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Geronimo and the Apaches at Fort Sill |
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Jicarilla Apache - Kiowa Apache - Mescalero Apache - San Carlos Apache - White Mountain Apache
Geronimo {jur-ahn'-i-moh}, or Goyathlay ("one who yawns"), was born in 1829 in what is today western New Mexico, but was then still Mexican territory. He was a Bedonkohe Apache (grandson of Mahko) by birth and a Net'na during his youth and early manhood. His wife, Juh, Geronimo's cousin Ishton, and Asa Daklugie were members of the Nednhi band of the Chiricahua Apache. He was reportedly given the name Geronimo by Mexican soldiers, although few agree as to why. As leader of the Apaches at Arispe in Sonora, he performed such daring feats that the Mexicans singled him out with the sobriquet Geronimo (Spanish for "Jerome"). Some attributed his numerous raiding successes to powers conferred by supernatural beings, including a reputed invulnerability to bullets. Geronimo's war career was linked with that of his brother-in-law, Juh, a Chiricahua chief. Although he was not a hereditary leader, Geronimo appeared so to outsiders because he often acted as spokesman for Juh, who had a speech impediment. Geronimo was the leader of the last American Indian fighting force formally to capitulate to the United States. Because he fought against such daunting odds and held out the longest, he became the most famous Apache of all. To the Apaches, Geronimo embodied the very essence of the Apache values, aggressiveness, courage in the face of difficulty.
Geronimo and the Apaches at Fort Sill
A Re-Telling by Carla Mendez
He was the last Apache war chief. He was a great medicine man. He had great wisdom. He evaded U. S. forces for 25 years. He is said to have had magical powers. He could see into the future. He could walk without creating footprints. He could prevent dawn from rising to protect his people. His name was Geronimo. A Native American boy was born in 1829 in Arizona. His Apache name, Goyathlay, means "One Who Yawns." His father trained him to be a warrior. His mother taught him how to live off the land. He learned how to survive in deserts and mountains. It was the summer of 1850. Geronimo went on a trip. The men in his tribe went with him. Mexican soldiers raided his home. Fifty people were killed. One hundred were sold into slavery. Geronimo's wife Alope died. His three children and his mother were killed, too.
Geronimo joined a group of Apaches. They were called the Chiricahuas. They raided in northern Mexico. They crossed the border into New Mexico and Arizona. Then Geronimo had a dream. He dreamed he could not be killed by a white man's bullet. He dreamed he could not be killed by a Mexican's bullet. He charged an army armed with only a knife. No matter how many bullets were shot at him, he was not hit. The soldiers cried to St. Jerome for mercy. So Goyathlay was renamed "Geronimo." Geronimo took revenge for the death of his family. People were afraid of him and his warriors. They shook when they heard he was coming. They yelled a warning. "Geronimo is on the war path!" Geronimo raided farms. He saw farmers stealing his tribe's land. The United States wanted the land the Indians lived on. Many settlers were angry. They felt good land was wasted on the Apache. Geronimo fought the U.S. soldiers for many years. He wanted to help his people. It was 1875. Congress voted to put the Apaches on a reservation. A year later, Captain Henry W. Lawton led his men after the Indians. They captured Geronimo and his band. They forced them onto a reservation. It was at San Carlos, Arizona. The land was very hot. There was no water to drink. The land was called "Hell's Forty Acres." The Indian brave soon escaped and fled to Mexico. He wanted to live the life that he loved. Geronimo roamed Arizona and New Mexico. Over five thousand Army soldiers chased him. They got help from 500 scouts to track him down. The newspapers wrote many stories about the chase. The stories made Geronimo sound like an evil man. At last, Geronimo was too tired to fight. There were too many people against him. He gave up in 1886. His people wanted to quit fighting. He had only a few men. The rest of his fighters were women and children. The Army said that after two years, Geronimo and his people would be able to go home. They did not tell the truth. Geronimo and his friends were shipped like cows to St. Augustine, Florida. They rode in an open boxcar. It was cold. When it rained, they got wet. No one cared. They were prisoners of war. Many died from malaria or tuberculosis.
After many years, the government decided to move Geronimo and the Apaches again. A man named Nelson A. Miles said Fort Sill was a good place to send them. First, the government had to make sure that this was all right with the Indians who already lived at Fort Sill. They had to talk to the Indians who lived around Fort Sill. They had to talk to the Apaches. Everyone said it was a good idea. The Apaches wanted to move to Fort Sill. They wanted grow vegetables and flowers.
Guard House at Fort Sill
where Geronimo Stayed
The Comanches, Kiowas, and Kiowa-Apaches were kind. They wanted the Apaches to move to Fort Sill. The Fort Sill Indians knew that the Apaches had nowhere else to go. The Apaches wanted to move to Fort Sill. They wanted grow vegetables and flowers. The Comanches, Kiowas, and Kiowa-Apaches were kind. They wanted the Apaches to move to Fort Sill. The Fort Sill Indians knew that the Apaches had no where else to go. In October 1894, Geronimo and 341 Apache prisoners of war went to Fort Sill. They built their own homes at the fort. They grew vegetables and flowers. Many Apaches lived there till they died. Some of them even joined the United States Army. In 1905 Geronimo rode in Theodore Roosevelt's parade. Roosevelt had been elected President of the United States. On February 17, 1909, Geronimo grew very ill. He died of pneumonia. He was 83 years old. He was never able to return home to Arizona. Geronimo was buried in the cemetery at Fort Sill. Legends say his people dug up his body that night. They took him home to the Chiricahuas Mountains. His grave is hidden in Arizona. Some say the body of his favorite pony is buried in his grave at Fort Sill. The town of Geronimo, Oklahoma, is named after this Apache brave. Today, soldiers jumping out of planes still yell "Geronimo!" His name and his courage live on.
More Geronimo Photos
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