:32Speaker 1: came save that they had all been treacherously slain. Then
- 2:17:36Speaker 1: a council was held, and as it was believed that
- 2:17:40Speaker 1: Mangus Colorado was dead, I was elected tribal chief. For
- 2:17:45Speaker 1: a long time we had no trouble with anyone. It
- 2:17:48Speaker 1: was more than a year after I had been made
- 2:17:51Speaker 1: tribal chief that United States troops surprised and attacked our camp.
- 2:17:57Speaker 1: They killed seven children, five women, and four warriors, captured
- 2:18:01Speaker 1: all our supplies blankets, horses and clothing, and destroyed our teepees.
- 2:18:07Speaker 1: We had nothing left. Winter was beginning, and it was
- 2:18:11Speaker 1: the coldest winter I ever knew. After the soldiers withdrew,
- 2:18:16Speaker 1: I took three warriors and trailed them. Their trail led
- 2:18:20Speaker 1: back towards San Carlos Chapter fifteen removals. While returning from
- 2:18:27Speaker 1: trailing the government troops, we saw two men, a Mexican
- 2:18:31Speaker 1: and a white man, and shot them off their horses.
- 2:18:35Speaker 1: With these two horses, we returned and moved our camp.
- 2:18:39Speaker 1: My people were suffering much, and it was deemed advisable
- 2:18:42Speaker 1: to go where we could get more provisions. Game was
- 2:18:45Speaker 1: scarce in our range then, and since I had been
- 2:18:48Speaker 1: tribal chief, I had not asked for rations from the government,
- 2:18:52Speaker 1: nor did I care to do so, but we did
- 2:18:55Speaker 1: not wish to starve. We had heard that Chief Victoria
- 2:18:59Speaker 1: of the Cecheni o Jocaliente Apaches was holding a council
- 2:19:04Speaker 1: with the white men near Hot Springs in New Mexico,
- 2:19:07Speaker 1: and that he had plenty of provisions. We had always
- 2:19:11Speaker 1: been on friendly terms with this tribe, and Victoria was
- 2:19:15Speaker 1: especially kind to my people. With the help of the
- 2:19:18Speaker 1: two horses we had captured to carry our sick with us,
- 2:19:21Speaker 1: we went to Hot Springs. We easily found Victoria and
- 2:19:25Speaker 1: his band, and they gave us supplies for the winter.
- 2:19:29Speaker 1: We stayed with them for about a year, and during
- 2:19:32Speaker 1: this stay we had perfect peace. We had not the
- 2:19:36Speaker 1: least trouble with Mexicans, white men, or Indians. When we
- 2:19:41Speaker 1: had stayed as long as we should and had again
- 2:19:44Speaker 1: accumulated some supplies, we decided to leave Victoria's band. When
- 2:19:49Speaker 1: I told him that we were going to leave, he
- 2:19:52Speaker 1: said that we should have a feast and dance before
- 2:19:54Speaker 1: we separated. The festivities were held about two miles above
- 2:19:59Speaker 1: Hot Spring and lasted for four days. There were about
- 2:20:04Speaker 1: four hundred Indians at this celebration. I do not think
- 2:20:07Speaker 1: we ever spent a more pleasant time than upon this occasion.
- 2:20:12Speaker 1: No one ever treated our tribe more kindly than Victoria
- 2:20:16Speaker 1: and his band. We are still proud to say that
- 2:20:19Speaker 1: he and his people were our friends. When I went
- 2:20:23Speaker 1: to apache Pass Fort Bowie, I found General Howard in
- 2:20:28Speaker 1: command and made a treaty with him. This treaty lasted
- 2:20:32Speaker 1: until long after General Howard had left our country. He
- 2:20:36Speaker 1: always kept his word with us and treated us as brothers.
- 2:20:40Speaker 1: We never had so good a friend among the United
- 2:20:43Speaker 1: States officers as General Howard. We could have lived forever
- 2:20:47Speaker 1: at peace with him. If there is any pure, honest
- 2:20:51Speaker 1: white man in the United States Army, that man is
- 2:20:55Speaker 1: General Howard. All the Indians respect him, and even to
- 2:20:59Speaker 1: this day frequently talk of the happy times when General
- 2:21:02Speaker 1: Howard was in command of our post. After he went away,
- 2:21:06Speaker 1: he placed an agent at apache Pass who issued to
- 2:21:10Speaker 1: us from the government clothing, rations and supplies. As General
- 2:21:14Speaker 1: Howard directed. When beef was issued to the Indians, I
- 2:21:18Speaker 1: got twelve steers for my tribe, and Cochise got twelve
- 2:21:22Speaker 1: steers for his tribe. Rations were issued about once a month,
- 2:21:27Speaker 1: but if we ran out, we only had to ask,
- 2:21:30Speaker 1: and we were supplied. Now as prisoners of war in
- 2:21:34Speaker 1: this reservation, we do not get such good rations. Out
- 2:21:38Speaker 1: on the prairie. Away from Apache Pass, a man kept
- 2:21:42Speaker 1: a store and saloon. Some time after General Howard went away.
- 2:21:46Speaker 1: A band of outlawed Indians killed this man and took
- 2:21:50Speaker 1: away many of the supplies from his store. On the
- 2:21:54Speaker 1: very next day after this, some Indians at the post
- 2:21:57Speaker 1: were drunk on tiswin, which they had made from corn.
- 2:22:01Speaker 1: They fought among themselves, and four of them were killed.
- 2:22:05Speaker 1: There had been quarrels and feuds among them for some time,
- 2:22:08Speaker 1: and after this trouble, we deemed it impossible to keep
- 2:22:12Speaker 1: the different bands together in peace. Therefore we separated, each
- 2:22:17Speaker 1: leader taking his own band. Some of them went to
- 2:22:21Speaker 1: San Carlos and some to Old Mexico. But I took
- 2:22:25Speaker 1: my tribe back to Hot Springs and rejoined Victoria's band
- 2:22:31Speaker 1: Chapter sixteen in prison and on the war path. Soon
- 2:22:36Speaker 1: after we arrived in New Mexico, two companies of scouts
- 2:22:40Speaker 1: were sent from San Carlos. When they came to Hot Springs,
- 2:22:43Speaker 1: they sent word for me and Victoria to come to town.
- 2:22:47Speaker 1: The messengers did not say what they wanted with us,
- 2:22:50Speaker 1: but as they seemed friendly. We thought they wanted a council,
- 2:22:54Speaker 1: and wrote in to meet the officers. As soon as
- 2:22:57Speaker 1: we arrived in town, soldiers met us, disarmed us, and
- 2:23:02Speaker 1: took us both to headquarters, where we were tried by
- 2:23:05Speaker 1: court martial. They asked us only a few questions, and
- 2:23:09Speaker 1: then Victoria was released and I was sentenced to the
- 2:23:13Speaker 1: guard house. Scouts conducted me to the guard house and
- 2:23:17Speaker 1: put me in chains. When I asked them why they
- 2:23:20Speaker 1: did this, they said it was because I had left
- 2:23:24Speaker 1: apache Pass. I do not think I ever belonged to
- 2:23:28Speaker 1: those soldiers at apache Pass, or that I should have
- 2:23:32Speaker 1: asked them where I might go. Our bands could no
- 2:23:36Speaker 1: longer live in peace together, and so we had quietly withdrawn,
- 2:23:41Speaker 1: expecting to live with Victoria's band, where we thought we
- 2:23:44Speaker 1: would not be molested. They also sentenced seven other Apaches
- 2:23:49Speaker 1: to chains in the guard house. I do not know
- 2:23:53Speaker 1: why this was done, for these Indians had simply followed
- 2:23:57Speaker 1: me from apache Pass to Hot Springs. If it was wrong,
- 2:24:01Speaker 1: and I do not think it was wrong for us
- 2:24:03Speaker 1: to go to Hot Springs, I alone was to blame.
- 2:24:08Speaker 1: They asked the soldiers in charge why they were imprisoned
- 2:24:11Speaker 1: and chained but received no answer. I was kept a
- 2:24:15Speaker 1: prisoner for four months, during which time I was transferred
- 2:24:19Speaker 1: to San Carlos. Then I think I had another trial,
- 2:24:23Speaker 1: although I was not present. In fact, I do not
- 2:24:27Speaker 1: know that I had another trial, but I was told
- 2:24:30Speaker 1: that I had, and at any rate, I was released.
- 2:24:34Speaker 1: After this, we had no more trouble with the soldiers,
- 2:24:38Speaker 1: but I never felt at ease any longer. At the post.
- 2:24:42Speaker 1: We were allowed to live above San Carlos at a
- 2:24:44Speaker 1: place now called Geronimo. A man whom the Indians called
- 2:24:48Speaker 1: Nick Gulli was agent at this place. All went well
- 2:24:53Speaker 1: here for a period of two years, but we were
- 2:24:56Speaker 1: not satisfied. In the summer of eighteen eighty three, a
- 2:25:01Speaker 1: rumor was current that the officers were again planning to
- 2:25:04Speaker 1: imprison our leaders. This rumor served to revive the memories
- 2:25:08Speaker 1: of all our past wrongs, the massacre in the tent
- 2:25:12Speaker 1: at Apache Pass, the fate of Mangus Colorado, and my
- 2:25:16Speaker 1: own unjust imprisonment, which might easily have been death to me.
- 2:25:22Speaker 1: Just at this time we were told that the officers
- 2:25:24Speaker 1: wanted us to come up the river above Geronimo to
- 2:25:28Speaker 1: a fort, Fort Thomas, to hold a council with them.
- 2:25:33Speaker 1: We did not believe that any good could come of
- 2:25:35Speaker 1: this conference, or that there was any need of it,
- 2:25:39Speaker 1: so we held a council ourselves, and, fearing treachery, decided
- 2:25:44Speaker 1: to leave the reservation. We thought it more manly to
- 2:25:48Speaker 1: die on the war path than to be killed in prison.
- 2:25:53Speaker 1: There were in all about two hundred and fifty Indians,
- 2:25:56Speaker 1: chiefly the Badonka, Hay and net nay apaches. Led by
- 2:26:00Speaker 1: myself and Ho we went through Apache Pass and just
- 2:26:04Speaker 1: west of there had a fight with the United States troops.
- 2:26:08Speaker 1: In this battle we killed three soldiers and lost none.
- 2:26:12Speaker 1: We went on toward Old Mexico, but on the second
- 2:26:15Speaker 1: day after this, United States soldiers overtook us about three
- 2:26:19Speaker 1: o'clock in the afternoon, and we fought until dark. The
- 2:26:24Speaker 1: ground where we were attacked was very rough, which was
- 2:26:27Speaker 1: to our advantage, for the troops were compelled to dismount
- 2:26:30Speaker 1: in order to fight us. I do not know how
- 2:26:33Speaker 1: many soldiers we killed, but we lost only one warrior
- 2:26:37Speaker 1: and three children. We had plenty of guns and ammunition
- 2:26:41Speaker 1: at this time. Many of the guns and much ammunition
- 2:26:44Speaker 1: we had accumulated while living in the reservation, and the
- 2:26:48Speaker 1: remainder we had obtained from the White Mountain Apaches. When
- 2:26:52Speaker 1: we left the reservation, troops did not follow us any longer,
- 2:26:56Speaker 1: so we went south, almost to Casa Grande and camped
- 2:27:01Speaker 1: in the sierra the Sahuariba mountains. We ranged in the
- 2:27:04Speaker 1: mountains of Old Mexico for about a year, then returned
- 2:27:08Speaker 1: to San Carlos, taking with us a herd of cattle
- 2:27:12Speaker 1: and horses. Soon after we arrived at San Carlos, the
- 2:27:16Speaker 1: officer in charge, General Cook, took the horses and cattle
- 2:27:20Speaker 1: away from us. I told him that these were not
- 2:27:24Speaker 1: white men's cattle, but belonged to us, for we had
- 2:27:28Speaker 1: taken them from the Mexicans during our wars. I also
- 2:27:32Speaker 1: told him that we did not intend to kill these animals,
- 2:27:35Speaker 1: but that we wished to keep them and raise stock
- 2:27:38Speaker 1: on our range. He would not listen to me, but
- 2:27:41Speaker 1: took the stock. I went up near Fort Apache, and
- 2:27:45Speaker 1: General Cook ordered officers, soldiers, and scouts to see that
- 2:27:49Speaker 1: I was arrested. If I offered resistance, they were instructed
- 2:27:53Speaker 1: to kill me. This information was brought to me by
- 2:27:57Speaker 1: the Indians. When I learned of this proposed action, I
- 2:28:02Speaker 1: left for Old Mexico and about four hundred Indians went
- 2:28:06Speaker 1: with me. They were the badonkahe Chiconan, and net nay Apaches.
- 2:28:11Speaker 1: At this time, Holl was dead and Nichi was the
- 2:28:14Speaker 1: only chief with me. We went south into Sonora and
- 2:28:18Speaker 1: camped in the mountains. Troops followed us, but did not
- 2:28:21Speaker 1: attack us until we were camped in the mountains west
- 2:28:24Speaker 1: of Casa Grande. Here we were attacked by government Indian scouts.
