23 Geronimo has a fair knowledge of the Spanish language.
24 As a tribe they would fight under their tribal chief, Mangus-Colorado. If several tribes had been called out, the war chief, Geronimo, would have commanded.
25 Regarding this attack, Mr. L. C. Hughes, editor of The Star, Tucson, Arizona, to whom I was referred by General Miles, writes as follows:
“It appears that Cochise and his tribe had been on the warpath for some time and he with a number of subordinate chiefs was brought into the military camp at Bowie under the promise that a treaty of peace was to be held, when they were taken into a large tent where handcuffs were put upon them. Cochise, seeing this, cut his way through the tent and fled to the mountains; and in less than six hours had surrounded the camp with from three to five hundred warriors; but the soldiers refused to make fight.”
26 This sweeping statement is more general than we are willing to concede, yet it may be more nearly true than our own accounts.
27 General Miles telegraphed from Whipple Barracks, Arizona, Sept. 24, 1886, relative to the surrender of the Apaches. Among other things he said: “Mangus-Colorado had years ago been foully murdered after he had surrendered.”
28 Geronimo often calls his horses to him in Fort Sill Reservation. He gives only one shrill note and they run to him at full speed.
29 Regarding the killing of Mangus-Colorado, L. C. Hughes of the Tucson, Ariz., Star, writes as follows: “It was early in the year ’63, when General West and his troops were camped near Membras, that he sent Jack Swilling, a scout, to bring in Mangus, who had been on the warpath ever since the time of the incident with Cochise at Bowie. The old chief was always for peace, and gladly accepted the proffer; when he appeared at the camp General West ordered him put into the guard-house, in which there was only a small opening in the rear and but one small window. As the old chief entered he said: ‘This is my end. I shall never again hunt over the mountains and through the valleys of my people.’ He felt that he was to be assassinated. The guards were given orders to shoot him if he attempted to escape. He lay down and tried to sleep, but during the night, someone threw a large stone which struck him in the breast. He sprang up and in his delirium the guards thought he was attempting escape and several of them shot him; this was the end of Mangus.
“His head was severed from his body by a surgeon, and the brain taken out and weighed. The head measured larger than that of Daniel Webster, and the brain was of corresponding weight. The skull was sent to Washington, and is now on exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution.”
30 General O. O. Howard was not in command, but had been sent by President Grant, in 1872, to make peace with the Apache Indians. The general wrote me from Burlington, Vt., under date of June 12, 1906, that he remembered the treaty, and that he also remembered with much satisfaction subsequently meeting Geronimo.—Editor.
31 They do not receive full rations now, as they did then.
32 Victoria, chief of the Hot Spring Apaches, met his death in opposing the forcible removal of his band to a reservation, because having previously tried and failed he felt it impossible for separate bands of Apaches to live at peace under such arrangement.
33 Geronimo’s whole family, excepting his eldest son, a warrior, were captured.
34 Geronimo’s exact words, for which the Editor disclaims any responsibility.
35 These are the exact words of Geronimo. The Editor is not responsible for this criticism of General Crook.
36 Governor Torres of Sonora had agreed to coöperate with our troops in exterminating or capturing this tribe.
37 Captain Lawton reports officially the same engagement, but makes no mention of the recapture (by the Apaches) of the horses.
38 See note page 142. (In this HTML ebook, see note 37 directly above this one.—J.M.)
39 See page 136.
40 For terms of treaty see page 155.*
41 The criticisms of General Miles in the foregoing chapter are from Geronimo, not from the Editor.
42 Mr. George Wratton is now at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, acting as Superintendent of Apaches. He has been with the Apaches as interpreter and superintendent since their surrender.
43 Recently Mr. Melton told Geronimo of this conversation. The wily old chief laughed shyly and said, “What if Prewitt’s pistol had been knocked out of his hand? Other men have tried to shoot me and at least some of them failed. But I’m glad he didn’t try it.”
44 These field glasses were taken from soldiers and officers (Mexicans and Americans) whom the Apaches had killed.
45 This was a stick nest built on top of the ground by a species of woods rat.
46 These are not the words of the Editor, but of Geronimo.
47 They were in Alabama from May, 1888, to October, 1894.
48 The Indians are not allowed to sell the cattle themselves. When cattle are ready for market they are sold by the officer in charge, part of the money paid to the Indians who owned them and part of it placed in a general (Apache) fund. The supplies, farming implements, etc., for the Apaches are paid for from this fund.
49 The criticism of Lieutenant Purington is from Geronimo. The Editor disclaims any responsibility for it, as in all cases where individuals are criticised by the old warrior.
50 Geronimo helps make hay and care for the cattle, but does not receive orders from the Superintendent of the Indians.
51 Apache warriors do not go “courting” as our youths do. The associations in the villages afford ample opportunity for acquaintance, and the arranging for marriages is considered a business transaction, but the courtesy of consulting the maiden, although not essential, is considered very polite.
52 Turks.
53 Ferris wheel.
54 Shooting the Chute.
55 Igorrotes from the Philippines.
56 Geronimo was also taken to both the Omaha and the Buffalo Expositions, but during that period of his life he was sullen and took no interest in things. The St. Louis Exposition was held after he had adopted the Christian religion and had begun to try to understand our civilization.
57 Geronimo joined the Dutch Reformed church and was baptized in the summer of 1903. He attends the services regularly at the Apache Mission, Ft. Sill Military Reservation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENDNOTES
a. Cf. the footnote from page 18. There the names of the last four Bedonkohe Apaches are given as “Porico (White Horse), Nah-da-ste, Moh-ta-neal, and To-klon-nen.” Only “Porico (White Horse)” is the same in both lists. The other three names are similar but different.
