Random Facts About Life Of Geronimo (11 items)

• 

  (#1) It Was a Mexican Raid That Set Geronimo on War’s Path

  Though his later legacy would be defined by his conflict with the United States cavalry, it was a raid led by Colonel Jose Maria Carrasco that spurred Geronimo and his Apaches forward.

  In the summer of 1858, while Geronimo and a band of eighty warriors traded with the nearby town of Kas-Ki-Yeh, a band of Mexican soldiers rode through the Apache camp, killed the few warriors who had stayed behind to guard the civilians, burned the camp to the ground, confiscated the Apache's guns and horses, and then murdered the majority of the women and children. 

  The attack was in retaliation for the supposed raids Geronimo and his Apaches had led against nearby Mexican towns, a crime of which the Apaches were completely innocent. As a result of the attack, Geronimo’s entire family - his first wife, Alope, his three children, and his mother - were slaughtered.

  It took nearly a year for the Apaches to round up tribes to help them retaliate; Geronimo himself went from tribe to tribe soliciting help with incredible success.
• 

  (#2) Geronimo Was Given His Chance to Lead Because of His Pain

  As the Apache tribes gathered to avenge the massacre at Kas-Ki-Yeh, the chiefs (including the famed chief Cochise) decided to anoint Geronimo as the battle’s leader. Though that honor typically went to a chief (which Geronimo was not), it was determined that Geronimo’s loss was the greatest among them.

  In his own words, Geronimo says that he lead his Apache braves against the Mexican army in a bloody, two-hour battle that saw the murder of nearly every combatant on the field. Always at the fore of the battle, Geronimo reputedly killed dozens of men until he was left with nothing to rely on but his knife.

  As he wrote in his autobiography,

  Still covered with the blood of my enemies, still holding my conquering weapon, still hot with the joy of battle, victory, and vengeance, I was surrounded by the Apache braves and made war chief of all the Apaches. Then I gave orders for scalping the slain.

  That quote that might go down as one of the most chilling yet awesome things an historical leader has ever said.
• 

  (#3) Geronimo Once Single-Handedly Evaded Close Armed Pursuit for Two Days

  After the revenge for Kas-Ki-Yeh, the Apaches resumed their daily lives and attempted to put the massacre behind them. Geronimo, however, was still bent on revenge. He convinced two other warriors to join him as he went on the war path to Mexico.

  Almost immediately after picking out a small village, Geronimo’s little band came under fire from Mexican rifles. His two companions were killed and Geronimo was surrounded by armed soldiers. Rather than run and hide, Geronimo fought his way back to Arizona - on foot - while being closely pursued by the soldiers. 

  This raid, most likely caused by Geronimo’s incomparable grief, set back the Apache’s plans to get revenge on any Mexican who would dare to get close enough to him.
• 

  (#4) Geronimo Was Shot in the Face and Still Got Up to Do Battle

  Though his first battle was a victory, Geronimo spent several years early in his career getting his ass kicked by the Mexican people. His first several raids in Sonora were beaten back soundly, his band of warriors returning empty-handed.

  Geronimo himself spent a lot of his time injured. In one attack on a convoy, he rushed into the fray only to slip on some blood and get smashed in the skull with the butt of a Mexican soldier’s rifle. In another nearly successful raid, Geronimo’s Apaches were followed by soldiers and Geronimo was shot several times. In fact, the opening volley actually saw him shot in the face, after which the soldier got up and fought his way to safety.
• 

  (#5) Half of Geronimo’s Tribe Was Betrayed and Killed After a Deal Proposed at Apache Tejo

  In the hopes of finding some way to live peacefully with the white men encroaching on their territory, the chief of Geronimo’s tribe, Mangus-Colorado (who wins points for having the dopest name ever) traveled to a seemingly peaceful white settlement called Apache Tejo in order to secure a deal. Mangus-Colorado returned with great news: the settlers had not only agreed to receive the Apaches, they had promised a bevy of supplies on their arrival.

  The tribe was split as to how to proceed, so Mangus-Colorado led half the tribe to Apache Tejo - where they were subsequently killed by US soldiers. Geronimo led the remaining tribe in a retreat that lasted several weeks as their entire group was constantly besieged by troops.

  When the dust finally settled, the Apaches named Geronimo the Tribal Chief.
• 

  (#6) With Only Three Other Warriors, Geronimo Secured Enough Supplies to Last His Tribe a Year

  In the summer of 1863, Geronimo led a raid on a small village about forty miles west of Casa Grande. At high noon, Geronimo and his small band of soldiers stole into the town and sent its residents scattering. According to Geronimo, no one in the town put up a fight or even gave chase. They simply saw the Native Americans coming, turned tail, and got out of town.