- 2:28:30Speaker 1: One boy was killed and nearly all of our women
- 2:28:32Speaker 1: and children were captured. After this battle, we went south
- 2:28:37Speaker 1: of Casa Grande and made a camp, but within a
- 2:28:40Speaker 1: few days this camp was attacked by Mexican soldiers. We
- 2:28:44Speaker 1: skirmished with them all day, killing a few Mexicans, but
- 2:28:48Speaker 1: sustaining no loss ourselves. That night we went east into
- 2:28:53Speaker 1: the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains and made another camp.
- 2:28:57Speaker 1: Mexican troops trailed us, and after a few days attacked
- 2:29:00Speaker 1: our camp again. This time the Mexicans had a very
- 2:29:04Speaker 1: large army, and we avoided a general engagement. It is
- 2:29:09Speaker 1: senseless to fight when you cannot hope to win. That night,
- 2:29:13Speaker 1: we held a council of war. Our scouts had reported
- 2:29:17Speaker 1: bands of United States and Mexican troops at many points
- 2:29:20Speaker 1: in the mountains. We estimated that about two thousand soldiers
- 2:29:25Speaker 1: were ranging these mountains seeking to capture us. General Cook
- 2:29:30Speaker 1: had come down into Mexico with the United States troops.
- 2:29:33Speaker 1: They were camped in the Sierra de Atunes Mountains. Scouts
- 2:29:37Speaker 1: told me that General Crook wished to see me, and
- 2:29:41Speaker 1: I went to his camp. When I arrived, General Cook
- 2:29:44Speaker 1: said to me, why did you leave the reservation. I said,
- 2:29:49Speaker 1: you told me that I might live in the reservation
- 2:29:52Speaker 1: the same as white people lived. One year, I raised
- 2:29:55Speaker 1: a crop of corn and gathered and stored it. And
- 2:29:58Speaker 1: the next year I put in a crop of oats,
- 2:30:01Speaker 1: And when the crop was almost ready to harvest, you
- 2:30:04Speaker 1: told your soldiers to put me in prison, and if
- 2:30:07Speaker 1: I resisted, to kill me. If I had been let alone,
- 2:30:11Speaker 1: I would now have been in good circumstances. But instead
- 2:30:15Speaker 1: of that, you and the Mexicans are hunting me with soldiers.
- 2:30:20Speaker 1: He said, I never gave any such orders. The troops
- 2:30:23Speaker 1: at Fort Apache, who spread this report knew that it
- 2:30:27Speaker 1: was untrue. Then I agreed to go back with him
- 2:30:31Speaker 1: to San Carlos. It was hard for me to believe
- 2:30:34Speaker 1: him at that time. Now I know that what he
- 2:30:37Speaker 1: said was untrue, and I firmly believed that he did
- 2:30:41Speaker 1: issue the orders for me to be put in prison
- 2:30:45Speaker 1: or to be killed in case I offered resistance. Chapter seventeen,
- 2:30:51Speaker 1: The Final Struggle. We started with all our tribe to
- 2:30:56Speaker 1: go with General Crook back to the United States, but
- 2:31:00Speaker 1: I feared treachery and decided to remain in Mexico. We
- 2:31:04Speaker 1: were not under any guard at this time. The United
- 2:31:07Speaker 1: States troops marched in front and the Indians followed, and
- 2:31:12Speaker 1: when we became suspicious, we turned back. I do not
- 2:31:16Speaker 1: know how far the United States army went after myself,
- 2:31:19Speaker 1: and some warriors turned back before we were missed, and
- 2:31:23Speaker 1: I do not care. I have suffered much from such
- 2:31:27Speaker 1: unjust orders as those of General Cook. Such acts have
- 2:31:31Speaker 1: caused much distress to my people. I think that General
- 2:31:35Speaker 1: Cook's death was sent by the Almighty as a punishment
- 2:31:38Speaker 1: for the many evil deeds he committed. Soon, General Miles
- 2:31:44Speaker 1: was made commander of all the western posts, and troops
- 2:31:47Speaker 1: trailed us continually. They were led by Captain Lawton, who
- 2:31:52Speaker 1: had good scouts. The Mexican soldiers also became more active
- 2:31:56Speaker 1: and more numerous. We had skirmishes almost every day, and
- 2:32:01Speaker 1: so we finally decided to break up into small bands.
- 2:32:05Speaker 1: With six men and four women, I made for the
- 2:32:08Speaker 1: range of mountains near Hot Springs, New Mexico. We passed
- 2:32:12Speaker 1: many cattle ranches, but had no trouble with the cowboys.
- 2:32:16Speaker 1: We killed cattle to eat whenever we were in need
- 2:32:19Speaker 1: of food, but we frequently suffered greatly for water. At
- 2:32:23Speaker 1: one time we had no water for two days and nights,
- 2:32:27Speaker 1: and our horses almost died from thirst. We ranged in
- 2:32:31Speaker 1: the mountains of New Mexico for some time, then, thinking
- 2:32:35Speaker 1: that perhaps the troops had left Mexico, we returned. On
- 2:32:39Speaker 1: our return through Old Mexico, we attacked every Mexican found,
- 2:32:44Speaker 1: even if for no other reason than to kill. We
- 2:32:48Speaker 1: believed they had asked the United States troops to come
- 2:32:51Speaker 1: down to Mexico to fight us. South of Casa Grande,
- 2:32:56Speaker 1: near a place called by the Indians Gosoda, there was
- 2:32:59Speaker 1: a road leading out from the town. There was much
- 2:33:03Speaker 1: freighting carried on by the Mexicans over this road. Where
- 2:33:06Speaker 1: the road ran through a mountain pass, we stayed in hiding,
- 2:33:11Speaker 1: and whenever Mexican freighters passed, we killed them. Took what
- 2:33:15Speaker 1: supplies we wanted and destroyed the remainder. We were reckless
- 2:33:20Speaker 1: of our lives because we felt that every man's hand
- 2:33:24Speaker 1: was against us. If we returned to the reservation, we
- 2:33:27Speaker 1: would be put in prison and killed. If we stayed
- 2:33:31Speaker 1: in Mexico, they would continue to send soldiers to fight us.
- 2:33:35Speaker 1: So we gave no quarter to anyone and asked no favors.
- 2:33:42Speaker 1: End of Section six, Section seven The White Men, Part three.
- 2:33:48Speaker 1: After some time we left Casoda and soon were reunited
- 2:33:52Speaker 1: with our tribe in the Sierra de Altunes mountains. Contrary
- 2:33:56Speaker 1: to our expectations, the United States soldiers had not left
- 2:34:01Speaker 1: the mountains in Mexico and were soon trailing us and
- 2:34:04Speaker 1: skirmishing with us almost every day. Four or five times
- 2:34:09Speaker 1: they surprised our camp. One time they surprised us about
- 2:34:13Speaker 1: nine o'clock in the morning and captured all our horses,
- 2:34:16Speaker 1: nineteen in number, and secured our store of dried meats.
- 2:34:21Speaker 1: We also lost three Indians in this encounter. About the
- 2:34:25Speaker 1: middle of the afternoon of the same day, we attacked
- 2:34:28Speaker 1: them from the rear as they were passing through a prairie,
- 2:34:31Speaker 1: killed one soldier but lost none ourselves. In this skirmish.
- 2:34:36Speaker 1: We recovered all our horses except three that belonged to me.
- 2:34:40Speaker 1: The three horses that we did not recover were the
- 2:34:42Speaker 1: best riding horses we had. Soon after this, we made
- 2:34:46Speaker 1: a treaty with the Mexican troops. They told us that
- 2:34:49Speaker 1: the United States troops were the real cause of these
- 2:34:52Speaker 1: wars and agreed not to fight any more with us,
- 2:34:56Speaker 1: provided we would return to the United States. Agreed to
- 2:35:00Speaker 1: do and resumed our march, expecting to try to make
- 2:35:04Speaker 1: a treaty with the United States soldiers and return to Arizona.
- 2:35:09Speaker 1: There seemed to be no other course to pursue. Soon
- 2:35:13Speaker 1: after this, scouts from Captain Lawton's troops told us that
- 2:35:16Speaker 1: he wished to make a treaty with us. But I
- 2:35:19Speaker 1: knew that General Miles was the chief of the American troops,
- 2:35:23Speaker 1: and I decided to treat with him. We continued to
- 2:35:27Speaker 1: move our camp northward, and the American troops also moved northward,
- 2:35:31Speaker 1: keeping at no great distance from us, but not attacking us.
- 2:35:36Speaker 1: I sent my brother Porico white Horse with mister George
- 2:35:40Speaker 1: Rayton on to Fort Boyd to see General Miles and
- 2:35:44Speaker 1: to tell him that we wished to return to Arizona.
- 2:35:47Speaker 1: But before these messengers returned, I met two Indian scouts,
- 2:35:52Speaker 1: Cayeta a Chacona Apache and Martine and Nett Nay Apache.
- 2:35:57Speaker 1: They were serving as scouts for Captain Lawton's Truth. They
- 2:36:01Speaker 1: told me that General Miles had come and had sent
- 2:36:04Speaker 1: them to ask me to meet him. So I went
- 2:36:07Speaker 1: to the camp of the United States troops to meet
- 2:36:09Speaker 1: General Miles. When I arrived at their camp, I went
- 2:36:13Speaker 1: directly to General Miles and told him how I had
- 2:36:16Speaker 1: been wronged and that I wanted to return to the
- 2:36:20Speaker 1: United States with my people, as we wished to see
- 2:36:23Speaker 1: our families who had been captured and taken away from us.
- 2:36:27Speaker 1: General Miles said to me, the President of the United
- 2:36:31Speaker 1: States has sent me to speak to you. He has
- 2:36:33Speaker 1: heard of your trouble with the white men and says
- 2:36:36Speaker 1: that if you will agree to a few words of treaty,
- 2:36:40Speaker 1: we need have no more trouble. Geronimo. If you will
- 2:36:44Speaker 1: agree to a few words of treaty, all will be
- 2:36:47Speaker 1: satisfactorily arranged. So General Miles told me how we could
- 2:36:52Speaker 1: be brothers to each other. We raised our hands to
- 2:36:55Speaker 1: heaven and said that the treaty was not to be broken.
- 2:36:59Speaker 1: We took an oath not to do any wrong to
- 2:37:01Speaker 1: each other or to scheme against each other. Then he
- 2:37:05Speaker 1: talked with me for a long time and told me
- 2:37:08Speaker 1: what he would do for me in the future if
- 2:37:11Speaker 1: I would agree to the treaty. I did not greatly
- 2:37:14Speaker 1: believe General Miles, but because the President of the United
- 2:37:19Speaker 1: States had sent me word, I agreed to make the
- 2:37:22Speaker 1: treaty and to keep it. Then I asked General Miles
- 2:37:25Speaker 1: what the treaty would be. General Miles said to me,
- 2:37:30Speaker 1: I will take you under government protection. I will build
- 2:37:34Speaker 1: you a house. I will fetch you much land. I
- 2:37:38Speaker 1: will give you cattle, horses, mules, and farming implements. You
- 2:37:42Speaker 1: will be furnished with men to work the farm for you. Yourself
- 2:37:46Speaker 1: will not have to work in the fall. I will
- 2:37:49Speaker 1: send you blankets and clothing so that you will not
- 2:37:52Speaker 1: suffer from cold in the winter time. There is plenty
- 2:37:56Speaker 1: of timber, water and grass in the land to which
- 2:38:00Speaker 1: I will send you. You will live with your tribe
- 2:38:03Speaker 1: and with your family. If you agree to this treaty,
- 2:38:06Speaker 1: you shall see your family within five days. I said
- 2:38:10Speaker 1: to General Miles. All the officers that had been in
- 2:38:14Speaker 1: charge of the Indians have talked that way, and it
- 2:38:17Speaker 1: sounds like a story to me. I hardly believe you,
- 2:38:21Speaker 1: he said, This time it is the truth. I said,
- 2:38:26Speaker 1: General Miles, I do not know the laws of the
- 2:38:29Speaker 1: white Man, nor of this new country where you are
- 2:38:32Speaker 1: to send me, and I might break their laws. He said,
- 2:38:37Speaker 1: while I live, you will not be arrested. Then I
- 2:38:40Speaker 1: agreed to make the treaty. Since I have been a
- 2:38:44Speaker 1: prisoner of war, I have been arrested and placed in
- 2:38:48Speaker 1: the guard house twice for drinking whiskey. We stood between
- 2:38:53Speaker 1: his troopers and my warriors. We placed a large stone
- 2:38:57Speaker 1: on the blanket before us. Treaty was made by this stone,
- 2:39:02Speaker 1: and it was to last until the stone should crumble
- 2:39:05Speaker 1: to dust. So we made the treaty and bound each
- 2:39:09Speaker 1: other with an oath. I do not believe that I
- 2:39:13Speaker 1: have ever violated that treaty. But General Miles never fulfilled
- 2:39:17Speaker 1: his promises. When we made the treaty, General Miles said
- 2:39:22Speaker 1: to me, my brother, you have in your mind how
- 2:39:25Speaker 1: you are going to kill men and other thoughts of war.
