by Geronimo
Once when living in San Carlos Reservation an Indian told me that while lying unconscious on the battlefield he had actually been dead, and had passed into the spirit land.
First he came to a mulberry tree growing out from a cave in the ground. Before this cave a guard was stationed, but when he approached without fear the guard let him pass. He descended into the cave, and a little way back the path widened and terminated in a perpendicular rock many hundreds of feet wide and equal in height. There was not much light, but by peering directly beneath him he discovered a pile of sand reaching from the depths below to within twenty feet of the top of the rock where he stood. Holding to a bush, he swung off from the edge of the rock and dropped onto the sand, sliding rapidly down its steep side into the darkness. He landed in a narrow passage running due westward through a canon which gradually grew lighter and lighter until he could see as well as if it had been daylight; but there was no sun. Finally he came to a section of this passage that was wider for a short distance, and then closing abruptly continued in a narrow path; just where this section narrowed two huge serpents were coiled, and rearing their heads, hissed at him as he approached, but he showed no fear, and as soon as he came close to them they withdrew quietly and let him pass. At the next place, where the passage opened into a wider section, were two grizzly bears prepared to attack him, but when he approached and spoke to them they stood aside and he passed unharmed. He continued to follow the narrow passage, and the third time it widened and two mountain lions crouched in the way, but when he had approached them without fear and had spoken to them they also withdrew. He again entered the narrow passage. For some time he followed this, emerging into a fourth section beyond which he could see nothing: the further walls of this section were clashing together at regular intervals with tremendous sounds, but when he approached them they stood apart until he had passed. After this he seemed to be in a forest, and following the natural draws, which led westward, soon came into a green valley where there were many Indians camped and plenty of game. He said that he saw and recognized many whom he had known in this life, and that he was sorry when he was brought back to consciousness.82
I told him if I knew this to be true I would not want to live another day, but by some means, if by my own hands, I would die in order to enjoy these pleasures. I myself have lain unconscious on the battlefield, and while in that condition have had some strange thoughts or experiences; but they are very dim and I cannot recall them well enough to relate them. Many Indians believed this warrior, and I cannot say that he did not tell the truth. I wish I knew that what he said is beyond question true. But perhaps it is as well that we are not certain.
Since my life as a prisoner has begun I have heard the teachings of the white man’s religion, and in many respects believe it to be better than the religion of my fathers. However, I have always prayed, and I believe that the Almighty has always protected me.
Believing that in a wise way it is good to go to church, and that associating with Christians would improve my character, I have adopted the Christian religion.83 I believe that the church has helped me much during the short time I have been a member. I am not ashamed to be a Christian, and I am glad to know that the President of the United States is a Christian, for without the help of the Almighty I do not think he could rightly judge in ruling so many people. I have advised all of my people who are not Christians, to study that religion, because it seems to me the best religion in enabling one to live right.
21
HOPES FOR THE FUTURE
I am thankful that the President of the United States has given me permission to tell my story. I hope that he and those in authority under him will read my story and judge whether my people have been rightly treated.
There is a great question between the Apaches and the Government. For twenty years we have been held prisoners of war under a treaty which was made with General Miles, on the part of the United States Government, and myself as the representative of the Apaches. That treaty has not at all times been properly observed by the Government, although at the present time it is being more nearly fulfilled on their part than heretofore. In the treaty with General Miles we agreed to go to a place outside of Arizona and learn to live as the white people do. I think that my people are now capable of living in accordance with the laws of the United States, and we would, of course, like to have the liberty to return to that land which is ours by divine right. We are reduced in numbers, and having learned how to cultivate the soil would not require so much ground as was formerly necessary. We do not ask all of the land which the Almighty gave us in the beginning, but that we may have sufficient lands there to cultivate. What we do not need we are glad for the white men to cultivate.
The burial of Geronimo at Fort Sill, February 17, 1909 (COURTESY OF THE FORT SILL MUSEUM, FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA)
We are now held on Comanche and Kiowa lands, which are not suited to our needs—these lands and this climate are suited to the Indians who originally inhabited this country, of course, but our people are decreasing in numbers here, and will continue to decrease unless they are allowed to return to their native land. Such a result is inevitable.
There is no climate or soil which, to my mind, is equal to that of Arizona. We could have plenty of good cultivating land, plenty of grass, plenty of timber and plenty of minerals in that land which the Almighty created for the Apaches. It is my land, my home, my fathers’ land, to which I now ask to be allowed to return. I want to spend my last days there, and be buried among those mountains. If this could be I might die in peace, feeling that my people, placed in their native homes, would increase in numbers, rather than diminish as at present, and that our name would not become extinct.
