3 - The Mexicans - Part 1 - Geronimo’s Story of His Life

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Part one of the Mexicans, Chapterseven, Fighting under difficulties. All the
other Apaches were satisfied after the Battleof Caskilla, but I still desired more
revenge. For several months, wewere busy with the chase and other peaceful
pursuits. Finally I succeeded in persuadingtwo other warriors, A Kochne and Kodeni,

(00:24):
to go with me to invade theMexican country. We left our families
with the tribe and went on thewar path. We were on foot and
carried three days rations. We enteredMexico on the north line of Sonora and
followed the Sierra de Artunes mountains tothe south end of the range. Here

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we decided to attack a small village. I do not know the name of
this village. At daylight we approachedfrom the mountains. Five horses were hitched
outside. We advanced cautiously, butjust before reached the horses, the Mexicans
opened fire from the houses. Mytwo companions were killed. Mexicans swarmed on

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every side, Some were mounted,some were on foot, and all seemed
to be armed. Three times thatday I was surrounded, but I kept
fighting, dodging and hiding several timesduring the day, while in concealment,
I had a chance to take deliberateaim at some Mexican who gun in hand
was looking for me. I donot think I missed my aim either time.

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With the gathering darkness, I foundmore time to retreat toward Arizona,
but the Mexicans did not quit thechase. Several times the next day,
mounted Mexicans tried to head me off. Many times they fired on me,
but I had no more arrows,so I depended upon running and hiding.
Although I was very tired. Ihad not eaten since the chase began,

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nor had I dared to stop forrest. The second night, I got
clear of my pursuers, but Inever slackened my pace until I reached our
home in Arizona. I came intoour camp without booty, without my companions,
exhausted but not discouraged. The wivesand children of my two dead companions

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were cared for by their people.Some of the Apaches blamed me for the
evil result of the expedition, butI said nothing. Having failed, it
was only proper that I should remainsilent. But my feelings towards the Mexicans
did not change. I still hatedthem and longed for revenge. I never

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ceased to plan for their punishment,but it was hard to get the other
warriors to listen to my proposed raids. In a few months after this last
adventure, I persuaded two other warriorsto join me in raiding the Mexican frontier.
On our former raid, we hadgone through the net Night Apaches Range
into Sonora. This time we wentthrough the country of the Chiconan and entered

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the Sierra Madre Mountains. We traveledsouth, secured more rations, and prepared
to begin our raids. We hadselected a village near the mountains, which
we intended to attack at daylight.While asleep that night, Mexican scouts discovered
our camp and fired on us,killing one warrior. In the morning,

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we observed a company of Mexican troopscoming from the south. They were mounted
and carried supplies for a long journey. We followed their trail until we were
sure that they were headed for ourrange in Arizona. Then we hurried past
them and in three days reached ourown settlement. We arrived at noon,

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and that afternoon, about three o'clock, these Mexican troops attacked our settlement.
Their first folly killed three small boys. Many of the warriors of our tribe
were away from home, but thefew of us who were in camp were
able to drive the troops out ofthe mountains. Before night. We killed
eight Mexicans and lost five two warriorsand three boys. The Mexicans rode due

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south in full retreat. Four warriorswere detailed to follow them, and in
three days these trailers returned, sayingthat the Mexican cavalry had left Arizona going
southward. We were quite sure theywould not return soon. Soon after this,
in the summer of eighteen sixty,I was again able to take the

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war path against the Mexicans, thistime with twenty five warriors. We followed
the trail of the Mexican troops lastmentioned and entered the Sierra de Saguariba mountains.
The second day. In these mountains, our scouts discovered mounted Mexican troops.
There was only one company of cavalryin this command, and I thought

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that by properly surprising them we coulddefeat them. We ambushed the trail over
which they were to come. Thiswas at a place where the whole company
must pass through a mountain defile.We reserved fire until all of the troops
had passed through. Then the signalwas given. The Mexican troopers, seemingly

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without a word of command, dismountedand placing their horses on the outside of
the company for breastworks, made agood fight against us. I saw that
we could not dislodge them without usingall our ammunition, so I led a
charge. The warriors suddenly pressed infrom all sides and we fought hand to

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hand. During this encounter, Iraised my spear to kill a Mexican soldier
just as he leveled his gun atme. I was advancing rapidly, and
my foot slipping in a pool ofblood, I fell under the Mexican trooper.
He struck me over the head withthe butt of his gun, knocking
me senseless. Just at that instant, a warrior who followed in my footsteps