- 2:39:29Speaker 1: I want you to put that out of your mind
- 2:39:33Speaker 1: and change your thoughts to peace. Then I agreed and
- 2:39:37Speaker 1: gave up my arms. I said, I will quit the
- 2:39:41Speaker 1: war path and live at peace hereafter. Then General Miles
- 2:39:46Speaker 1: swept a spot of ground clear with his hand and said,
- 2:39:51Speaker 1: your past deeds shall be wiped out like this, and
- 2:39:54Speaker 1: you will start a new life. Chapter eighteen, Surrender of Geronimo.
- 2:40:02Speaker 1: On February eleventh, eighteen eighty seven, the Senate passed the
- 2:40:06Speaker 1: following resolution resolved that the Secretary of War be directed
- 2:40:11Speaker 1: to communicate to the Senate all dispatches of General Miles
- 2:40:16Speaker 1: referring to the surrender of Geronimo, and all instructions given
- 2:40:20Speaker 1: two and correspondence with General Miles in reference to the same.
- 2:40:26Speaker 1: These papers are published in the Senate Executive Documents, Second Session,
- 2:40:31Speaker 1: forty ninth Congress, eighteen eighty six, eighteen eighty seven, Volume two,
- 2:40:37Speaker 1: numbers one hundred and eleven to one hundred twenty five.
- 2:40:41Speaker 1: For an exhaustive account of the conditions of Geronimo's surrender,
- 2:40:45Speaker 1: the reader is referred to that document, but this chapter
- 2:40:49Speaker 1: is given to show briefly the terms of surrender and corroborate,
- 2:40:54Speaker 1: at least in part, the statements made by Geronimo upon
- 2:40:59Speaker 1: a souit command of the Department of Arizona. General Nelson A.
- 2:41:04Speaker 1: Miles was directed by the War Department to use most
- 2:41:08Speaker 1: vigorous operations for the destruction or capture of the hostile Apaches.
- 2:41:14Speaker 1: The following extracts are from instructions issued April twentieth, eighteen
- 2:41:19Speaker 1: eighty six for the information and guidance of troops serving
- 2:41:23Speaker 1: in the southern portion of Arizona and New Mexico. The
- 2:41:28Speaker 1: chief object of the troops will be to capture or
- 2:41:31Speaker 1: destroy any band of hostile Apache Indians found in this
- 2:41:36Speaker 1: section of country, and to this end, the most vigorous
- 2:41:40Speaker 1: and persistent efforts will be required of all officers and
- 2:41:45Speaker 1: soldiers until the object is accomplished. A sufficient number of
- 2:41:50Speaker 1: reliable Indians will be used as auxiliaries to discover any
- 2:41:54Speaker 1: signs of hostile Indians, and as trailers to avoid any
- 2:41:59Speaker 1: ad vas advantage the Indians may have by a relay
- 2:42:02Speaker 1: of horses. Where a troop or squadron commander is near
- 2:42:06Speaker 1: the hostile Indians, he will be justified in dismounting one
- 2:42:10Speaker 1: half of his command and selecting the lightest and best
- 2:42:14Speaker 1: riders to make pursuit by the most vigorous forced marches
- 2:42:19Speaker 1: until the strength of all animals of his command shall
- 2:42:23Speaker 1: have been exhausted. The following telegrams show the efforts of
- 2:42:28Speaker 1: the United States troops and the cooperation of Mexican troops
- 2:42:33Speaker 1: under Governor Torres, Headquarters Division of the Pacific Presidio of
- 2:42:38Speaker 1: San Francisco, California, July twenty second, eighteen eighty six, Adjutant
- 2:42:44Speaker 1: General Washington, d C. The following telegram just received from
- 2:42:49Speaker 1: General Miles. Captain Lawton reports through Colonel Royal, commanding at
- 2:42:54Speaker 1: Fort Wachuca, that his camp surprised Geronimo's camp on Yogi River,
- 2:43:00Speaker 1: about one hundred thirty miles south and east of Compas Sonora,
- 2:43:04Speaker 1: or nearly three hundred miles south of Mexican boundary, capturing
- 2:43:09Speaker 1: all the Indian property, including hundreds of pounds of dried
- 2:43:13Speaker 1: meat and nineteen riding animals. This is the fifth time
- 2:43:18Speaker 1: within three months in which the Indians have been surprised
- 2:43:20Speaker 1: by the troops. While the results have not been decisive yet,
- 2:43:24Speaker 1: it has given encouragement to the troops and has reduced
- 2:43:28Speaker 1: the numbers and strength of the Indians and given them
- 2:43:31Speaker 1: a feeling of insecurity even in the remote and almost
- 2:43:35Speaker 1: inaccessible mountains of Old Mexico. In absence of Division Commander
- 2:43:41Speaker 1: see McKeever, Assistant Adjutant General and of Dispatch Another Dispatch
- 2:43:48Speaker 1: Headquarters Division of the Pacific Preciity of San Francisco, California,
- 2:43:52Speaker 1: August nineteenth, eighteen eighty six Adjutant General Washington, d C.
- 2:43:58Speaker 1: Following received from General Mondeles dated eighteenth, dispatches today from
- 2:44:03Speaker 1: Governor Torres dated Ermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, from Colonels Forsyth and Beaumont,
- 2:44:09Speaker 1: commanding Wachuca and Bowie Districts, confirms the following Geronimo with
- 2:44:15Speaker 1: forty Indians is endeavoring to make terms of peace with
- 2:44:18Speaker 1: Mexican authorities of Fronterra's district. One of our scouts, in
- 2:44:23Speaker 1: returning to Fort Wachuca from Lawton's command, met him, Niche
- 2:44:27Speaker 1: and thirteen other Indians on their way to Fronterras. Had
- 2:44:31Speaker 1: a long conversation with them. They said they wanted to
- 2:44:34Speaker 1: make peace and looked worn and hungry. Geronimo carried his
- 2:44:38Speaker 1: right arm in a sling bandaged. The splendid work of
- 2:44:42Speaker 1: the troops is evidently having good effect should hostiles not
- 2:44:47Speaker 1: surrender to the Mexican authorities. Lawton's command is south of
- 2:44:51Speaker 1: them and Wilder with G and M troops. Fourth cavalry
- 2:44:55Speaker 1: moved south to Fronterras and will be there by twentieth.
- 2:44:59Speaker 1: Lieutenant Lockett, with an effective command, will be in good
- 2:45:02Speaker 1: position tomorrow near Guadalupe Canyon in Cajon Bonito Mountains. On
- 2:45:07Speaker 1: the eleventh, I had a very satisfactory interview with Governor Torres.
- 2:45:12Speaker 1: The Mexican officials are acting in concert with ours. O. O. Howard,
- 2:45:17Speaker 1: Major General. End of despatch. General O. O. Howard telegraphed
- 2:45:23Speaker 1: from Presidio San Francisco, California, September twenty fourth, eighteen eighty six.
- 2:45:28Speaker 1: As follows. The sixth of September, General Miles reports, the
- 2:45:32Speaker 1: hostile apaches made overtures of surrender through Lieutenant Gatewood to
- 2:45:37Speaker 1: Captain Lawton. They desired certain terms and sent two messengers
- 2:45:41Speaker 1: to Me Miles. They were informed that they must surrender
- 2:45:46Speaker 1: as prisoners of war to troops in the field. They
- 2:45:50Speaker 1: promised to surrender to me in person, and for eleven
- 2:45:54Speaker 1: days Captain Lawton's command moved north Geronimo and Nichi, moving
- 2:45:59Speaker 1: parallel and frequently camping near it. At Skeleton Canyon. They halted,
- 2:46:04Speaker 1: saying that they desired to see Me Miles before surrendering.
- 2:46:09Speaker 1: End of telegram after myles arrival, he reports as follows.
- 2:46:15Speaker 1: Geronimo came from his mountain camp amid the rocks and
- 2:46:19Speaker 1: said he was willing to surrender. He was told that
- 2:46:22Speaker 1: they could surrender as prisoners of war, that it was
- 2:46:26Speaker 1: not the way of officers of the army to kill
- 2:46:28Speaker 1: their enemies who laid down their arms. Knichi was wild
- 2:46:32Speaker 1: and suspicious, and evidently feared treachery. He knew that the
- 2:46:36Speaker 1: once noted leader Mangus Colorado had years ago been foully
- 2:46:41Speaker 1: murdered after he had surrendered, and the last hereditary chief
- 2:46:45Speaker 1: of the hostile apaches hesitated to place himself in the
- 2:46:48Speaker 1: hands of the palefaces. Continuing his report, General Howard says
- 2:46:54Speaker 1: I believed at first from official reports that the surrender
- 2:46:57Speaker 1: was unconditional, except that the troops themselves would not kill
- 2:47:01Speaker 1: the hostiles. Now, from General Miles's dispatches and from his
- 2:47:06Speaker 1: annual report, forwarded on the twenty first instant by mail,
- 2:47:10Speaker 1: the conditions are plain. First that the lives of all
- 2:47:15Speaker 1: the Indians should be spared. Second, that they should be
- 2:47:18Speaker 1: sent to Fort Marion, Florida, where their tribe, including their families,
- 2:47:22Speaker 1: had already been ordered. D. S. Stanley, Brigadier General, Telegraphs
- 2:47:29Speaker 1: from San Antonio, Texas, October twenty second, eighteen eighty six.
- 2:47:34Speaker 1: As follows, Geronimo and Nigie requested an interview with me
- 2:47:38Speaker 1: when they first ascertained that they were to leave here,
- 2:47:42Speaker 1: and in talking to them, I told them the exact
- 2:47:45Speaker 1: disposition that was to be made of them. They regarded
- 2:47:49Speaker 1: the separation of themselves from their families as a violation
- 2:47:53Speaker 1: of the terms of their treaty of surrender, by which
- 2:47:56Speaker 1: they had been guaranteed in the most positive manner, conceivable
- 2:48:00Speaker 1: to their minds that they should be united with their
- 2:48:03Speaker 1: families at Fort Marion. They were present at the talk
- 2:48:06Speaker 1: they had with me. Major J. P. Wright, Surgeon, United
- 2:48:10Speaker 1: States Army, Captain J. G. Ballance, Acting Judge Advocate, United
- 2:48:15Speaker 1: States Army, George Rayton, the interpreter knightche and Geronimo. The
- 2:48:21Speaker 1: Indians were separated from their families at this place. The women,
- 2:48:25Speaker 1: children and the two Scouts were placed in a separate
- 2:48:28Speaker 1: car before they left. In an interview with me, they
- 2:48:31Speaker 1: stated the following incident, which they regard as an essential
- 2:48:35Speaker 1: part of their treaty of surrender, and which took place
- 2:48:38Speaker 1: at Skeleton Canyon, before they had as a band made
- 2:48:42Speaker 1: up their minds to surrender, and before any of them,
- 2:48:46Speaker 1: except perhaps Geronimo, had given up their arms, and when
- 2:48:50Speaker 1: they were still fully able to escape and defend themselves,
- 2:48:55Speaker 1: General Miles said to them, you go with me to
- 2:48:58Speaker 1: Fort Bowie, and at a time you will go to
- 2:49:01Speaker 1: see your relatives in Florida. After they went to Fort Boie,
- 2:49:05Speaker 1: he reassured them that they would see their relatives in
- 2:49:08Speaker 1: Florida in four and a half or five days. While
- 2:49:12Speaker 1: at Skeleton Canyon, General Miles said to them, I have
- 2:49:16Speaker 1: come to have a talk with you. The conversation was
- 2:49:19Speaker 1: interpreted from English into Spanish and from Spanish into Apache
- 2:49:24Speaker 1: and vice versa. The interpreting from English into Spanish was
- 2:49:28Speaker 1: done by a man by the name of Nelson. The
- 2:49:31Speaker 1: interpreting from Spanish into Apache was done by Jose Maria Yasques.
- 2:49:36Speaker 1: Jose Maria Montoya was also present, but he did not
- 2:49:40Speaker 1: do any of the interpreting. Doctor Wood, United States Army
- 2:49:45Speaker 1: and Lieutenant Clay tenth Infantry were present. General Miles drew
- 2:49:50Speaker 1: a line on the ground and said this represents the ocean,
- 2:49:54Speaker 1: and putting a small rock beside the line, he said,
- 2:49:58Speaker 1: this represents the place which Chihuahua is with his band.
- 2:50:02Speaker 1: He then picked up another stone and placed it a
- 2:50:05Speaker 1: short distance from the first, and said, this represents you Geronimo.
- 2:50:11Speaker 1: He then picked up a third stone and placed it
- 2:50:13Speaker 1: a little distance from the others, and said, this represents
- 2:50:17Speaker 1: the Indians at Camp Apache. The President wants to take
- 2:50:21Speaker 1: you and put you with Chihuahua. He then picked up
- 2:50:24Speaker 1: the stone which represented Geronimo and his band and put
- 2:50:28Speaker 1: it beside the one which represented Chihuahua at Fort Marion.
- 2:50:32Speaker 1: After doing this, he picked up the stone which represented
- 2:50:36Speaker 1: the Indians at Camp Apache and placed it beside the
- 2:50:39Speaker 1: other two stones which represented Geronimo and Chihuahua at Fort Marion,
- 2:50:45Speaker 1: and said, that is what the President wants to do,
- 2:50:48Speaker 1: get all of you together. After their arrival at Fort Boy,
- 2:50:53Speaker 1: General Miles said to them, from now on, we want
- 2:50:56Speaker 1: to begin a new life. And holding up one of
- 2:50:59Speaker 1: his hands with the palm open and horizontal, he marked
- 2:51:03Speaker 1: lines across it with the finger of the other hand
- 2:51:07Speaker 1: and said, pointing to his open palm, this represents the past.
- 2:51:12Speaker 1: It is all covered with hollows and ridges. Then, rubbing
- 2:51:16Speaker 1: his other palm over it, he said that represents the
- 2:51:20Speaker 1: wiping out of the past, which will be considered smooth
- 2:51:23Speaker 1: and forgotten. The interpreter Rayton says that he was present
- 2:51:27Speaker 1: and heard this conversation. The Indians say that Captain Thompson,
- 2:51:32Speaker 1: fourth Cavalry was also present. Knights. She said that Captain Thompson,
- 2:51:36Speaker 1: who was the acting Assistant Adjutant General Department of Arizona,
- 2:51:41Speaker 1: told him at his house in Fort Bowie, don't be afraid,
- 2:51:45Speaker 1: no harm shall come to you. You will go to
- 2:51:47Speaker 1: your friends, all right. He also told them that Fort
- 2:51:51Speaker 1: Marion is not a very large place and is not
- 2:51:53Speaker 1: probably large enough for all, and that probably in six
- 2:51:57Speaker 1: months or so you will be put in a larger
- 2:51:59Speaker 1: place where you can do better. He told them the
- 2:52:03Speaker 1: same thing when they took their departure in the cars
- 2:52:05Speaker 1: from Fort Bowie. The idea that they had of the
- 2:52:09Speaker 1: treaty of surrender given in this letter is forwarded at
- 2:52:12Speaker 1: their desire, and while not desiring to comment on the matter,
- 2:52:16Speaker 1: I feel compelled to say that my knowledge of the
- 2:52:19Speaker 1: Indian character, and the experience I have had with Indians
- 2:52:23Speaker 1: of all kinds, and the corroborating circumstances and facts that
- 2:52:27Speaker 1: have been brought to my notice in this particular case,
- 2:52:30Speaker 1: convince me that the foregoing statement of Nige and Geronimo
- 2:52:34Speaker 1: is substantially correct. Extract from the Annual Report eighteen eighty
- 2:52:41Speaker 1: six of the Division of the Pacific, commanded by Major
- 2:52:45Speaker 1: General O. O. Howard U. S. Army, Headquarters, Division of
- 2:52:50Speaker 1: the Pacific, Presidio of San Francisco, California, September seventeenth, eighteen
- 2:52:55Speaker 1: eighty six. Adjutant General U. S. Army, Washington, d C. General,
- 2:53:02Speaker 1: I have the honor to submit the following report upon
- 2:53:05Speaker 1: military operations and conditions of the Division of the Pacific,
- 2:53:09Speaker 1: for the information of the Lieutenant General and to make
- 2:53:13Speaker 1: some suggestions for his consideration. On the seventeenth of May
- 2:53:17Speaker 1: eighteen eighty five, a party of about fifty of the
- 2:53:20Speaker 1: Chirakawa prisoners, headed by Geronimo Knigi and other chiefs, escaped
- 2:53:26Speaker 1: from the White Mountain Reserve in Arizona and entered upon
- 2:53:30Speaker 1: a career of murder and robbery unparalleled in the history
- 2:53:34Speaker 1: of Indian raids. Since then, and up to the time
- 2:53:38Speaker 1: of my assuming command of this division, they had been
- 2:53:41Speaker 1: pursued by troops with varying success. After the assassination of
- 2:53:46Speaker 1: Captain Crawford on January eleventh by the Mexicans. The hostiles
- 2:53:52Speaker 1: asked for a quote's talk and finally had a conference
- 2:53:56Speaker 1: on March twenty fifth, twenty sixth, and twenty seventh with
- 2:54:00Speaker 1: General Crook and the Canyon of Los Embudos, twenty five
- 2:54:04Speaker 1: miles south of San Bernardino, Mexico, on which date it
- 2:54:08Speaker 1: was arranged that they should be conducted by Lieutenant Manus
- 2:54:12Speaker 1: with his battalion of Scouts to Fort Bowie, Arizona. The
- 2:54:17Speaker 1: march commenced on the morning of March twenty eighth and
- 2:54:21Speaker 1: proceeded until the night of the twenty ninth, when, becoming
- 2:54:24Speaker 1: excited with fears of possible punishment, Geronimo and Niche, with
- 2:54:29Speaker 1: twenty men, fourteen women, and two boys, stampeded to the hills.
- 2:54:34Speaker 1: Lieutenant Manus immediately pursued, but without success. Simultaneously, with my
- 2:54:41Speaker 1: taking command of the division, Brigadier General Crook was relieved
- 2:54:45Speaker 1: by Brigadier General Miles, who at once set out to
- 2:54:48Speaker 1: complete the task commenced by his predecessor. Geronimo and his
- 2:54:53Speaker 1: band were committing depredations, now in the United States and
- 2:54:57Speaker 1: now in Mexico, and being separated into small parties easily
- 2:55:02Speaker 1: eluded the troops and carried on their work of murder
- 2:55:05Speaker 1: and outrage. Early in May, General Miles organized the hostile
- 2:55:10Speaker 1: field of operations into districts, each with its command of troops,
- 2:55:15Speaker 1: with specific instructions to guard the water holes, to cover
- 2:55:19Speaker 1: the entire ground by scouting parties, and give the hostiles
- 2:55:24Speaker 1: no rest. An effective command under Captain Lawton, fourth Cavalry
- 2:55:29Speaker 1: was organized for a long pursuit. On May third, Captain
- 2:55:33Speaker 1: label tenth Cavalry had a fight with Geronimo's band twelve
- 2:55:37Speaker 1: miles southwest of Santa Cruz in Mexico, with a loss
- 2:55:41Speaker 1: of one soldier killed and one wounded. After this fight,
- 2:55:45Speaker 1: the Indians retreated southward, followed by three troops of cavalry.
- 2:55:50Speaker 1: On May twelfth, a serious fight of Mexican troops with
- 2:55:53Speaker 1: the hostiles near Plancho's, Mexico resulted in a partial defeat
- 2:55:58Speaker 1: of the Mexicans. On May fifteenth, Captain Hatfield's command engaged
- 2:56:03Speaker 1: Geronimo's band in the Corona Mountains, suffering a loss of
- 2:56:06Speaker 1: two killed and three wounded and the loss of several
- 2:56:09Speaker 1: horses and mules, the Indians losing several killed. On May sixteenth,
- 2:56:15Speaker 1: Lieutenant Brown, fourth Cavalry struck the hostiles near Buena Vista, Mexico,
- 2:56:21Speaker 1: capturing several horses, rifles, and a quantity of ammunition. The
- 2:56:25Speaker 1: usual series of outrages with fatiguing chase by troops continued
- 2:56:30Speaker 1: until June twenty first, when the Mexicans engaged the hostiles
- 2:56:34Speaker 1: about forty miles southeast of Magdalena, Mexico, and after a
- 2:56:39Speaker 1: stubborn fight, repulsed them. About the middle of August, Geronimo
- 2:56:44Speaker 1: and his band were so reduced and harassed by the
- 2:56:47Speaker 1: tireless pursuit of the soldiers that they made offer of
- 2:56:51Speaker 1: surrender to the Mexicans, but without coming to terms. Their locality,
- 2:56:57Speaker 1: thus being definitely known, disposition of the troops was rapidly
- 2:57:01Speaker 1: made to act in conjunction with the Mexicans to intercept
- 2:57:04Speaker 1: Geronimo and force his surrender. On August twenty fifth, Geronimo,
- 2:57:10Speaker 1: when near Fronteras, Mexico, recognizing that he was pretty well
- 2:57:14Speaker 1: surrounded and being out of ammunition and food, made overtures
- 2:57:19Speaker 1: of capitulation through Lieutenant Gatewood, sixth Cavalry to Captain Lawton.
- 2:57:24Speaker 1: He desired certain terms, but was informed that a surrender
- 2:57:28Speaker 1: as prisoner of war was all that would be accepted.
- 2:57:33Speaker 1: The Indians then proceeded to the vicinity of Captain Lawton's
- 2:57:36Speaker 1: command near Skeleton Canyon, and sent word that they wished
- 2:57:40Speaker 1: to see General Miles. On September third, General Miles arrived
- 2:57:44Speaker 1: at Lawton's camp, and on September fourth, Knichi, the son
- 2:57:48Speaker 1: of Cochise and the hereditary chief of the Apaches, with Geronimo,
- 2:57:53Speaker 1: surrendered all the hostiles, with the understanding it seems that
- 2:57:58Speaker 1: they should be sent out of Arizona. I am not
- 2:58:01Speaker 1: informed of the exact nature of this surrender at first
- 2:58:04Speaker 1: deemed unconditional. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant. O. O. Howard,
- 2:58:11Speaker 1: Major General, United States Army, and of report statement of W. T.
- 2:58:18Speaker 1: Melton and Darko, Oklahoma. From eighteen eighty two to eighteen
- 2:58:24Speaker 1: eighty seven I lived in southern Arizona and was employed
- 2:58:27Speaker 1: by the San Simone Cattle Company. In eighteen eighty six,
- 2:58:31Speaker 1: I was stationed in Skeleton Canyon, about ten miles north
- 2:58:34Speaker 1: of the boundary line between Arizona and Old Mexico with J. D. Pruitt.
- 2:58:39Speaker 1: It was our duty to ride the line south of
- 2:58:42Speaker 1: our range and keep the cattle of the company from
- 2:58:45Speaker 1: straying into Old Mexico. One afternoon, when returning from our ride,
- 2:58:50Speaker 1: we discovered an Indian trail leading toward our camp. We
- 2:58:54Speaker 1: rode hurriedly out of the hills into a broad valley
- 2:58:57Speaker 1: so that we could better discover any attacking parties of Apaches, and,
- 2:59:02Speaker 1: if assailed, have at least a fighting chance for our lives.
- 2:59:06Speaker 1: We knew the Apaches under Geronimo were on the war path,
- 2:59:09Speaker 1: but they were far down in Old Mexico. However, our
- 2:59:13Speaker 1: knowledge of the Indians led us to expect anything at
- 2:59:16Speaker 1: any time, to always be ready for the worst. When
- 2:59:20Speaker 1: we reached the valley, we struck a cavalry trail also
- 2:59:24Speaker 1: headed for our camp. This was perplexing, for neither the
- 2:59:28Speaker 1: Indians nor the soldiers seemed to have been riding fast,
- 2:59:32Speaker 1: and both trails led toward our camp in Skeleton Canyon.
- 2:59:36Speaker 1: This canyon was a natural route from Old Mexico to Arizona,
- 2:59:40Speaker 1: and almost all bands of Indians, as well as detachments
- 2:59:44Speaker 1: of United States troops passed and repassed through this valley
- 2:59:48Speaker 1: when going to Old Mexico or returning therefrom but never
- 2:59:53Speaker 1: before had two hostile bands passed through here at the
- 2:59:56Speaker 1: same time and traveling in the same direction, except when
- 3:00:00Speaker 1: one fled and the other pursued. What this could mean
- 3:00:04Speaker 1: was a mystery to us. Could it be that the
- 3:00:07Speaker 1: troops had not seen the Indians? Were the Redskins trying
- 3:00:11Speaker 1: to head the troops off and attack them in their camp?
- 3:00:14Speaker 1: Were the troops hunting for those Indians? Could this be
- 3:00:17Speaker 1: Lawton's command? Could that be Geronimo's band? No, it was impossible.
- 3:00:24Speaker 1: Then Who were these troops and what Indians were those?