I know that if my people were placed in that mountainous region lying around the headwaters of the Gila River they would live in peace and act according to the will of the President. They would be prosperous and happy in tilling the soil and learning the civilization of the white men, whom they now respect. Could I but see this accomplished, I think I could forget all the wrongs that I have ever received, and die a contented and happy old man. But we can do nothing in this matter ourselves—we must wait until those in authority choose to act. If this cannot be done during my lifetime—if I must die in bondage—I hope that the remnant of the Apache tribe may, when I am gone, be granted the one privilege which they request—to return to Arizona.
Appendix
THE SURRENDER OF GERONIMO
These materials related to the surrender of Geronimo and the Chiricahua originally followed Chapter XVI but more properly belong in an appendix. The reader interested in following further these negotiations should see Britton Davis, The Truth about Geronimo, Odie Faulk, The Geronimo Campaign, and Dan L. Thrapp, The Conquest of Apacheria. (FT)
On February 11, 1887, the Senate passed the following resolution:
“RESOLVED, That the Secretary of War be directed to communicate to the Senate all dispatches of General Miles referring to the surrender of Geronimo, and all instructions given to and correspondence with General Miles in reference to the same.” These papers are published in the Senate Executive Documents, Second Session, 49th Congress, 1886-7, Volume II, Nos. 111 to 125. For an exhaustive account of the conditions of Geronimo’s surrender the reader is referred to that document, but this chapter is given to show briefly the terms of surrender, and corroborate, at least in part, the statements made by Geronimo.
Upon assuming command of the Department of Arizona, General Nelson A. Miles was directed by the War Department to use most vigorous operations for the destruction or capture of the hostile Apaches.
The following extracts are from instructions issued April 20th, 1886, for the information and guidance of troops serving in the southern portion of Arizona and New Mexico.
“The chief object of the troops will be to capture or destroy any band of hostile Apache Indians found in this section of the country, and to this end the most vigorous and persistent efforts will
be required of all officers and soldiers until the object is accomplished.”
“A sufficient number of reliable Indians will be used as auxiliaries to discover any signs of hostile Indians, and as trailers.”
“To avoid any advantage the Indians may have by a relay of horses, where a troop or squadron commander is near the hostile Indians he will be justified in dismounting one-half of his command and selecting the lightest and best riders to make pursuit by the most vigorous forced marches until the strength of all the animals of his command shall have been exhausted.”
The following telegrams show the efforts of the United States troops and the cooperation of Mexican troops under Governor Torres:
“Headquarters Division of the Pacific,
”Presidio of San Francisco, Cal.
“July 22, 1886.
“ADJUTANT GENERAL,
“Washington, D.C.:
“The following telegram just received from General Miles:
“ ‘Captain Lawton reports, through Colonel Royall, commanding at Fort Huachuca, that his camp surprised Geronimo’s camp on Yongi River, about 130 miles south and east of Campas, Sonora, or nearly 300 miles south of Mexican boundary, capturing all the Indian property, including hundreds of pounds of dried meat and nineteen riding animals. This is the fifth time within three months in which the Indians have been surprised by the troops. While the results have not been decisive, yet it has given encouragement to the troops, and has reduced the numbers and strength of the Indians, and given them a feeling of insecurity even in the remote and almost inaccessible mountains of Old Mexico.’
“In absence of division commander.
”C. MCKEEVER,
“Assistant Adjutant General.”
“Headquarters Division of the Pacific,
”Presidio of San Francisco, Cal.
“August 19, 1886.
“ADJUTANT GENERAL,
“Washington, D.C.:
“Following received from General Miles, dated 18th:
“ ‘Dispatches to-day from Governor Torres, dated Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, from Colonels Forsyth and Beaumont, commanding Huachuca and Bowie districts, confirms the following: Geronimo with forty Indians is endeavoring to make terms of peace with Mexican authorities of Fronteraz district. One of our scouts, in returning to Fort Huachuca from Lawton’s command, met him, Naiche, and thirteen other Indians on their way to Fronteraz; had a long conversation with them; they said they wanted to make peace, and looked worn and hungry. Geronimo carried his right arm in a sling, bandaged. The splendid work of the troops is evidently having good effect. Should hostiles not surrender to the Mexican authorities, Lawton’s command is south of them, and Wilder, with G and M troops, Fourth Cavalry, moved south to Fronteraz, and will be there by 20th. Lieutenant Lockett, with an effective command, will be in good position tomorrow, near Guadalupe Canon, in Cajon Bonito Mountains. On the 11th I had a very satisfactory interview with Governor Torres. The Mexican officials are acting in concert with ours.’
“O. O. HOWARD,
“Major General.”
General O. O. Howard telegraphed from Presidio, San Francisco, California, September 24, 1886, as follows:
“... The 6th of September General Miles reports the hostile Apaches made overtures of surrender, through Lieutenant Gatewood, to Captain Lawton. They desired certain terms and sent two messengers to me (Miles). They were informed that they must surrender as prisoners of war to troops in the field. They promised to surrender to me in person, and for eleven days Captain Lawton’s command moved north, Geronimo and Naiche moving parallel and frequently camping near it.... At Skeleton Canon they halted, saying that they desired to see me (Miles) before surrendering.”