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killed the Mexican with a spear.In a few minutes, not a Mexican
soldier was left alive. When theApache war cry had died away and their
enemies had been scalped, they beganto care for their dead and wounded.
I was found lying unconscious where Ihad fallen They bathed my head in cold

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water and restored me to consciousness.Then they bound up my wound, and
the next morning, although weak fromloss of blood and suffering from a severe
headache, I was able to marchon the return to Arizona. I did
not fully recover for months, andI still wear the scar given me by
that musketeer. In this fight,we had lost so heavily that there really

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was no glory in our victory,and we returned to Arizona. No one
seemed to to go on the warpath again that year. In the summer
eighteen sixty one, with twelve warriors, I again went into Mexico. We
entered Chihuahua and followed south on theeast side of the Sierra Madre Mountains.

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Four days journey, then crossed overto the Sierra the Sahuaripa Range, not
far east of Casa Grande. Herewe rested one day and sent out scouts
to reconnoiter. They reported pack trainscamped five miles west of us. The
next morning, just at daybreak,as these drivers were starting with their mule

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pack train, we attacked them.They rode away for their lives, leaving
us the booty. The mules wereloaded with provisions, most of which we
took home. Two mules were loadedwith side meat or bacon, this we
threw away. We started to takethese pack trains home, going northward through

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Sonora, but when near Casita,Mexican troops overtook us. It was at
daybreak and we were just finishing ourbreakfast. We had no idea that we
had been pursued or that our enemieswere near until they opened fire. At
the first folley. A bullet struckme a glancing lick, just at the

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lower corner of the left eye,and I fell unconscious. All the other
Indians fled to cover. The Mexicans, thinking me dead, started in pursuit
of the fleeing Indians. In afew moments, I regained consciousness and had
started at full speed for the woodswhen another company coming up opened fire on

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me. Then the soldiers who hadbeen chasing the other Indians turned and I
stood between two hostile companies. ButI did not stand long. Bullets whistled
in every direction and at close rangeto me. One inflicted a slight flesh
wound on my side. But Ikept running, dodging and fighting until I

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got clear of my pursuers. Iclimbed up a steep canyon where the cavalry
could not follow. The troopers sawme, but did not dismount and try
to follow. I think they werewise not to come on. It had
been understood that in case of surprisewith this booty, our place of rendezvous
should be the Santa be the mountainsin Arizona. We did not reassemble in

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Mexico, but traveled separately, andin three days we were encamped in our
place of rendezvous. From this placewe returned home empty handed. We had
not even a partial victory to report. I again returned wounded, but I
was not yet discouraged. Again Iwas blamed by our people, and again

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I had no reply. After ourreturn, many of the warriors had gone
on a hunt, and some ofthem had gone north to trade for blankets
from the Navajo Indians. I remainedat home, trying to get my wounds
healed. One morning, just atdaybreak, when the squaws were lighting the
camp fires to prepare breakfasts, threecompanies of Mexican troops who had surrounded our

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settlement in the night, opened fire. There was no time for fighting.
Men, women and children fled fortheir lives. Many women and children and
a few warriors were killed, andfour women were captured. My left eye
was still swollen shut, but withthe other I saw well enough to hit

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one of the officers with an arrowand then make good my escape among the
rocks. The troopers burned our teepeesand took our arms, provisions, ponies,
and blankets. Winter was at hand. There were not more than twenty
warriors in camp at this time,and only a few of us had secured

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weapons during the excitement of the attack. A few warriors followed the trail of
the troops as they went back toMexico with their booty, but were unable
to offer battle. It was along long time before we were able to
go on the war path against theMexicans. The four women who were captured

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at this time by the Mexicans weretaken into Sonora, Mexico, where they
were compelled to work for the Mexicans. After some years, they escaped to
the mountains and started to find ourtribe. They had knives which they had
stolen from the Mexicans, but theyhad no other weapons. They had no

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blankets, so at night they wouldmake a little teepee by cutting brush with
their knives and setting them up forthe walls. The top was covered over
with brush. In this temporary teepeethey would all sleep. One night,
when their camp fire was low,they heard growling just outside the teepee.

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Francisco, the youngest woman of theparty, about seventeen years of age,
started to build up the fire whena mountain lion crashed through the teepee and
attacked her. The suddenness of theattack made her drop her knife, but
she fought as best she could withher hand. She was no match for
the lion, however, her leftshoulder was crushed and partly torn away.