- 3:00:28Speaker 1: Cautiously we rode to our camp and nailed on the
- 3:00:31Speaker 1: door of our cabin. Was this notice be careful? Geronimo
- 3:00:35Speaker 1: is nearby and has not yet surrendered Captain Lawton. Then
- 3:00:40Speaker 1: we understood a short distance above our cabin we found
- 3:00:44Speaker 1: the camp of the troops, and we had just finished
- 3:00:47Speaker 1: talking with Captain Lawton, who advised us to remain in
- 3:00:50Speaker 1: his camp rather than risk stain alone in our cabin,
- 3:00:54Speaker 1: when up rode the Chief Geronimo. He was mounted on
- 3:00:57Speaker 1: a blaze faced, white stalking dun horse. He came directly
- 3:01:02Speaker 1: to Captain Lawton, and through an interpreter, asked who we
- 3:01:06Speaker 1: were and what we wanted. As soon as the explanation
- 3:01:09Speaker 1: was given, he nodded his approval and rode away. Pruitt
- 3:01:13Speaker 1: and I rode away with him. We were well armed
- 3:01:17Speaker 1: and well mounted, and Geronimo was well mounted, but so
- 3:01:20Speaker 1: far as we could see, unarmed. I tried to talk
- 3:01:24Speaker 1: with the chief in English, but could not make him understand.
- 3:01:28Speaker 1: Prwitt wanted to shoot him, and said he could easily
- 3:01:31Speaker 1: kill him the first shot, but I objected and succeeded
- 3:01:35Speaker 1: in restraining him. While we were arguing, the Chief rode
- 3:01:39Speaker 1: silently between us, evidently feeling perfectly secure. All this time
- 3:01:44Speaker 1: we had been riding in the direction of our horses
- 3:01:46Speaker 1: that were grazing in the valley about a mile distant
- 3:01:49Speaker 1: from our corral. When we came to a place about
- 3:01:51Speaker 1: a half mile from Lawton's camp, where a spur of
- 3:01:55Speaker 1: the mountain ran far out into the valley. Geronimo turned aside, saluted,
- 3:02:00Speaker 1: said in fairly good Spanish, Ario senoris, and began to
- 3:02:04Speaker 1: ascend a mountain path. Later we learned that he was
- 3:02:08Speaker 1: going directly toward his camp, far up among the rocks.
- 3:02:11Speaker 1: We rode on, drove our horses back to the corral,
- 3:02:15Speaker 1: and remained in our cabin all night, but were not
- 3:02:18Speaker 1: molested by the Indians. The next day we killed three
- 3:02:21Speaker 1: beaves for the Indians, and they were paid for by
- 3:02:24Speaker 1: Captain Lawton. On the second day, two mounted Mexican scouts
- 3:02:28Speaker 1: came to Lawton's camp. As soon as these Mexicans came
- 3:02:32Speaker 1: in sight, the Indians seized their arms and vanished as
- 3:02:35Speaker 1: it were among the rocks. Captain Lawton wrote an account
- 3:02:39Speaker 1: of conditions and delivered it to the Mexicans, who withdrew.
- 3:02:43Speaker 1: After they had gone and their mission had been explained
- 3:02:46Speaker 1: to Geronimo, the Indians again returned to their camp and
- 3:02:49Speaker 1: laid down their arms. On the next day, Wood reached
- 3:02:53Speaker 1: camp that General Miles was approaching, and the Indians again
- 3:02:57Speaker 1: armed and disappeared among the rocks. Many of the Apache
- 3:03:01Speaker 1: squaws had field glasses and were stationed every day on
- 3:03:05Speaker 1: prominent mountain peaks to keep a lookout. No one could
- 3:03:08Speaker 1: approach their camp or Lawton's camp without being discovered by
- 3:03:12Speaker 1: these spies. Soon after General Miles joined Lawton's command, Geronimo
- 3:03:18Speaker 1: rode into camp, unarmed and dismounting. Approached General Miles, shook
- 3:03:23Speaker 1: hands with him, and then stood proudly before the officers
- 3:03:27Speaker 1: waiting for General Miles to begin conversation with him. The
- 3:03:31Speaker 1: interpreter said to Geronimo, General Miles, is your friend. Geronimo said,
- 3:03:36Speaker 1: I never saw him, but I have been in need
- 3:03:39Speaker 1: of friends. Why has he not been with me? When
- 3:03:43Speaker 1: this answer was interpreted, everybody laughed. After this, there was
- 3:03:47Speaker 1: no more formality, and without delay, the discussion of the
- 3:03:50Speaker 1: treaty was begun. All I remembered distinctly of the treaty
- 3:03:54Speaker 1: is that Geronimo and his band were not to be killed,
- 3:03:57Speaker 1: but they were to be taken to their family. I
- 3:04:01Speaker 1: remember this more distinctly because the Indians were so much
- 3:04:04Speaker 1: pleased with this particular one of the terms of the treaty. Geronimo,
- 3:04:09Speaker 1: Knigi and a few others went on ahead with General Miles,
- 3:04:13Speaker 1: but the main band of Indians left under the escort
- 3:04:16Speaker 1: of Lawton's troops. The night before they left, a young squaw,
- 3:04:20Speaker 1: daughter in law of Geronimo, gave birth to a child.
- 3:04:24Speaker 1: The next morning, the husband Geronimo's son carried the child,
- 3:04:28Speaker 1: but the mother mounted her pony unaided and rode away
- 3:04:31Speaker 1: unassisted a prisoner of war under military escort. On the
- 3:04:36Speaker 1: afternoon of the day of the treaty, Captain Lawton built
- 3:04:40Speaker 1: a monument about ten feet across and six feet high
- 3:04:44Speaker 1: of rough stones on the spot where the treaty was made.
- 3:04:48Speaker 1: The next year, some cowboys on a round up camped
- 3:04:50Speaker 1: at the place and tore down the monument to see
- 3:04:53Speaker 1: what was in it. All they found was a bottle
- 3:04:56Speaker 1: containing a piece of paper upon which was written the
- 3:04:59Speaker 1: names of the officers who were with Lawton. After the
- 3:05:03Speaker 1: Indians left, we found one hundred and fifty dollars and
- 3:05:07Speaker 1: twenty five cents in Mexican money hidden in a rat's
- 3:05:11Speaker 1: nest near where the Indians had camped. About ten o'clock
- 3:05:15Speaker 1: in the morning, after the Apaches and soldiers had gone away,
- 3:05:19Speaker 1: twenty Pimos Indians, accompanied by one white man, surrounded our
- 3:05:24Speaker 1: camp and demanded to know of Geronimo's whereabouts. We told
- 3:05:28Speaker 1: them of the treaty, and they followed the trail on
- 3:05:30Speaker 1: toward Fort Bowie. That afternoon, thinking all danger from Apaches past,
- 3:05:36Speaker 1: my partner Pruett, went to ride the lines and I
- 3:05:39Speaker 1: was left in camp alone. I was pumping water by
- 3:05:43Speaker 1: horse power at the well when I saw three Indians
- 3:05:46Speaker 1: rounding up our horses about half a mile away. They
- 3:05:50Speaker 1: saw me, but did not disturb me, nor did I
- 3:05:53Speaker 1: interfere with them. But as soon as they had driven
- 3:05:56Speaker 1: that bunch of horses northward over the hills out of sight,
- 3:06:00Speaker 1: I rode quickly off in another direction and drove another
- 3:06:03Speaker 1: bunch of horses into the corral. The rest of the
- 3:06:06Speaker 1: afternoon I stayed in camp, but saw no more Indians.
- 3:06:11Speaker 1: The next day we rode over the hill in the
- 3:06:13Speaker 1: direction these Indians had gone, and found that they had
- 3:06:16Speaker 1: camped not three miles away. There were evidently several in
- 3:06:20Speaker 1: the party, and they had kept scouts concealed near the
- 3:06:24Speaker 1: top of the hill to watch me and to shoot
- 3:06:27Speaker 1: me from ambush had I followed them. This we knew
- 3:06:31Speaker 1: because we saw behind some rocks at the crest of
- 3:06:33Speaker 1: the hill, in the loose soil, the imprints left by
- 3:06:36Speaker 1: the bodies of three warriors, where they had been lying
- 3:06:39Speaker 1: down in concealment. At their camp. We found the head
- 3:06:43Speaker 1: and hoofs of my favorite horse, Digger, a fine little
- 3:06:47Speaker 1: sorrel pony, and knew that he had served them for dinner.
- 3:06:52Speaker 1: We followed their trail far into Old Mexico, but did
- 3:06:55Speaker 1: not overtake them. We had been accustomed to say. It
- 3:06:58Speaker 1: was Geronimo's bank and whenever any depredation was committed. But
- 3:07:03Speaker 1: this time we were not so positive. Note by S. M. Barrett.
- 3:07:11Speaker 1: We do not wish to express our own opinion, but
- 3:07:14Speaker 1: to ask the reader whether, after having had the testimony
- 3:07:17Speaker 1: of Apaches, soldiers and civilians who knew the conditions of surrender,
- 3:07:23Speaker 1: and after having examined carefully the testimony offered, it would
- 3:07:27Speaker 1: be possible to conclude that Geronimo made an unconditional surrender.
- 3:07:33Speaker 1: Before passing from this subject, it would be well to
- 3:07:36Speaker 1: consider whether our government has treated these prisoners in strict
- 3:07:40Speaker 1: accordance with the terms of the treaty made in Skeleton
- 3:07:44Speaker 1: Canyon and of Section seven, Section eight, The White Men,
- 3:07:50Speaker 1: Part four and the Old and the New Part one,
- 3:07:55Speaker 1: Chapter nineteen. A prisoner of war. When I had given
- 3:08:00Speaker 1: up to the government, they put me on the Southern
- 3:08:02Speaker 1: Pacific Railroad and took me to San Antonio, Texas, and
- 3:08:07Speaker 1: held me to be tried by their laws. In forty days.
- 3:08:11Speaker 1: They took me from there to Fort Pickens, Pensacola, Florida.
- 3:08:15Speaker 1: Here they put me to sign up large logs. There
- 3:08:18Speaker 1: were several other Apache warriors with me, and all of
- 3:08:22Speaker 1: us had to work every day for nearly two years.
- 3:08:25Speaker 1: We were kept at hard labor in this place, and
- 3:08:28Speaker 1: we did not see our families until May eighteen eighty seven.
- 3:08:33Speaker 1: This treatment was in direct violation of our treaty made
- 3:08:37Speaker 1: at Skeleton Canyon. After this, we were sent with our
- 3:08:41Speaker 1: families to Vermont, Alabama, where we stayed five years and
- 3:08:46Speaker 1: worked for the government. We had no property, and I
- 3:08:50Speaker 1: looked in vain for General Miles to send me to
- 3:08:53Speaker 1: that land of which he had spoken. I longed in
- 3:08:56Speaker 1: vain for the implements, house and stock that Miles had
- 3:09:00Speaker 1: promised me. During this time, one of my warriors fun
- 3:09:05Speaker 1: killed himself and his wife. Another one shot his wife
- 3:09:09Speaker 1: and then shot himself. He fell dead, but the woman
- 3:09:13Speaker 1: recovered and is still living. We were not healthy in
- 3:09:16Speaker 1: this place, for the climate disagreed with us. So many
- 3:09:20Speaker 1: of our people died that I consented to let one
- 3:09:23Speaker 1: of my wives go to the Mescalero Agency in New
- 3:09:26Speaker 1: Mexico to live. This separation is, according to our custom,
- 3:09:30Speaker 1: equivalent to what the white people called divorce, and so
- 3:09:33Speaker 1: she married again soon after she got to Mescalero. She
- 3:09:37Speaker 1: also kept our two small children, which she had a
- 3:09:40Speaker 1: right to do. The children Lena and Robi are still
- 3:09:43Speaker 1: living at Mescalero, New Mexico. Lena is married. I kept
- 3:09:48Speaker 1: one wife, but she is dead now and I have
- 3:09:51Speaker 1: only our daughter Eva with me since my separation from
- 3:09:55Speaker 1: Lena's mother, I have never had more than one wife
- 3:09:58Speaker 1: at a time Since the da of Eva's mother, I
- 3:10:01Speaker 1: married another woman December nineteen o five, but we could
- 3:10:05Speaker 1: not live happily and separated. She went home to her people.
- 3:10:10Speaker 1: That is an Apache divorce. Then as now, mister George
- 3:10:14Speaker 1: Rayton superintended the Indians. He has always had trouble with
- 3:10:18Speaker 1: the Indians because he has mistreated them. One day, an Indian,
- 3:10:23Speaker 1: while drunk, stabbed mister Rayton with a little knife. The
- 3:10:27Speaker 1: officer in charge took the part of mister Rayton and
- 3:10:30Speaker 1: the Indian was sent to prison. When we first came
- 3:10:33Speaker 1: to Fort Sill in October eighteen ninety four, Captain Scott
- 3:10:38Speaker 1: was in charge and he had houses built for us
- 3:10:40Speaker 1: by the government. We were also given from the government cattle, hogs,
- 3:10:46Speaker 1: turkeys and chickens. The Indians did not do much good
- 3:10:49Speaker 1: with the hogs because they did not understand how to
- 3:10:52Speaker 1: care for them, and not many Indians, even at the
- 3:10:55Speaker 1: present time keep hogs. We did better with the turkeys
- 3:10:59Speaker 1: and chickens, but with these we did not have as
- 3:11:02Speaker 1: good luck as white men do. With the cattle, we
- 3:11:05Speaker 1: have done very well, indeed, and we like to raise them.
