Geronimo
By: Blake Bottesi
Geronimo was a fearless Apache who fiercely resisted American expansion to the west. He was born in June 1829, in No-Doyohn Canyon, Mexico. He was a gifted hunter who supposedly swallowed the heart of his first kill in order to ensure a lifetime of success on the hunt. During the early years of his life Geronimo, along with the Apache, was constantly on the run either from rival tribes or Mexicans. Even while running away, Geronimo’s tribe raided neighboring tribes and the Mexicans. They attacked the Mexicans so much that the Mexicans offered up to $25 for young Apache scalps. This did not stop the Apache from raiding however, by the age of 17 Geronimo had already conducted four successful attacks against the Mexicans.
Soon after his fourth raid he fell in love with a woman named Alope. The two got married and had three children together. However, shortly after they had their third kid, disaster struck. While Geronimo was out on a trading mission Mexican soldiers attacked and ransacked his camp killing his mother, wife, and three kids. When Geronimo returned to his camp and discovered these murders, he was devastated. He burned their belongings according to Apache tradition, then went to the forest to mourn them. The legend states that while he was it the forest alone and crying, a voice came to him that promised: "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 and protection, Geronimo rounded up a troop of two hundred warriors and hunted down the Mexican soldiers who killed his family. He drew this force from his tribe and other tribes of the Apache.
This went on for ten years, as Geronimo exacted revenge against the Mexican government. Beginning in the 1850s, 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 Apache increased their attacks, which included brutal ambushes on stagecoaches and wagon trains. Soon after these events, the leader of Geronimo’s tribe made a treaty with the Americans that greatly disappointed Geronimo. This treaty agreed with the establishment of a reservation for Geronimo’s tribe on a prized piece of Apache property. Within five years, the chief who signed the agreement, Cochise, died.
The Americans moved the Apache further north, violating the terms of the treaty. This further angered Geronimo and caused more violence between Geronimo and the Americans. Geronimo continued his fighting till 1877 when authorities finally caught up to him and forced him to live on the San Carlos Reservation. Geronimo was on the reservation until September 1881, when he finally escaped. For the next five years, Geronimo and a small band of followers eluded the American troops. This would be the last of the Indian wars against Americans.
Geronimo’s fellow Native Americans started to view him in differing ways. Some, such as his close followers, viewed him as the last defender of the Native American way of life. Others, including fellow Apaches, saw him as an obstinate holdout, driven by revenge and unnecessarily putting the lives of many people in danger. Geronimo and his companions began to race across the southwest, closely followed by the army. The newspapers followed this chase and transformed Geronimo in to a legend to the American people. At one point in the chase, five thousand soldiers, almost a quarter of the army, were trying to catch Geronimo. In the summer of 1886, Geronimo finally surrendered to the United States. He would regret this action for the rest of his life. Geronimo was the last Apache to surrender. He and his group were shipped from prison to prison for twenty seven years after his capture.
As the years went by Geronimo began to experience some celebrity from his former enemies, the Americans. Crowds began to long to catch a glimpse of the famous Indian warrior. In 1905, Geronimo published his autobiography. During that same year, he received a private audience with then president Teddy Roosevelt. Geronimo asked President Roosevelt to allow his people to return to their homelands in Arizona. Roosevelt refused, and Geronimo would be destined to die outside of his homelands. Four years later, he contracted pneumonia by falling of his horse on his way home and spending a night outside. By the time he was found he had contracted severe pneumonia and died six days later with his nephew by his side. His final regrets were “I should never have surrendered, I should have fought until I was the last man alive." He died of this pneumonia in February of 1909.
Sources
"Geronimo." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.