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The lion kept trying to catch herby the throat. This she prevented with
her hands for a long time.He dragged her for about three hundred yards.
Then she found her strength was failingher from loss of blood, and
she called to the other women forhelp. The lion had been dragging her
by one foot, and she hadbeen catching hold of his legs and of

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the rocks and underbrush to delay him. Finally, he stopped and stood over
her. She again called her companions, and they attacked him with their knives
and killed him. Then they dressedher wounds and nursed her in the mountains
for about a month. When shewas able to walk, they resumed their
journey and reached our tribe in safety. This woman, Francisco, was held

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as a prisoner of war with theother Apaches and died on the Fort Sill
Reservation in eighteen ninety two. Herface was always disfigured with those scars,
and she never regained perfect use ofher hands. The three older women died
before we became prisoners of war.Many women and children were carried away at

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different times by Mexicans. Not manyof them ever returned, and those who
did underwent many hardships in order tobe again united with their people. Those
who did not escape were slaves tothe Mexicans or perhaps even more degraded.
When warriors were captured by the Mexicans, they were kept in chains. Four

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warriors who were captured once at aplace north of Casa Grande called by the
Indians on Us, were kept inchains for a year and a half when
they were exchanged for Mexicans whom wehad captured. We never chained prisoners or
kept them in confinement, but theyseldom got away. Mexican men, when

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captured, were compelled to cut woodand heard horses. Mexican women and children
were treated as our own people.Chapter eight Raids that were successful. In
the summer of eighteen sixty two,I took eight men and invaded Mexican territory.
We went south on the west sideof the Sierra Madre Mountains for five

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days, then in the night crossedover to the southern part of the Sierra
de Sahuaripa range. Here we againcamped to watch for pack trains. About
ten o'clock next morning, four driversmounted past our camp with a pack mule
train. As soon as they sawus, they rode for their lives,

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leaving us the booty. This wasa long train and packed with blankets,
calico saddles, tinware, and loafsugar. We hurried home as fast as
we could with these provisions, andon our return, while passing through a
canyon in the Santa Catalina Range ofmountains in Arizona, met a white man

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driving a mule pack train. Whenwe first saw him, he had already
seen us and was riding at fulltilt up the canyon. We examined his
train and found that his mules wereall loaded with cheese. We put them
in with the other train and resumedour journey. We did not attempt to
trail the driver, and I amsure he did not try to follow us.

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In two days we arrived at home. Then Mangus Colorado, our chief,
assembled the tribe. We gave afeast, divided the spoils, and
danced all night. Some of thepack mules were killed and eaten. This
time, after our return, wekept out scouts so that we would know
if Mexican troops should attempt to followus. On the third day, our

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scouts came into camp and reported Mexicancavalry dismounted and approaching our settlement. All
our warriors were in camp. MangusColorado took command of one division and I
of the other. We hoped toget possession of their horses, then surround

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the troops in the mountains and destroythe whole company. This we were unable
to do, for they too hadscouts. However, within four hours after
we started, we had killed tentroopers with the loss of only one man,
and the Mexican cavalry was in fullretreat, followed by thirty armed apaches

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who gave them no rest until theywere far inside the Mexican country. No
more troops came that winter for along time. We had plenty of provisions,
plenty of blankets, and plenty ofclothing. We also had plenty of
cheese and sugar. Another summer,eighteen sixty three, I selected three warriors

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and went on a raid into Mexico. We went south into Sonora, camping
in the Sierra de Saharipa mountains.About forty miles west of Casa Grande is
a small village in the mountains calledby the Indians Crossanas. We camped near
this place and concluded to make anattack. We had noticed that just at

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midday no one seemed to be stirring, so we planned to make our attack
at the noon hour. The nextday. We stole into the town at
noon. We had no guns,but were armed with spears and bows and
arrows, and the war whoop wasgiven to open the attack. The Mexicans
fled in every direction. Not oneof them made any attempt to fight us.

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We shot some arrows at the retreatingMexicans, but killed only one.
Soon all was silent in the townand no Mexicans could be seen. When
we discovered that all the Mexicans weregone. We looked through their houses and
saw many curious things. These Mexicanskept many more kinds of property than the

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Apaches did. Many of the thingswe saw in the houses we could not
understand, but in the stores wesaw much that we wanted. So we
drove in a herd of horses andmules and packed as much provisions and supplies
as we could on them. Thenwe formed these animals into a pack train
and returned safely to Arizona. TheMexicans did not even trail us when we

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arrived in camp. We called thetribe together and feasted all day. We
gave presents to everyone. That nightthe dance began and it did not cease
until noon the next day. Thiswas perhaps the most successful raid ever made
by us into Mexican territory. Ido not know the value of the booty,

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but it was very great, forwe had supplies enough to last our
whole tribe for a year or more. And if part one of the Mexicans