Apache Chief Geronimo

When the territories of New Mexico and Arizona became part of the United States, settlers found themselves in the middle of a bloody war between the Apaches and the Mexicans. When the Apaches began to raid American settlements, the U.S. Government decided the Apaches must be confined to reservations. Geronimo and other Apaches continued to fight for their land and way of life in this inspiring biography.

"He and his men were the terror of the country, always leaving a trail of bloodshed and devastation."—The New York Times.

After prolonged resistance against tremendous odds, Geronimo, the Apache shaman and war leader, and Naiche, the hereditary Chiricahua chief, surrendered to General Nelson A. Miles near the Mexican border on September 4, 1886. It was the beginning of a new day for white settlers in the Southwest and of bitter exile for the Indians. In Geronimo and the End of the Apache Wars Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood, an emissary of General Miles, describes in vivid circumstantial detail his role in the final capture of Geronimo at Skeleton Canyon. Gatewood offers many intimate glimpses of the Apache chief in an important account published for the first time in this collection. Another first-person narration is by Samuel E. Kenoi, who was ten years old when Geronimo went on his last warpath. A Chiricahua Apache, Kenoi recalls the removal of his people to Florida after the surrender. In other colorful chapters Edwin R. Sweeney writes about the 1851 raid of the Mexican army that killed Geronmio's mother, wife, and children; and Albert E. Wratten relates the life of his father, George Wratten, a government scout, superintendent on three reservations, and defender of the rights of the Apaches.

An Apache warrior who led attacks on Mexican and American settlers, Geronimo's reputation was one of a fierce fighter. Many times the United States captured Geronimo only to see him escape to continue his warrior's way of life. Give readers this compelling narrative that they will not forget.

Based on fresh evidence - including depositions from old soldiers and scouts, official documents, articles, letters and photographs - this study examines the campaign that the US Army waged against the Apache tribe, led by its great chieftain Geronimo, and assesses the outcome of the bloodshed.

Being on the run certainly defined Geronimo's way of life. He belonged to the smallest band within the Chiricahua tribe, the Bedonkohe. Numbering a little more than 8,000, the Apaches were surrounded by enemies-not just Mexicans, but also other tribes, including the Navajo and Comanches. Raiding their neighbors was also a part of the Apache life. In response the Mexican government put a bounty on Apache scalps, offering as much as $25 for a child's scalp. But this did little to deter Geronimo and his people. At the age of 17 Geronimo had already led four successful raiding operations. Around this same time Geronimo fell in love with a woman named Alope. The two married and had three children together. Then tragedy struck. While out on a trading trip, Mexican soldiers attacked his camp. Word of the ransacking soon reached the Apache men. Quietly that night, Geronimo returned home, where he found his mother, wife and three children all dead. Warrior Leader The murders devastated Geronimo. In the tradition of the Apache, he set fire to his family's belongings and then, in a show of grief, headed into the wilderness to bereave the deaths. There, it's said, alone and crying, a voice came to Geronimo that promised him: "No gun will ever kill you. I will take the bullets from the guns of the Mexicans ... and I will guide your arrows." Backed by this sudden knowledge of power, Geronimo rounded up a force of 200 men and hunted down the Mexican soldiers who killed his family. On it went like this for 10 years, as Geronimo exacted revenge against the Mexican government. Beginning in the 1850s, the face of his enemy changed. Following the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, the U.S. took over large tracts of territory from Mexico, including areas belonging to the Apache. Spurred by the discovery of gold in the Southwest, settlers and miners streamed into their lands. Naturally, tensions mounted. The Apaches stepped up their attacks, which included brutal ambushes on stagecoaches and wagon trains. But the Chiricahua leader, Geronimo's father-in-law, Cochise, could see where the future was headed. In an act that greatly disappointed his son-in-law, the revered chief called a halt to his decade-long war with the Americans and agreed to the establishment of a reservation for his people on a prized piece of Apache property. But within just a few years, Cochise died, and the federal government reneged on its agreement, moving the Chiricahua north so that settlers could move into their former lands. This act only further incensed Geronimo, setting off a new round of fighting. Geronimo proved to be as elusive as he was aggressive. However, authorities finally caught up with him in 1877 and sent him to the San Carlos Apache reservation. For four long years he struggled with his new reservation life, finally escaping in September 1881. Out on his own again, Geronimo and a small band of Chiricahua followers eluded American troops. Over the next five years they engaged in what proved to be the last of the Indian wars against the U.S. Perceptions of Geronimo were nearly as complex as the man himself. His followers viewed him as the last great defender of the Native American way of life. But others, including fellow Apaches, saw him as a stubborn holdout, violently driven by revenge and foolishly putting the lives of people in danger. With his followers in tow, Geronimo shot across the Southwest. As he did, the seemingly mystical leader was transformed into a legend as newspapers closely followed the Army's pursuit of him. At one point nearly a quarter of the Army's forces-5,000 troops-were trying to hunt him down. Finally, in the summer of 1886, he surrendered, the last Chiricahua to do so. Over the next several years Geronimo and his people were bounced around, first to a prison in Florida, then a prison camp in Alabama, and then Fort Sill in Oklahoma. In total, the group spent 27 years as prisoners of war.

Who really was Geronimo? To some people, he was a leader of marauding Native Americans, preying on the settlers of Mexico and the American Southwest. To others, he was a fearless fighter for freedom, leading an embattled people against settlers who sought to take their land and restrict them to reservations. Readers will gain insight into settler and Native American conflicts, as well as the history of the Apaches and Geronimo's personal story. The book discusses the numerous raids, as well as resistance to U.S. and Mexican military campaigns, on which Geronimo led the Apaches, giving readers a chance to understand both views of the Apache leader.