- 3:11:09Speaker 1: We have a few horses also and have had no
- 3:11:12Speaker 1: bad luck with them. In the matter of selling our
- 3:11:15Speaker 1: stock and grain, there has been much misunderstanding. The Indians
- 3:11:20Speaker 1: understood that the cattle were to be sold and the
- 3:11:23Speaker 1: money given to them, But instead part of the money
- 3:11:26Speaker 1: is given to the Indians, and part of it is
- 3:11:29Speaker 1: placed in what the officers call the APACHE fund. We
- 3:11:34Speaker 1: have had five different officers in charge of the Indians here,
- 3:11:38Speaker 1: and they have all ruled very much alike, not consulting
- 3:11:42Speaker 1: the Apaches or even explaining to them. It may be
- 3:11:45Speaker 1: that the government ordered the officers in charge to put
- 3:11:48Speaker 1: this cattle money into an APACHE fund. For once, I
- 3:11:52Speaker 1: complained and told Lieutenant Purrington that I intended to report
- 3:11:57Speaker 1: to the government that he had taken some of my
- 3:12:00Speaker 1: part of the cattle money and put it into the
- 3:12:03Speaker 1: APACHE fund. He said he did not care if I
- 3:12:06Speaker 1: did tell. Several years ago, the issue of clothing ceased.
- 3:12:11Speaker 1: This too, may have been by the order of the government.
- 3:12:14Speaker 1: But the Apaches do not understand it. If there is
- 3:12:18Speaker 1: an Apache fund, it should some day be turned over
- 3:12:21Speaker 1: to the Indians, or at least they should have an
- 3:12:24Speaker 1: account of it, for it is their earnings. When General
- 3:12:28Speaker 1: Miles last visited Fort Sill, I asked to be relieved
- 3:12:32Speaker 1: from labor on account of my age. I also remembered
- 3:12:36Speaker 1: what General Miles had promised me in the treaty and
- 3:12:39Speaker 1: told him of it. He said, I need not work
- 3:12:42Speaker 1: any more except when I wished to, and since that
- 3:12:45Speaker 1: time I have not been detailed to do any work.
- 3:12:49Speaker 1: I have worked a great deal, however, since then, for
- 3:12:52Speaker 1: although I am old, I like to work and help
- 3:12:55Speaker 1: my people as much as I am able. The Old
- 3:13:00Speaker 1: and the New Part one, Chapter twenty, Unwritten Laws of
- 3:13:05Speaker 1: the Apaches Trials. When an Indian has been wronged by
- 3:13:10Speaker 1: member of his tribe, he may, if he does not
- 3:13:13Speaker 1: wish to settle the difficulty personally, make complaint to the chieftain.
- 3:13:18Speaker 1: If he is unable to meet the offending parties in
- 3:13:21Speaker 1: a personal encounter and disdains to make complaint, anyone may
- 3:13:26Speaker 1: in his stead inform the chief of this conduct, And
- 3:13:29Speaker 1: then it becomes necessary to have an investigation or trial.
- 3:13:33Speaker 1: Both the accused and the accuser are entitled to witnesses,
- 3:13:37Speaker 1: and their witnesses are not interrupted in any way by questions,
- 3:13:41Speaker 1: but simply say what they wish to say in regard
- 3:13:44Speaker 1: to the matter. The witnesses are not placed under oath
- 3:13:48Speaker 1: because it is not believed that they will give false
- 3:13:51Speaker 1: testimony in a matter relating to their own people. The
- 3:13:56Speaker 1: chief of the tribe presides during these trials, but if
- 3:13:59Speaker 1: if it is a serious offense, he asks two or
- 3:14:03Speaker 1: three leaders to sit with him. These simply determine whether
- 3:14:07Speaker 1: or not the man is guilty. If he is not guilty,
- 3:14:10Speaker 1: the matter is ended, and the complaining party has forfeited
- 3:14:14Speaker 1: his right to take personal vengeance, for if he wishes
- 3:14:17Speaker 1: to take vengeance himself, he must object to the trial,
- 3:14:21Speaker 1: which would prevent it. If the accused is found guilty,
- 3:14:25Speaker 1: the injured party fixes the penalty, which is generally confirmed
- 3:14:29Speaker 1: by the chief and his associates. Adoption of children If
- 3:14:34Speaker 1: any children are left orphans by the usage of war
- 3:14:38Speaker 1: or otherwise, that is, if both parents are dead, the
- 3:14:42Speaker 1: chief of the tribe may adopt them or give them
- 3:14:45Speaker 1: away as he desires. In the case of outlawed Indians,
- 3:14:49Speaker 1: they may, if they wish, take their children with them,
- 3:14:53Speaker 1: But if they leave the children with the tribe, the
- 3:14:55Speaker 1: chief decides what will be done with them. But no
- 3:14:59Speaker 1: disgrace attachm to the children. Salt Lake. We obtained our
- 3:15:04Speaker 1: salt from a little lake in the Hila mountains. This
- 3:15:08Speaker 1: is a very small lake of clear, shallow water, and
- 3:15:12Speaker 1: in the center a small mound arises above the surface
- 3:15:15Speaker 1: of the water. The water is too salty to drink,
- 3:15:19Speaker 1: and the bottom of the lake is covered with a
- 3:15:21Speaker 1: brown crust. When this crust is broken, cakes of salt
- 3:15:25Speaker 1: adhere to it. These cakes of salt may be washed
- 3:15:29Speaker 1: clear in the water of this lake, but if washed
- 3:15:32Speaker 1: in other water, will dissolve. When visiting this lake, our
- 3:15:36Speaker 1: people were not allowed to even kill game or attack
- 3:15:40Speaker 1: an enemy. All creatures were free to go and come
- 3:15:44Speaker 1: without molestation. Preparation of a warrior. To be admitted as
- 3:15:49Speaker 1: a warrior, a youth must have gone with the warriors
- 3:15:52Speaker 1: of his tribe four separate times on the war path.
- 3:15:56Speaker 1: On the first trip, he will be given only very
- 3:15:59Speaker 1: inferior fare. With this he must be contented without murmuring.
- 3:16:04Speaker 1: On none of the four trips is he allowed to
- 3:16:06Speaker 1: select his food as the warriors do, but must eat
- 3:16:10Speaker 1: such food as he is permitted to have. On each
- 3:16:14Speaker 1: of these expeditions, he acts as servant, cares for the horses,
- 3:16:19Speaker 1: cooks the food, and does whatever duties he should do
- 3:16:22Speaker 1: without being told. He knows what things are to be done,
- 3:16:26Speaker 1: and without waiting to be told, is to do them.
- 3:16:30Speaker 1: He is not allowed to speak to any warrior, except
- 3:16:33Speaker 1: in answer to questions or when told to speak. During
- 3:16:38Speaker 1: these four wars, he is expected to learn the sacred
- 3:16:42Speaker 1: names of everything used in war, for after the tribe
- 3:16:46Speaker 1: enters upon the war path, no common names are used
- 3:16:50Speaker 1: in referring to anything appertaining to war. In any way,
- 3:16:54Speaker 1: war is a solemn religious matter. If after four expeditions,
- 3:17:00Speaker 1: all the warriors are satisfied that the youth has been industrious,
- 3:17:04Speaker 1: has not spoken out of order, has been discreet in
- 3:17:08Speaker 1: all things, has shown courage in battle, has borne all
- 3:17:12Speaker 1: hardships uncomplainingly, and has exhibited no color of cowardice or
- 3:17:18Speaker 1: weakness of any kind, he may, by vote of the
- 3:17:22Speaker 1: council be admitted as a warrior. But if any warrior
- 3:17:26Speaker 1: objects to him upon any account, he will be subjected
- 3:17:30Speaker 1: to further tests. And if he meets these courageously, his
- 3:17:34Speaker 1: name may again be proposed. When he has proven beyond
- 3:17:38Speaker 1: question that he can bear hardships without complaint and that
- 3:17:42Speaker 1: he is a stranger to fear, he is admitted to
- 3:17:45Speaker 1: the Council of the Warriors in the lowest rank. After this,
- 3:17:49Speaker 1: there is no formal test for promotions, but by common
- 3:17:52Speaker 1: consent he assumes a station on the battlefield, and if
- 3:17:56Speaker 1: that position is maintained with honor, he is allowed to
- 3:17:59Speaker 1: keep it and may be asked or may volunteer, to
- 3:18:03Speaker 1: take a higher station. But no warrior would presume to
- 3:18:07Speaker 1: take a higher station unless he had assurance from the
- 3:18:10Speaker 1: leaders of the tribe that his conduct in the first
- 3:18:14Speaker 1: position was worthy of commendation. From this point upward, the
- 3:18:18Speaker 1: only election by the council informal assembly is the election
- 3:18:23Speaker 1: of the chief. Old men are not allowed to lead
- 3:18:26Speaker 1: in battle, but their advice is always respected. Old age
- 3:18:30Speaker 1: means loss of physical power and is fatal to active leadership.
- 3:18:36Speaker 1: Dances All dances are considered religious ceremonies and are presided
- 3:18:41Speaker 1: over by a chief and medicine men. They are of
- 3:18:45Speaker 1: a social or military nature, but never without some sacred characteristic.
- 3:18:51Speaker 1: A dance of Thanksgiving. Every summer, we would gather the
- 3:18:55Speaker 1: fruit of the yucca grind and pulverize it and mold
- 3:18:58Speaker 1: it into cakes. Then the tribe would be assembled to feast,
- 3:19:02Speaker 1: to sing, and to give praises to usen. Prayers of
- 3:19:06Speaker 1: thanksgiving were said by all. When the dance began, the
- 3:19:10Speaker 1: leaders bore these cakes and added words of praise occasionally
- 3:19:14Speaker 1: to the usual tone sounds of the music. The war dance.
- 3:19:19Speaker 1: After a council of warriors had deliberated and had prepared
- 3:19:23Speaker 1: for the war path, the dance would be started. In
- 3:19:27Speaker 1: this dance there is usual singing led by the warriors
- 3:19:30Speaker 1: and accompanied by the beating of the esadadeni, but the
- 3:19:34Speaker 1: dancing is more violent and yells and war whoops sometimes
- 3:19:38Speaker 1: almost drowned the music. Only warriors participated in this dance.
- 3:19:44Speaker 1: Scalp Dance. After a war party has returned, a modification
- 3:19:49Speaker 1: of the war dance is held. The warriors who have
- 3:19:52Speaker 1: brought scalps from the battles exhibit them to the tribe,
- 3:19:56Speaker 1: and when the dance begins, these scalps, elevat on poles
- 3:20:01Speaker 1: or spears, are carried around the campfires while the dance
- 3:20:04Speaker 1: is in progress. During this dance. There is still some
- 3:20:08Speaker 1: of the solemnity of the war dance. There are yells
- 3:20:12Speaker 1: and war whoops, frequently accompanied by discharge of firearms, but
- 3:20:16Speaker 1: there is always more levity than would be permitted at
- 3:20:19Speaker 1: a war dance. After the scalp dance is over, the
- 3:20:23Speaker 1: scalps are thrown away. No Apache would keep them, for
- 3:20:27Speaker 1: they are considered defiling a social dance. In the early
- 3:20:32Speaker 1: part of September nineteen o five, I announced among the
- 3:20:35Speaker 1: Apaches that my daughter Eva, having attained womanhood, should now
- 3:20:40Speaker 1: put away childish things and assume her station as a
- 3:20:44Speaker 1: young lady. At a dance of the tribe. She would
- 3:20:47Speaker 1: make her debut, and then or thereafter it would be
- 3:20:51Speaker 1: proper for a warrior to seek her hand in marriage. Accordingly,
- 3:20:55Speaker 1: invitations were issued to all Apaches and many Comanches and
- 3:20:59Speaker 1: Kio to assemble for a grand dance on the green
- 3:21:03Speaker 1: by the south bank of Medicine Creek, near the village
- 3:21:07Speaker 1: of Knightchi, former chief of the Jocona Apaches, on the
- 3:21:11Speaker 1: first night of full moon in September. The festivities were
- 3:21:15Speaker 1: to continue for two days and nights. Nothing was omitted
- 3:21:19Speaker 1: in the preparation that would contribute to the enjoyment of
- 3:21:22Speaker 1: the guests or the perfection of the observance of the
- 3:21:26Speaker 1: religious rite. To make ready for the dancing, the grass
- 3:21:30Speaker 1: on a large circular space was closely mowed. The singing
- 3:21:33Speaker 1: was led by Chief Knightchi and I, assisted by our
- 3:21:37Speaker 1: medicine men, directed the dance. First, Eva advanced from among
- 3:21:42Speaker 1: the women and danced once around the camp fire. Then,
- 3:21:47Speaker 1: accompanied by another young woman, she again advanced and both
- 3:21:51Speaker 1: danced twice around the camp fire. Then she and two
- 3:21:55Speaker 1: other young ladies advanced and danced three times around the
- 3:21:59Speaker 1: camp fire. The next time, she and three other young
- 3:22:02Speaker 1: ladies advanced and danced four times around the camp fire.
- 3:22:07Speaker 1: This ceremony lasted about one hour. Next, the medicine men entered,
- 3:22:12Speaker 1: stripped to the waist, their bodies painted fantastically, and danced
- 3:22:17Speaker 1: the sacred dances. They were followed by clown dancers who
- 3:22:21Speaker 1: amused the audience greatly. Then the members of the tribe
- 3:22:25Speaker 1: joined hands and danced in a circle around the camp
- 3:22:28Speaker 1: fire for a long time. All the friends of the
- 3:22:32Speaker 1: tribe were asked to take part in this dance, and
- 3:22:35Speaker 1: when it was ended, many of the old people retired
- 3:22:39Speaker 1: and the lovers dance began The warriors stood in the
- 3:22:43Speaker 1: middle of the circle, and the ladies two and two
- 3:22:47Speaker 1: danced forward and designated some warrior to dance with them.
- 3:22:51Speaker 1: The dancing was back and forth on a line from
- 3:22:54Speaker 1: the center to the outer edge of the circle. The
- 3:22:57Speaker 1: warrior faced the two ladies, and when they danced forward
- 3:23:00Speaker 1: to the center, he danced backward. Then they danced backward
- 3:23:05Speaker 1: to the outer edge, and he followed facing them. This
- 3:23:09Speaker 1: lasted two or three hours, and then the music changed.
- 3:23:13Speaker 1: Immediately the warriors assembled again in the center of the circle,
- 3:23:17Speaker 1: and this time each lady selected a warrior as a partner.
- 3:23:21Speaker 1: The manner of dancing was as before, only two instead
- 3:23:25Speaker 1: of three danced together. During this dance, which continued until daylight.
- 3:23:31Speaker 1: The warrior, if dancing with a maiden, could propose marriage,
- 3:23:35Speaker 1: and if the maiden agreed, he would consult her father
- 3:23:38Speaker 1: soon afterward and make a bargain for her. Upon all
- 3:23:43Speaker 1: such occasions as this, When the dance is finished, each
- 3:23:47Speaker 1: warrior gives a present to the lady who selected him
- 3:23:49Speaker 1: for a partner and danced with him. If she is
- 3:23:52Speaker 1: satisfied with the present, he says goodbye. If not, the
- 3:23:56Speaker 1: matter is referred to someone in authority, medicine man or
- 3:24:00Speaker 1: chief who determines the question of what is a proper gift.
- 3:24:05Speaker 1: For a married lady, the value of the present should
- 3:24:07Speaker 1: be two or three dollars. For a maiden, the present
- 3:24:11Speaker 1: should have a value of not less than five dollars. Often, however,
- 3:24:15Speaker 1: the maiden receives a very valuable present. During the lover's dance,
- 3:24:20Speaker 1: the medicine men mingle with the dancers to keep out
- 3:24:23Speaker 1: evil spirits. Perhaps I shall never again have cause to
- 3:24:28Speaker 1: assemble our people to dance, But these social dances in
- 3:24:31Speaker 1: the moonlight have been a large part of our enjoyment
- 3:24:35Speaker 1: in the past, and I think they will not soon
- 3:24:38Speaker 1: be discontinued, at least I hope not. End of Section eight,
- 3:24:45Speaker 1: Section nine, The Old and the New, Part two, Chapter
- 3:24:50Speaker 1: twenty one. At the World's Fair, when I was first
- 3:24:55Speaker 1: asked to attend the Saint Louis World's Fair, I did
- 3:24:59Speaker 1: not wish to go. Later, when I was told that
- 3:25:02Speaker 1: I would receive good attention and protection, and that the
- 3:25:06Speaker 1: President of the United States said it would be all right,
- 3:25:09Speaker 1: I consented. I was kept by parties in charge of
- 3:25:12Speaker 1: the Indian Department, who had obtained permission from the President
- 3:25:17Speaker 1: I stayed in this place for six months. I sold
- 3:25:20Speaker 1: my photographs for twenty five cents and was allowed to
- 3:25:24Speaker 1: keep ten cents of this for myself. I also wrote
- 3:25:27Speaker 1: my name for ten, fifteen or twenty five cents, as
- 3:25:31Speaker 1: the case might be, and kept all of that money.
- 3:25:35Speaker 1: I often made as much as two dollars a day,
- 3:25:38Speaker 1: and when I returned I had plenty of money, more
- 3:25:41Speaker 1: than I had ever owned before. Many people in Saint
- 3:25:45Speaker 1: Louis invited me to come to their homes, but my
- 3:25:49Speaker 1: keeper always refused. Every Sunday, the president of the fair
- 3:25:53Speaker 1: sent for me to go to a Wild West show.
- 3:25:57Speaker 1: I took part in the roping contests. Before the Audiollians.
- 3:26:01Speaker 1: There were many other Indian tribes there, and strange people
- 3:26:04Speaker 1: of whom I had never heard. When people first came
- 3:26:08Speaker 1: to the World's Fair, they did nothing but parade up
- 3:26:12Speaker 1: and down the streets. When they got tired of this,
- 3:26:14Speaker 1: they would visit the shows. There were many strange things
- 3:26:18Speaker 1: in these shows. The government sent guards with me when
- 3:26:21Speaker 1: I went, and I was not allowed to go anywhere
- 3:26:24Speaker 1: without them. In one of these shows, some strange men
- 3:26:28Speaker 1: with red caps turks had some peculiar swords, and they
- 3:26:33Speaker 1: seemed to want to fight. Finally, their manager told them
- 3:26:37Speaker 1: they might fight each other. They tried to hit each
- 3:26:40Speaker 1: other over the head with these swords, and I expected
- 3:26:43Speaker 1: both to be wounded or perhaps killed, but neither one
- 3:26:47Speaker 1: was harmed. They would be hard people to kill in
- 3:26:50Speaker 1: a hand to hand fight. In another show, there was
- 3:26:54Speaker 1: a strange looking negro. The manager tied his hands fast,
- 3:26:58Speaker 1: then tied him to a church. He was securely tied
- 3:27:02Speaker 1: for I looked myself and I did not think it
- 3:27:05Speaker 1: was possible for him to get away. Then the manager
- 3:27:09Speaker 1: told him to get loose. He twisted in his chair
- 3:27:12Speaker 1: for a moment and then stood up. The ropes were
- 3:27:15Speaker 1: still tied, but he was free. I do not understand
- 3:27:19Speaker 1: how this was done. It was certainly a miraculous power,
- 3:27:23Speaker 1: because no man could have released himself by his own efforts.
- 3:27:28Speaker 1: In another place, a man was on a platform speaking
- 3:27:31Speaker 1: to the audience. They set a basket by the side
- 3:27:34Speaker 1: of the platform and covered it with red calicole. Then
- 3:27:38Speaker 1: a woman came and got into the basket, and a
- 3:27:42Speaker 1: man covered the basket again with the calicole. Then the
- 3:27:45Speaker 1: man who was speaking to the audience took a long
- 3:27:48Speaker 1: sword and ran it through the basket each way and
- 3:27:53Speaker 1: then down through the cloth cover. I heard the sword
- 3:27:56Speaker 1: cut through the woman's body, and the manager himself said
- 3:28:00Speaker 1: she was dead. But when the cloth was lifted from
- 3:28:03Speaker 1: the basket, she stepped out, smiled, and walked off the stage.
- 3:28:09Speaker 1: I would like to know how she was so quickly healed,
- 3:28:12Speaker 1: and why the wounds did not kill her. I have
- 3:28:16Speaker 1: never considered bears very intelligent, except in their wild habits,
- 3:28:20Speaker 1: but I had never before seen a white bear. In
- 3:28:25Speaker 1: one of the shows, a man had a white bear
- 3:28:27Speaker 1: that was as intelligent as a man. He would do
- 3:28:30Speaker 1: whatever he was told, carry a log on his shoulder,
- 3:28:34Speaker 1: just as a man would, then when he was told,
- 3:28:37Speaker 1: would put it down again. He did many other things
- 3:28:40Speaker 1: and seemed to know exactly what his keeper said to him.
- 3:28:44Speaker 1: I am sure that no grisly bear could be trained
- 3:28:47Speaker 1: to do these things. One time, the guards took me
- 3:28:51Speaker 1: into a little house that had four windows. When we
- 3:28:55Speaker 1: were seated, the little house started to move along the ground.
- 3:28:59Speaker 1: Then the guards called my attention to some curious things
- 3:29:02Speaker 1: they had in their pockets. Finally they told me to
- 3:29:06Speaker 1: look out, and when I did so, I was scared,
- 3:29:10Speaker 1: for our little house had gone high up in the air,
- 3:29:13Speaker 1: and the people down in the fair grounds looked no
- 3:29:16Speaker 1: larger than ants. The men laughed at me for being scared.
- 3:29:21Speaker 1: Then they gave me a glass to look through. I
- 3:29:24Speaker 1: often had such glasses, which I took from dead offices
- 3:29:27Speaker 1: after battles in Mexico and elsewhere, and I could see rivers,
- 3:29:32Speaker 1: lakes and mountains. But I had never been so high
- 3:29:36Speaker 1: in the air, and I tried to look into the sky.
- 3:29:40Speaker 1: There were no stars, and I could not look at
- 3:29:42Speaker 1: the sun through this glass because the brightness hurt my eyes. Finally,
- 3:29:47Speaker 1: I put the glass down, and as they were all
- 3:29:50Speaker 1: laughing at me, I too began to laugh. Then they
- 3:29:54Speaker 1: said get out, and when I looked, we were on
- 3:29:57Speaker 1: the street again. After we were safe on the land,
- 3:30:01Speaker 1: I watched many of these little houses going up and
- 3:30:05Speaker 1: coming down, but I cannot understand how they travel. They
- 3:30:09Speaker 1: are very curious little houses. One day we went into
- 3:30:14Speaker 1: another show, and as soon as we were in it,
- 3:30:17Speaker 1: it changed into night. It was real night, for I
- 3:30:21Speaker 1: could feel the damp air. Soon it began to thunder
- 3:30:25Speaker 1: and the lightnings flashed. It was real lightning, too, for
- 3:30:29Speaker 1: it struck just above our heads. I dodged and wanted
- 3:30:32Speaker 1: to run away, but I could not tell which way
- 3:30:35Speaker 1: to go in order to get out. The guards motioned
- 3:30:39Speaker 1: me to keep still, and so I stayed. In front
- 3:30:42Speaker 1: of us were some strange little people who came out
- 3:30:45Speaker 1: on the platform. Then I looked up again and the
- 3:30:49Speaker 1: clouds were all gone, and I could see the stars shining.
- 3:30:53Speaker 1: The little people on the platform did not seem in
- 3:30:56Speaker 1: earnest about anything they did, so I only laughed at them.
- 3:31:00Speaker 1: All the people around where we sat seemed to be
- 3:31:02Speaker 1: laughing at me. We went into another place, and the
- 3:31:06Speaker 1: manager took us into a little room that was made
- 3:31:09Speaker 1: like a cage. Then everything around us seemed to be moving.
- 3:31:14Speaker 1: Soon the air looked blue. Then there were black clouds
- 3:31:18Speaker 1: moving with the wind. Pretty soon it was clear outside.
- 3:31:22Speaker 1: Then we saw a few thin white clouds. Then the
- 3:31:25Speaker 1: clouds grew thicker, and it rained and hailed with thunder
- 3:31:28Speaker 1: and lightning. Then the thunder retreated and a rainbow appeared
- 3:31:33Speaker 1: in the distance. Then it became dark, the moon rose
- 3:31:37Speaker 1: and thousands of stars came out. Soon the sun came
- 3:31:41Speaker 1: up and we got out of the little room. This
- 3:31:44Speaker 1: was a good show, but it was so strange and
- 3:31:47Speaker 1: unnatural that I was glad to be on the streets again.
- 3:31:51Speaker 1: We went into one place where they made glassware. I
- 3:31:54Speaker 1: had always thought that these things were made by hand,
- 3:31:57Speaker 1: but they are not. The man and had a curious
- 3:32:00Speaker 1: little instrument, and whenever he would blow through this into
- 3:32:04Speaker 1: a little blaze, the glass would take any shape he
- 3:32:07Speaker 1: wanted it to. I am not sure, but I think
- 3:32:11Speaker 1: that if I had this kind of an instrument, I
- 3:32:14Speaker 1: could make whatever I wished. There seems to be a
- 3:32:17Speaker 1: charm about it, but I suppose it is very difficult
- 3:32:21Speaker 1: to get these little instruments, or other people would have them.
- 3:32:25Speaker 1: The people in this show were so anxious to buy
- 3:32:28Speaker 1: the things the man made that they kept him so
- 3:32:31Speaker 1: busy he could not sit down all day long. I
- 3:32:35Speaker 1: bought many curious things in there and brought them home
- 3:32:38Speaker 1: with me. At the end of one of the streets,
- 3:32:41Speaker 1: some people were getting into a clumsy canoe upon a
- 3:32:45Speaker 1: kind of shelf and sliding down into the water. They
- 3:32:49Speaker 1: seemed to enjoy it, but it looked too fierce for me.