The 1907 edition partly resolved this inconsistency. In that edition’s list of illustrations, “Nah-ta-neal” was changed to “Mah-ta-neal.” In the footnote on page 18 of that edition, “Moh-ta-neal” was also changed to “Mah-ta-neal.” However, “Nah-da-ste” was changed to “Nah-de-ste,” which was inconsistent with the main text on page 18, where the name was still given as “Nah-da-ste.”—J.M.
b. In the 1907 edition, this entry in the list of illustrations was changed to the following:
Apache scouts—Naiche, Goody, John Loco,
Porico, Chatto, Asa Deklugie, Jason, James,
Allen, Captain Seyers
Presumably, this list of names is the correct one.—J.M.
c. All four of these corrections on page ix were also made in the 1907 edition.—J.M.
d. In the 1907 edition, “Quanna” was changed to “Quanah,” which is consistent with other historical references.—J.M.
e. Cf. page 144, where the names of these scouts are given as “Kayitah” and “Marteen.” In the 1907 edition, the names on page 144 were the same as in the 1906 edition, but in the list of illustrations, the name “Nahteen” was changed to “Mahteen.”—J.M.
f. On page 167, Melton’s name is given as “W. T. Melton.” I haven’t been able to determine which one is correct.—J.M.
g. Cf. page 191, where the word is spelled “esadadene.” The 1907 edition has the same inconsistent spellings. I have not been able to determine which one is correct.—J.M.
h. There are fourteen references in the book to a Mexican town named “Casa Grande.” While there is a “Casa Grande” in the state of Sonora, the works I consulted on Geronimo and the Apaches referred instead to “Casas Grandes” in the state of Chihuahua.—J.M.
i. “Arispe” is also spelled “Arizpe.”—J.M.
j. Either the year 1867 is wrong or Geronimo was mistaken about Mangus-Colorado leading the raid, because Mangus-Colorado was murdered in 1863. See the footnote from pages 124–125.—J.M.
k. “About ten years” after 1858 would have been around 1868, which is too late a date for the coming of those early soldiers to the area.—J.M.
l. In the 1906 edition, the 14th and 15th lines on page 145 (shown in bold type) were misprinted as follows:
eral Miles said to me: 6 “I will take you
enar Miles said to me: 7 “I will take you
The correct lines from the 1907 edition have been used in this ebook.—J.M.
m. I have not been able to locate a “Yongi River” in Mexico. This may have been a misprint of “Yaqui River.”—J.M.
n. There are four references in Chapter XVIII to “Fronteraz” in Mexico. The actual name is “Fronteras.” Whether the name was misspelled four times or the spelling was Americanized is unclear.—J.M.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ERRATA
Page viii: 116
Page ix: Ozone
Page ix: Coche
Page ix: Charley
Page ix: son Victoria (The word “of” was missing.—J.M.)
Page x: Wolfe
Page x: General (According to the main text, Lawton was a captain. Cf. pages 140, 142fn, 143, 144, 150, 153, 154, 163–164, 165, 166, 169, 171, 173.—J.M.)
Page x: Tuklonen (Correction is based on the 1907 edition.—J.M.)
Page xii: said “you
Page xii: you
Page xv: Dapartment
Page xvi: Puringtion
Page 23: detracting
Page 27: begin
Page 47: Kinsman
Page 51: Quitaco
Page 55: others
Page 63: Bita
Page 69: VIII (The word “CHAPTER” was missing.—J.M.)
Page 69: Catilina
Page 76: come
Page 80: Sahuripa (Cf. pages 59, 61, 69, 71, and 135.—J.M.)
Page 83: Sahuripa
Page 95: sypglasses
Page 126: Oje (Cf. page 12.—J.M.)
Page 131: XVI (The word “CHAPTER” was missing.—J.M.)
Page 136: Forth
Page 145 (footnote): 154
Page 151: Campas
Page 152: confirms
Page 159: Chihuahau
Page 164: Corrona
Page 170: “Adios, Señors,”
Page 194: two-aid-two
Pages 195–196: pressent
Page 204 (footnote): Iggorrotes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Book: Geronimo’s Story of His Life
Authors: Geronimo, 1829–1909
S. M. (Stephen Melvil) Barrett, 1865–?
First published: 1906
The original book is in the public domain in the United States and in some other countries as well. However, it is unknown when S. M. Barrett died. Depending on the year of his death, the book may still be under copyright in countries that use the life of the author + 70 years (or more) for the duration of copyright. Readers outside the United States should check their own countries’ copyright laws to be certain they can legally download this ebook. The Online Books Page has an FAQ which gives a summary of copyright durations for many other countries, as well as links to more official sources. (Links will open in a new window.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE ON THE TEXT
The text and illustrations used in this ebook are from a photographic reprint of the 1906 edition. A number of typographical errors in the paper book have been corrected, but to preserve all of the original book, the corrected words are linked to a list of errata containing the original misprints. For convenience, the misprints in the list are linked back to the corrected words in the text. In addition, a few endnotes (signed “J.M.”) have been added to point out some other errors and inconsistencies in the original book.
I would like to express my thanks to Mr. Lenny Silverman at the New Mexico State University Library’s Archives and Special Collections department for providing me with several page scans from NMSU’s copy of the 1907 edition. They were very helpful in resolving some—but not all—of the problems with the 1906 edition.
http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Geronimo/GerStory.htm