After Miles’s arrival he reports as follows:
“Geronimo came from his mountain camp amid the rocks and said he was willing to surrender. He was told that they could surrender as prisoners of war; that it was not the way of officers of the Army to kill their enemies who laid down their arms.
“... Naiche was wild and suspicious and evidently feared treachery. He knew that the once noted leader, Mangus-Colorado, had, years ago, been foully murdered after he had surrendered, and the last hereditary chief of the hostile Apaches hesitated to place himself in the hands of the pale-faces....”
Continuing his report, General Howard says:
“... I believed at first from official reports that the surrender was unconditional, except that the troops themselves would not kill the hostiles. Now, from General Miles’s dispatches and from his annual report, forwarded on the 21st instant by mail, the conditions are plain: First, that the lives of all the Indians should be spared. Second, that they should be sent to Fort Marion, Florida, where their tribe, including their families, had already been ordered....”
D. S. Stanley, Brigadier General, telegraphs from San Antonio, Texas, October 22, 1886, as follows:
“... Geronimo and Naiche requested an interview with me when they first ascertained that they were to leave here, and in talking to them, I told them the exact disposition that was to be made of them. They regarded the separation of themselves from their families as a violation of the terms of their treaty of surrender, by which they had been guaranteed, in the most positive manner conceivable to their minds, that they should be united with their families at Fort Marion.
“There were present at the talk they had with me Major J. P. Wright, surgeon, United States Army; Captain J. G. Balance, acting Judge-advocate, United States Army; George Wratton, the interpreter; Naiche, and Geronimo.84 ”The Indians were separated from their families at this place; the women, children, and the two scouts were placed in a separate car before they left.
“In an interview with me they stated the following incident, which they regard as an essential part of their treaty of surrender, and which took place at Skeleton Canon before they had, as a band, made up their minds to surrender, and before any of them, except perhaps Geronimo, had given up their arms, and when they were still fully able to escape and defend themselves.
“General Miles said to them: ‘You go with me to Fort Bowie and at a certain time you will go to see your relatives in Florida.’ After they went to Fort Bowie he reassured them that they would see their relatives in Florida in four and a half or five days.
“While at Skeleton Canon General Miles said to them: ‘I have come to have a talk with you.’ The conversation was interpreted from English into Spanish and from Spanish into Apache and vice versa. The interpreting from English into Spanish was done by a man by the name of Nelson. The interpreting from Spanish into Apache was done by José Maria Yaskes. José Maria Montoya was also present, but he did not do any of the interpreting.
“Dr. Wood, United States Army, and Lieutenant Clay, Tenth Infantry, were present.85
“General Miles drew a line on the ground and said, ‘This represents the ocean,’ and, putting a small rock beside the line, he said, ‘This represents the place where Chihuahua is with his band.’ He then picked up another stone and placed it a short distance from the first, and said, ‘This represents you, Geronimo.’ He then picked up a third stone and placed it a little distance from the others, and said, ‘This represents the Indians at Camp Apache. The President wants to take you and put you with Chihuahua.’ He then picked up the stone which represented Geronimo and his band and put it beside the one which represented Chihuahua at Fort Marion. After doing this he picked up the stone which represented the Indians at Camp Apache and placed it beside the other two stones which represented Geronimo and Chihuahua at Fort Marion, and said, ‘That is what the President wants to do, get all of you together.’
“After their arrival at Fort Bowie General Miles said to them, ‘From now on we want to begin a new life,’ and holding up one of his hands with the palm open and horizontal he marked lines across it with the finger of the other hand and said, pointing to his open palm, ‘This represents the past; it is all covered with hollows and ridges,’ then, rubbing his other palm over
it, he said, ‘That represents the wiping out of the past, which will be considered smooth and forgotten.’
“The interpreter, Wratton, says that he was present and heard this conversation. The Indians say that Captain Thompson, Fourth Cavalry, was also present.
“Naiche said that Captain Thompson, who was the acting assistant adjutant general, Department of Arizona, told him at his house in Fort Bowie, ‘Don’t be afraid; no harm shall come to you. You will go to your friends all right.’ He also told them ‘that Fort Marion is not a very large place, and is not probably large enough for all, and that probably in six months or so you will be put in a larger place, where you can do better.’ He told them the same thing when they took their departure in the cars from Fort Bowie.
“The idea that they had of the treaty of surrender given in this letter is forwarded at their desire, and, while not desiring to comment on the matter, I feel compelled to say that my knowledge of the Indian character, and the experience I have had with Indians of all kinds, and the corroborating circumstances and facts that have been brought to my notice in this particular case, convince me that the foregoing statement of Naiche and Geronimo is substantially correct.”
Extract from the annual report (1886) of the Division of the Pacific, commanded by Major General O. O. Howard, U.S. Army.