- 3:32:53Speaker 1: If one of these canoes had gotten out of its path,
- 3:32:56Speaker 1: the people would have been sure to get hurt or killed.
- 3:33:00Speaker 1: There were some little brown people at the fair that
- 3:33:03Speaker 1: united States troops captured recently on some islands far away
- 3:33:07Speaker 1: from here. They did not wear much clothing, and I
- 3:33:11Speaker 1: think that they should not have been allowed to come
- 3:33:14Speaker 1: to the fair. But they themselves did not seem to
- 3:33:17Speaker 1: know any better. They had some little brass plates, and
- 3:33:21Speaker 1: they tried to play music with these, but I did
- 3:33:24Speaker 1: not think it was music. It was only a rattle. However,
- 3:33:28Speaker 1: they danced to this noise and seemed to think they
- 3:33:31Speaker 1: were giving a fine show. I do not know how
- 3:33:34Speaker 1: true the report was, but I heard that the President
- 3:33:38Speaker 1: sent them to the fair so that they could learn
- 3:33:40Speaker 1: some manners, and when they went home, teached their people
- 3:33:44Speaker 1: how to dress and how to behave. I am glad
- 3:33:48Speaker 1: I went to the fair. I saw many interesting things
- 3:33:51Speaker 1: and learned much of the white people. They are a
- 3:33:54Speaker 1: very kind and peaceful people. During all the time I
- 3:33:58Speaker 1: was at the fair, no one tried to harm me
- 3:34:00Speaker 1: in any way. Had this been among the Mexicans, I
- 3:34:04Speaker 1: am sure I should have been compelled to defend myself. Often.
- 3:34:09Speaker 1: I wish all my people could have attended the fair.
- 3:34:13Speaker 1: Chapter twenty two. Religion in our primitive worship, only our
- 3:34:18Speaker 1: relations to usin and the members of our tribe were
- 3:34:22Speaker 1: considered as appertaining to our religious responsibilities. As to the
- 3:34:26Speaker 1: future state, the teachings of our tribe were not specific.
- 3:34:31Speaker 1: That is, we had no definite idea of our relations
- 3:34:34Speaker 1: and surroundings in after life. We believe that there is
- 3:34:38Speaker 1: a life after this one, but no one ever told
- 3:34:41Speaker 1: me as to what part of man lived after death.
- 3:34:45Speaker 1: I have seen many men die, I have seen many
- 3:34:48Speaker 1: human bodies decayed, but I have never seen that part
- 3:34:52Speaker 1: which is called the spirit. I do not know what
- 3:34:55Speaker 1: it is, nor have I yet been able to understand
- 3:34:58Speaker 1: that part of the Christian relig We held that the
- 3:35:02Speaker 1: discharge of one's duty would make his future life more pleasant,
- 3:35:05Speaker 1: but whether that future life was worse than this life
- 3:35:09Speaker 1: or better, we did not know, and no one was
- 3:35:12Speaker 1: able to tell us. We hoped that in the future life,
- 3:35:17Speaker 1: family and tribal relations would be resumed in a way.
- 3:35:21Speaker 1: We believed this, but we did not know it. Once,
- 3:35:25Speaker 1: when living in San Carlos Reservation, an Indian told me that,
- 3:35:29Speaker 1: while lying unconscious on the battlefield, he had actually been
- 3:35:34Speaker 1: dead and had passed into the spirit land. First he
- 3:35:38Speaker 1: came to a mulberry tree growing out from a cave
- 3:35:42Speaker 1: in the ground. Before this cave, a guard was stationed,
- 3:35:46Speaker 1: but when he approached without fear, the guard let him pass.
- 3:35:50Speaker 1: He descended into the cave, and a little way back
- 3:35:54Speaker 1: the path widened and terminated in a perpendicular rock many
- 3:35:58Speaker 1: hundreds of feet wide and equal in height. There was
- 3:36:02Speaker 1: not much light, but by peering directly beneath him, he
- 3:36:07Speaker 1: discovered a pile of sand reaching from the depths below
- 3:36:11Speaker 1: to within twenty feet of the top of the rock,
- 3:36:13Speaker 1: where he stood holding to a bush, He swung off
- 3:36:17Speaker 1: from the edge of the rock and dropped into the sand,
- 3:36:21Speaker 1: sliding rapidly down its step side into the darkness. He
- 3:36:25Speaker 1: landed in a narrow passage running due westward through a canyon,
- 3:36:30Speaker 1: which gradually grew lighter and lighter, until he could see
- 3:36:34Speaker 1: as well as if it had been daylight, but there
- 3:36:37Speaker 1: was no sun. Finally, he came to a section of
- 3:36:40Speaker 1: this passage that was wider for a short distance, and
- 3:36:44Speaker 1: then closing abruptly, continued in a narrow path. Just where
- 3:36:49Speaker 1: this section narrowed, two huge serpents were coiled and rearing
- 3:36:53Speaker 1: their heads hissed at him as he approached, but he
- 3:36:57Speaker 1: showed no fear, and as soon as he came close
- 3:37:00Speaker 1: to them, they withdrew quietly and let him pass. At
- 3:37:04Speaker 1: the next place, where the passage opened into a wider section,
- 3:37:08Speaker 1: were two grizzly bears prepared to attack him, but when
- 3:37:13Speaker 1: he approached and spoke to them, they stood aside, and
- 3:37:16Speaker 1: he passed unharmed. He continued to follow the narrow passage,
- 3:37:21Speaker 1: and the third time it widened, and two mountain lions
- 3:37:25Speaker 1: crouched in the way, but when he had approached them
- 3:37:28Speaker 1: without fear and had spoken to them, they also withdrew.
- 3:37:32Speaker 1: He again entered the narrow passage for some time. He
- 3:37:36Speaker 1: followed this, emerging into a fourth section, beyond which he
- 3:37:39Speaker 1: could see nothing. The further walls of this section were
- 3:37:43Speaker 1: clashing together at regular intervals with tremendous sounds, but when
- 3:37:48Speaker 1: he approached them, they stood apart until he had passed.
- 3:37:52Speaker 1: After this, he seemed to be in a forest, and
- 3:37:56Speaker 1: following the natural draws which led westward, soon came into
- 3:38:00Speaker 1: a green valley where there were many Indians camped and
- 3:38:04Speaker 1: plenty of game. He said that he saw and recognized
- 3:38:08Speaker 1: many whom he had known in this life, and that
- 3:38:11Speaker 1: he was sorry when he was brought back to consciousness.
- 3:38:15Speaker 1: I told him if I knew this to be true,
- 3:38:18Speaker 1: I would not want to live another day, but by
- 3:38:21Speaker 1: some means, if by my own hands, I would die
- 3:38:25Speaker 1: in order to enjoy these pleasures. I myself have lain
- 3:38:29Speaker 1: unconscious on the battlefield, and while in that condition, have
- 3:38:33Speaker 1: had some strange thoughts or experiences, but they are very
- 3:38:37Speaker 1: dim and I cannot recall them well enough to relate them.
- 3:38:41Speaker 1: Many Indians believed this warrior, and I cannot say that
- 3:38:45Speaker 1: he did not tell the truth. I wish I knew
- 3:38:48Speaker 1: that what he said is beyond question true, but perhaps
- 3:38:53Speaker 1: it is as well that we are not certain. Since
- 3:38:56Speaker 1: my life as a prisoner has begun, I have heard
- 3:38:59Speaker 1: the teachings of the white Man's religion, and in many
- 3:39:03Speaker 1: respects believe it to be better than the religion of
- 3:39:05Speaker 1: my father's. However, I have always prayed, and I believe
- 3:39:11Speaker 1: that the Almighty has always protected me. Believing that in
- 3:39:16Speaker 1: a wise way it is good to go to church,
- 3:39:18Speaker 1: and that associating with Christians would improve my character, I
- 3:39:23Speaker 1: have adopted the Christian religion. I believe that the church
- 3:39:27Speaker 1: has helped me much during the short time I have
- 3:39:30Speaker 1: been a member. I am not ashamed to be a
- 3:39:33Speaker 1: Christian and I am glad to know that the President
- 3:39:36Speaker 1: of the United States is a Christian, for without the
- 3:39:39Speaker 1: help of the Almighty I do not think he could
- 3:39:42Speaker 1: rightly judge in ruling so many people. I have advised
- 3:39:46Speaker 1: all of my people who are not Christians to study
- 3:39:49Speaker 1: that religion, because it seems to me the best religion
- 3:39:53Speaker 1: in enabling one to live right. Chapter twenty three, Hopes
- 3:39:58Speaker 1: for the Future. I am thankful that the President of
- 3:40:02Speaker 1: the United States has given me permission to tell my story.
- 3:40:06Speaker 1: I hope that he and those in authority under him
- 3:40:09Speaker 1: will read my story and judge whether my people have
- 3:40:13Speaker 1: been rightly treated. There is a great question between the
- 3:40:17Speaker 1: Apaches and the government. For twenty years we have been
- 3:40:21Speaker 1: held prisoners of war under a treaty which was made
- 3:40:24Speaker 1: with General Miles on the part of the United States
- 3:40:27Speaker 1: government and myself as the representative of the Apaches. That
- 3:40:33Speaker 1: treaty has not at all times been properly observed by
- 3:40:37Speaker 1: the government, although at the present time it is being
- 3:40:40Speaker 1: more nearly fulfilled on their part than Heretofore, in the
- 3:40:44Speaker 1: treaty with General Miles, we agreed to go to a
- 3:40:47Speaker 1: place outside of Arizona and learn to live as the
- 3:40:51Speaker 1: white people do. I think that my people are now
- 3:40:55Speaker 1: capable of living in accordance with the laws of the
- 3:40:57Speaker 1: United States, and we of course like to have the
- 3:41:02Speaker 1: liberty to return to that land which is ours by
- 3:41:05Speaker 1: divine right. We are reduced in numbers, and having learned
- 3:41:09Speaker 1: how to cultivate the soil, would not require so much
- 3:41:12Speaker 1: ground as was formerly necessary. We do not ask all
- 3:41:16Speaker 1: of the land which the Almighty gave us in the beginning,
- 3:41:19Speaker 1: but that we may have sufficient lands there to cultivate
- 3:41:23Speaker 1: what we do not need. We are glad for the
- 3:41:25Speaker 1: white men to cultivate. We are now held on Comanche
- 3:41:28Speaker 1: and Kiowa lands which are not suited to our needs.
- 3:41:32Speaker 1: These lands, in this climate are suited to the Indians
- 3:41:35Speaker 1: who originally inhabited this country, of course, but our people
- 3:41:40Speaker 1: are decreasing in numbers here and will continue to decrease
- 3:41:44Speaker 1: unless they are allowed to return to their native land.
- 3:41:48Speaker 1: Such a result is inevitable. There is no climate or
- 3:41:52Speaker 1: soil which, to my mind is equal to that of Arizona.
- 3:41:56Speaker 1: We could have plenty of good cultivating land, plenty of grass,
- 3:42:01Speaker 1: plenty of timber, and plenty of minerals in that land
- 3:42:04Speaker 1: which the Almighty created for the Apaches. It is my land,
- 3:42:10Speaker 1: my home, my father's land, to which I now ask
- 3:42:14Speaker 1: to be allowed to return. I want to spend my
- 3:42:18Speaker 1: last days there and be buried among those mountains. If
- 3:42:22Speaker 1: this could be, I might die in peace, feeling that
- 3:42:25Speaker 1: my people, placed in their native homes, would increase in
- 3:42:29Speaker 1: numbers rather than diminish as at present, and that our
- 3:42:34Speaker 1: name would not become extinct. I know that if my
- 3:42:38Speaker 1: people were placed in that mountainous region lying around the
- 3:42:42Speaker 1: headwaters of the Hille River, they would live in peace
- 3:42:45Speaker 1: and act according to the will of the President. They
- 3:42:49Speaker 1: would be prosperous and happy in telling the soil and
- 3:42:52Speaker 1: learning the civilization of the white men whom they now respect.
- 3:42:57Speaker 1: Could I but see this accomplished. I think I could
- 3:43:00Speaker 1: forget all the wrongs that I have ever received and
- 3:43:04Speaker 1: die a contented and happy old man. But we can
- 3:43:09Speaker 1: do nothing in this matter ourselves. We must wait until
- 3:43:13Speaker 1: those in authority choose to act. If this cannot be
- 3:43:17Speaker 1: done during my lifetime, if I must die in bondage,
- 3:43:22Speaker 1: I hope that the remnant of the Apache tribe may,
- 3:43:25Speaker 1: when I am gone, be granted the one privilege which
- 3:43:29Speaker 1: they request to return to Arizona, end of section nine,
- 3:43:37Speaker 1: end of Geronimo's story of his life by Geronimo