  Once the town was empty - only one person had been killed - the Apaches drove several ponies into the town and loaded up as much loot as they could carry. Upon his victorious arrival, Geronimo feasted for a full 24 hours and handed out various gifts to everyone in the tribe... and there was still enough supplies left over for his people to use for the following year.
• 

  (#7) Geronimo Wasn’t Originally Keen on Taking War to the White Men Who Invaded

  Around 1868, American soldiers advanced on Apache territory. As was America’s MO, the initial settlers were largely peaceful, and Geronimo and the Apaches lived in harmony. Unfortunately, a year later, several prominent chiefs and warriors were invited to confer at Fort Bowie under the auspices of peace.

  After being led into a tent, the gathered party was attacked by soldiers who cut down many men. In retaliation for the treachery, Geronimo - who had not been included in the talks - banded together with two tribes of Apache commanded by Cochise and attacked a freight train. The war party captured several prisoners whom they offered to trade in return for the captives from the attack at Fort Bowie. 

  The US Army refused the terms, so Geronimo and his men killed their prisoners and disappeared into the mountains.
• 

  (#8) Geronimo Killed a Mexican General Who Gave a Speech About the "Red Devil"

  In 1883, after more than a decade leading raids against the people of Mexico, it appeared as though Geronimo and his Apaches were facing defeat. Though surrounded on all sides by enemy troops, Geronimo himself managed to sneak into the enemy encampment in time for a speech from the Mexican general, who said:

  Officers, yonder in those ditches is the red devil Geronimo and his hated band. This must be his last day. Ride on him from both sides of the ditches; kill men, women, and children; take no prisoners; dead Indians are what we want. Do not spare your own men; exterminate this band at any cost; I will post the wounded shoot all deserters; go back to your companies and advance.

  Mere moments after this rousing speech, Geronimo took aim and killed the general where he stood, igniting a battle that allowed his Apache troops to escape into the nearby mountains.
• 

  (#9) Geronimo Had a Serious Crush on a United States General

  In the early 1870s, things seemed to be settling down a bit. After a long hiatus, Geronimo was able to lead his people back to their homeland in New Mexico, back to Fort Bowie, the place where, years earlier, they had been betrayed by US soldiers. On his arrival, Geronimo communed with the man in charge, General Oliver Otis Howard, a former Civil War officer who was known among his men as “the Christian General.” 

  Howard’s fair treatment of the Native Americans won him several fans among the Apache. Even Geronimo wasn’t immune, writing,

  [Howard] always kept his word with us and treated us as brothers. We never had so good a friend among the United States officers as General Howard. We could have lived forever at peace with him. If there is any pure, honest white man in the United States army, that man is General Howard. All the Indians respect him, and even to this day frequently talk of the happy times when General Howard was in command of our Post.
• 

  (#10) In the Early 1880s, Geronimo Was Ready to Call It Quits

  After almost thirty years of constant fighting, Geronimo was perfectly at ease settling his people at Apache Pass. In the years following General Howard’s departure, however, things became tense between the white troops and the Indians living on the reservation. At one point, Geronimo was actually imprisoned for four months simply for leaving on a short trip.

  When US forces asked several prominent chiefs and warriors to convene with them at Apache Pass, the Apache fled the reservation for fear of a trap. Geronimo’s followers swelled to nearly 250 men, women, and children. To hear accounts of the Native American’s flight, Geronimo and his band killed their way across the West.

  To hear Geronimo tell it, every death was the result of his tribe being pursued and attacked relentlessly as he and his growing tribe fled towards safety. The new commander of Fort Apache, General Crook, ordered his troops to kill Geronimo should he resist arrest.

  Geronimo ultimately surrendered to US troops for lack of a better place to go. In the south, the Mexican army gave him no quarter and an advancing United States didn’t have the inclination to let the Apache live their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle.
• 

  (#11) At 80 Years Old, Geronimo Still Wanted to Keep Fighting

  In his waning years, Geronimo presided over the slow decline of the Apache. By the end of his life, he’d taken eight wives, though he rarely married more than one woman at a time. The aging chief wrote often of the hollow promises of land and cattle made by United States troops.

  He lived until February of 1909, when he was thrown from a horse and left to lie in the rain for an entire night before he was found. A few days later, he succumbed to pneumonia. According to witnesses at the scene, Geronimo’s last tragic words were of regret: “I should have never surrendered,” he said. “I should have fought until I was the last man alive."

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking