Legends of the Old West - APACHE WARS Ep. 3 | “Three Castles”

Episode Date: June 10, 2020

Apache chief Victorio leads his people off the San Carlos Reservation in search of a better home. The search leads to two years of desperate fighting across the American southwest and northern Mexico. And the end of the campaign opens the door for the last great Apache leader to step forward. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Visit amex.ca slash yamex. Benefits vary by card. Other conditions apply. Pressure mounted on Apache Chief Victorio and his renegade warriors. American soldiers were moving in from the north, the west, and the east. They choked off the canyon exits of the rugged San Andres Mountains of southern New Mexico. Victorio and his small band were all but trapped as they stationed themselves around one of the few reliable water sources in the area. That water source became the key to survival.

The American soldiers who hunted the Apaches did not know that another water source in the area was foul. They drank from the gypsum springs and soon realized their mistake. The water made them sick and it gave them terrible diarrhea. As the soldiers moved north to look for fresh water, they moved right into the path of Victorio and his warriors. Most of the cavalrymen were soon trapped by Victorio's gunfire. The soldiers pulled back and stumbled into a canyon. There, they found more of Victorio's men waiting. The Apaches had them boxed in, but it was getting dark.

Victorio wanted to finish the attack in the morning, but in the distance, he and his people heard the bugle call of more Americans. Reinforcements were on the way. Despite Victorio's successful maneuvers against a larger force, he knew trouble was coming. From Black Barrel Media, this is Legends of the Old West. From Black Barrel Media, this is Legends of the Old West. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer. And this is a four-part series about one of the longest conflicts in American history, the Apache Wars.

This is Episode 3, Three Castles. As a podcast network, our first priority has always been audio and the stories we're able to share with you. But we also sell merch. And organizing that was made both possible and easy with Shopify. Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell and grow at every stage of your business. From the launch your online shop stage all the way to the did we just hit a million orders stage. Whether you're selling scented soap or offering outdoor outfits, Shopify helps you sell everywhere.

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And it's not just us. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S. Shopify is also the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and millions of other entrepreneurs of every size across 175 countries. Because businesses that grow, grow with Shopify. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash realm, all lowercase. Go to shopify.com slash r-e-a-l-m now to grow your business no matter what stage you're in. shopify.com slash realm In January of 1863, Victorio was almost 40 years old and a noted leader among the Chihine band of the Chiricahua Apache.

But he was still junior to the great Mangus Coloradus, who summoned him to Pinos Altos for a council. Mangus wanted to have peace talks with the Americans, but Victorio was nervous. Victorio listened as Mangus made his case. The peace talks would go forward, and Victorio would attend as a bodyguard. Miners and soldiers captured and ultimately killed Mangus Coloradus, and there was nothing Victorio could do to stop them. ultimately killed Mangus coloradus and there was nothing victorio could do to stop them historian robert utley wrote that no apache chief was treated as unfairly as victorio

victorio wanted nothing more than to live with his people at his ancestral home but he went to war for almost a decade when that request was denied victorio grew up deep in the black range of the Membres Mountains in southern New Mexico. The natural warm springs fed into a creek and created an unusually lush landscape. The Chihine farmed the fertile lands with great success and then raided Mexico for livestock. Victorio was born around 1820 and was part of a large family. He trained to be a warrior. He learned to hunt and to raid.

He gained strength by running up hills, sometimes with a mouthful of water so he had to breathe through his nose. He learned to worship the creator, Usen. When he reached adulthood, the years of physical conditioning were evident. One American said, Had circumstances allowed, Victorio might have been content to live as a minor leader of the Chihine. He supported Mangus, Colorado, and then Cochise for much of his life.

By the time he was thrust into the spotlight, Victorio was relatively old, and he admitted to the Americans that he was tired. In 1871, the Chihine were granted permission to stay on their lands. But after local New Mexicans complained about the reservation, the Chihine were forced to find a new home. They moved to the Tularosa Valley. Victorio didn't want to move, but his daughter talked him into it. The Tularosa Valley, of course, never felt like home.

The Chihine were able to grow crops, but not as well as they had on their previous lands. Victorio and his people wanted to go back. Finally, they received permission to go home. Back on their original lands, Victorio confronted a number of difficulties. His people distrusted local Hispanic settlers, who occasionally blamed them for raids carried out by other tribes. The Apaches had to keep a constant lookout in case the settlers decided to retaliate. And Victorio had to deal with internal problems as well.

After Cochise died, his son Taza attempted to fill the leadership void. But Taza lacked many of the qualities of his father and didn't draw as many followers to his side. The Chihine band of the Chiricahua Apache split into factions led by handfuls of strong warriors. Some of these groups with new leaders ventured off the reservation and raised tensions in the area. One group killed the occupants of a stagecoach and stole their goods. That was when the Indian office of the U.S. government decided to move the Chihine Band to the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. The reservation was five years old at that point and had been created by President Ulysses S. Grant. San Carlos was conveniently located near Fort Apache, and Victorio agreed to bring his people to the reservation only after he was

pressured by the military. 435 Chiricahua Apache, including many of Victorio's Chihine Band, were forcibly marched to San Carlos. Buffalo soldiers of the 9th Cavalry escorted the procession for a long three weeks of travel. Many Apaches became sick with smallpox. Others were imprisoned in wagons. When the column arrived at the San Carlos reservation, the Apache saw a miserable patch of desert with no shade, little clean water, and too many people. Rival bands were forced to live together, many of whom had feuded for years. People started calling the land Hell's Forty Acres. 150 Chiricahua had avoided the march by escaping into the mountains.

And after the others experienced life at San Carlos, it didn't take long for them to break out and join their friends and family members on the run. Victorio wanted peace and tried to adjust to life at San Carlos. But before long, it was clear that something had to be done. He took counsel with his sister Lozen. Lozen was 20 years younger than Victorio, and most of the Chihine band called her Little Sister. She was an able soldier, an expert rider, and great with a gun. A few Apaches thought she might even be a better tactician than her brother. A few Apaches thought she might even be a better tactician than her brother.

Lozen was also a seer and a prophet with noted power. Victorio said, Lozen is my right hand, strong as a man, braver than most, and cunning in strategy. Lozen is a shield to her people. There were few whom Victorio trusted more than Lozen. Together, they decided their people should leave San Carlos and go back to their traditional homelands. The people split into four groups and slipped away in the middle of the night. Buffalo soldiers were sent to retrieve the escaped Apaches, but couldn't find them. It seemed to Victorio and his warriors that Lozen's power protected them against the soldiers. The Bureau of Indian Affairs wanted to return the Chihine to San

Carlos, and Victorio actually agreed to go, but his people resisted. Many went to go live at the nearby Mescalero Reservation, which was more promising than San Carlos. A respected warrior called Old Nana led some of the Chihine on the dangerous trip to the Mescalero Reservation. At the time, he was about 70 years old and crippled with rheumatism, but he didn't let age or physical hardship slow him down, and he had much more traveling and fighting to do in the future. Victorio made a pilgrimage to the top of a mountain to think about the and he had much more traveling and fighting to do in the future. Victorio made a pilgrimage to the top of a mountain to think about the choice he had to make. His latest attempts to talk about peace with Indian agents had not gone well. He couldn't hide in Mexico, and he couldn't go back to his traditional homelands. He was also old and weary, but he thought he had just one option left,

to fight. Soon after Victorio made his choice, his band believed it witnessed an omen when it approached the Rio Grande River. The river was swollen and raging. Many people thought they'd have to turn around, but Victorio's sister Lozen rode to the front of their ranks and went straight into the river. As she bravely crossed the difficult waters, the rest of the Apache followed. They took her actions and her success as a good sign for the upcoming battles. On September 4, 1879, Victorio and his warriors attacked an army camp near their old homelands of Ojo Caliente in southern New Mexico. The Apaches killed eight American soldiers and stole dozens of horses.

The next week, the warriors assaulted miners at a place called Hillsboro. When troops from a nearby fort arrived to defend the miners, they fell directly into Victorio's trap. To survive, the troops had to drop their equipment and run. Victorio's initial success forced the army to respond. The 9th Cavalry, a unit of more than 600 men, took the assignment. They received assistance from the 10th Cavalry in Texas, as well as five companies of the Arizonan 6th Cavalry. All told, more than a thousand soldiers were sent to capture Victorio's forces. Victorio's little army of Chihine, Mescaleros, and other Chiricahuas almost never grew larger than 100 warriors. And as Victorio predicted, he would be desperately outnumbered in this war.

Like most native tribes, the Apaches used guerrilla tactics. They struck hard and fast in small groups. They disrupted wagon trains and supply routes. After an engagement in October 1879 with the 9th Cavalry, the Apache also started destroying water sources as they retreated. Sometimes they placed a gutted coyote corpse in the springs. Other times, they simply filled in the water holes with dirt. The warriors traveled as light as they could.

They left behind women, children, and old people when they had to. They would also leave behind their horses and scurry up rocks where the cavalry couldn't follow. In this way, Victorio moved his people toward Mexico and a campsite in the mountains near the road to Chihuahua City. As cautious as the Apaches were, they weren't invisible. A Mexican militia attacked the camp, but Victorio probably wasn't surprised by the attack. His men ambushed the small assault force and then inflicted heavy casualties on the reserve column. The governor of the state of Chihuahua was furious about the militia's loss to Victorio. Not only had the Apaches killed his men, they had stolen items from the governor's personal ranch.

The governor would not soon forget the losses. He vowed to kill Victorio. But at the time, Victorio had momentum and new things to trade. He took his army back to the Mescalero Reservation in southern New Mexico, where he hoped to exchange his stolen goods and pick up some new warriors. Colonel Edward Hatch of the 9th Cavalry received intelligence of Victorio's movements. The 9th was one of the famed units of Buffalo soldiers of the American West.

Hatch thought his troop had the chance to crush the small group of Apaches. Hatch called in help to squeeze Victorio. 280 men of the 10th Cavalry in Texas moved in from the east, 155 men of the 9th Cavalry moved in from the west, and another column marched in from the north. If the plan worked, the three units would trap Victorio's warriors on the reservation and capture them without resistance. But Colonel Hatch made two miscalculations. He underestimated Victorio, and he overestimated the fresh water supply.

Victorio took control of one of the only reliable sources of fresh water in the area. Then he watched as the Buffalo soldiers of the 9th Cavalry drank from a source that was full of harsh gypsum water. The water took effect quickly and the men of the 9th became sick. Then a column of the 9th rode right into Victorio's hands. The Apaches ambushed the cavalrymen and killed many of the Buffalo soldiers. But the soldiers rallied and created a firing line that kept the Apaches at bay until nightfall. Meanwhile, Colonel Hatch's column was also desperate for water. While searching, they heard the gunshots from the ambush. They hurried toward their comrades and linked up with the soldiers who were pinned down.

The standoff lasted all night, and then at dawn, Victorio and his warriors heard the classic sound of the cavalry bugle call. Reinforcements rode to the rescue. The soldiers organized a counterattack and fought off the Apaches. The Apaches had done what they could with their small group, but now the Americans had overwhelming force. It was time to leave. The Apaches slipped away

and found refuge in the Black Range Mountains to the west. After the engagement, Colonel Hatch moved his men onto the Mescalero Reservation proper. The size of their force scared away many of the Apaches,

but in the ensuing chaos, 14 Mescaleros were shot and killed. As Victorio continued to evade American soldiers, he set his sights on the San Carlos Reservation. He wanted to free other members of his Chihine band, but it proved a difficult mission. He made an attempt in May of 1880, but his people were closely guarded in the center of the reservation, and he couldn't get them out. As he retreated to the Black Range Mountains, Apache scouts working for the U.S. Army tracked him down. Under the cover of darkness on May 23, 1880, 60 Apache scouts surrounded Victorio's camp. They struck at first light.

The fight lasted all day and took a heavy toll. Thirty people in Victorio's army were killed. Those who survived waited for darkness and then withdrew into the hills. Victorio's followers split into three groups and headed down toward the mountains of northern Mexico. There they regrouped, but to survive, they had to separate again. Victorio's followers split into three groups and headed down toward the mountains of northern Mexico. There they regrouped, but to survive, they had to separate again. These little detachments moved swiftly and silently, hiding from the Mexicans and the Americans. They covered themselves in dirt for camouflage and left caches of food to pick up later.

A few bands of warriors raided for food and supplies. Victorio's son Washington led one of these parties and was killed in a raid in June 1880. Then Colonel Hatch thought he saw another opportunity to eliminate Victorio. The Apache chief and his followers were on the run. Once again, Hatch coordinated a strategic attack. He took troops from Arizona and Pueblo scouts from New Mexico and marched south into Mexico. Apache scouts would join his unit near the city of Chihuahua. Hatch moved onto Mexican soil with the support of the governor of the state of Chihuahua. The governor had certainly not forgotten

that Victorio had raided his ranch the previous year. The governor wanted revenge, and he allowed the Americans to move into northern Mexico to capture or kill Victorio. Hatch had hoped the Mexican government would supply soldiers for the effort, but he was disappointed. The Mexican president had no interest in working with the United States. As Hatch's column moved south, it forced Victorio to move east into unfamiliar territory between Chihuahua and the state of Texas. And that's when things started to go wrong for Victorio. In Texas, the 10th Cavalry got word that Victorio was moving in its direction. In Texas, the 10th Cavalry got word that Victoria was moving in its direction.

The commander of the 10th stationed himself, his teenage son, and six soldiers about 100 feet above a water source at a place called Tenaja de las Palmas. During the night, they were reinforced by 11 more men. At 4 a.m., another 15 soldiers arrived to bring their total to 33. They constructed some crude stone barriers for cover and waited. The Apaches crossed the Rio Grande and rode into Texas. They arrived at the water source later in the morning, July 30, 1880. Victorio had more than 100 warriors with him,

and they saw the soldiers almost immediately. A firefight broke out that continued for four hours. The Americans continued to receive reinforcements, and Victorio lost seven men during the engagement. At that point, the warriors pulled back to the Rio Grande. Later, a captain from the 10th Cavalry discovered Victorio's camp. The troopers stole cattle from the Apaches Cavalry discovered Victorio's camp. The troopers stole cattle from the Apaches and gave valuable information to the commander of the 10th. He was able to guess where Victorio might go next. The commander sent four companies to a waterhole called Rattlesnake Springs. Most of the troopers stationed themselves on the walls of the canyon that led to the spring.

On August 6th, one week after the battle at the previous waterhole, Victorio and his warriors rode into the canyon. The soldiers took aim, but they fired too late. The Apaches were already protected by natural rock formations. For a moment, the Apaches thought they had the advantage. They rushed the soldiers. But then the cavalry commander sent in a company that had been held in reserve. The Apaches were forced to fall back and take cover.

The two sides exchanged fire for several hours. That afternoon, Victorio thought he saw a way to regain the advantage. An army supply wagon was headed toward the canyon. Victorio sent a team of warriors to overtake the wagons. But the Apaches didn't see the infantry escort that guarded the wagons. The soldiers rushed out and set up firing lines. They repelled the warriors with volleys of rifle fire. Then the cavalry charged into the mix to make sure the Apaches couldn't regroup. Victorio and his warriors had no place to hide. They'd been beaten back by the Buffalo soldiers of the 10th Cavalry and retreated back to the Rio Grande and then into Mexico. The border gave them temporary reprieve,

but Victorio and his people were on borrowed time. As Victorio retreated to the interior of Mexico, he was about to run into his final enemy. The governor of Chihuahua was still after him. And the governor's cousin was a colonel. Colonel Joaquin Terrazas built a small army to pursue Victorio. The colonel offered a reward for Victorio's scalp and told his mercenaries they could enslave the Apaches when they were defeated. He recruited a few members of the local native tribe in Chihuahua to act as scouts. They were the Terra Humera, a people who would gain worldwide fame many years later

for their incredible long-distance running ability. Here in the fall of 1880, Colonel Terrazas led his force toward the mountains where he believed Victoria was hiding. Victoria was isolated. Victorio was isolated. To the north and east, the 10th Cavalry guarded the borders of Texas and New Mexico. To the north and west, the Mexican soldiers of Colonel Terraza's force blocked the way to Arizona. And going south, deeper into Mexico, wasn't an option.

Victorio needed cover and water for his people. He took them to Tres Castillos. The name means three castles in Spanish, and it's home to a few small springs and plenty of rocky outcroppings. One stone pillar jutted a hundred feet into the air and looked like a castle tower. On the night of October 13, 1880, Victorio gathered his people for a council. The warrior Old Nana spoke up.

He said to Victorio, I have fought with three great chiefs of my people, Mangus Coloradus, Cochise, and Victorio. The problems confronting you are more difficult than either of the others had to meet. Your wisdom has never failed us. Command, and we obey. Victorio dispatched raiding parties to gather supplies. Meanwhile, he instructed the families to prepare to leave. Colonel Terraza's column found them the next day.

Terraza's men joined with a second column, and the combined force closed in on the Apaches. Victorio grabbed 30 warriors and hurried to slow down the Mexicans. The Terra Humera scouts rode in front of the column and shot at Victorio. One of the scouts hit Victorio, and the Apache leader fell from his horse. Victorio's men dragged him to cover. As some of the soldiers moved around to the north, old Nana and his warriors spotted them and moved out of range. They were able to survive, but they were cut off from Victorio. Victorio understood the grim reality of his situation. His warriors had few horses or mules.

the grim reality of his situation. His warriors had few horses or mules. They were running low on ammunition, and the Mexican soldiers took positions all around them. The Apaches took cover under the rocks and hunkered down for the evening. When night fell, they sang their death song. When the sun rose the next morning, Colonel Terrazas told his men to climb up the slope toward Victorio.

As the soldiers advanced, the Apaches fought hand to hand. Those who tried to escape ran into sniper fire. Others sprinted directly into the cavalry and were shot down. Victorio and a handful of warriors were the final holdouts. They hastily moved rocks to create cover from Mexican volleys. The soldiers kept firing. They killed a son of Mangus Coloradus and then the son of Chief Cuchillo Negro.

Soon, only Victorio and two of his men were left and Victorio had no interest in surrender. He stabbed himself in the chest with a knife and took his own life. For Colonel Terrazas, the success was complete. He and his men marched into Chihuahua City with prisoners in tow. A crowd gathered to cheer the soldiers, some of whom carried the scalps of the fallen Apache. One Tarahumara scout displayed Victorio's scalp in front of him. Later, the scout sold it for 2,000 pesos. At the tail end of the parade,

almost 70 Apache captives were dragged along the route. They were all women and children. Most would be sold into slavery. Some of Victorio's people were able to escape the battle. Old Nana and his group retreated toward the New Mexico border. He didn't yet know the fate of Victorio, but when he was about 50 miles from American soil, he heard the news. Nana turned around and traveled back to Trace Castillo's to bury the bodies. Before he made the return trip, Victorio's sister Lozen reunited with him.

She missed the final stages of Victorio's campaign, possibly to accompany a mother to the Mescalero Reservation. Some Apaches said the loss of her power cost Victorio dearly. If she'd been with him, she might have foreseen the attack at Tres Castillos. When old Nana finished his work at Tres Castillos, he returned to New Mexico and began a campaign of revenge for the death of Victorio. He was pushing 80 years old, but he was still cunning. He rushed back to southern New Mexico and recruited more fighters. He raided southern New Mexico with abandon throughout the late fall of 1880.

The warriors kept a low profile because scouts still scoured the mountains trying to pinpoint their location. The raiders struck fast and then disappeared. Next, Nana set his sights on the Mexican soldiers who had ended Victorio's campaign. He spent several months hiding in the mountains with two other notable warriors, Geronimo and his good friend Hu. Then, when the time was right,

the three men led an attack on the Presidio at Galeana. The commander of the Presidio was Juan Mata Ortiz. He had led one of the two columns that wiped out Victorio's warriors. The Apaches set a trap. They killed a vaquero and stole some horses. When the cavalrymen chased after the horses, the Apaches ambushed the soldiers. When the cavalrymen chased after the horses, the Apaches ambushed the soldiers. The combined Apache force killed 22 Mexican soldiers and burned alive the commander, Juan Mata Ortiz.

But Nana wasn't done. The old man and his followers rampaged over a thousand-mile range. His Apaches killed 50 men and stole dozens of horses. Neither scouts nor soldiers could track them down. Other Apaches, exhausted by life at the San Carlos Reservation, escaped and joined Nana. Among them was a prophet who led prayers. Some Apaches said later that in their visions, they saw the ghosts of the great fallen Chiricahua chiefs, Mangus Coloradus, Cochise, and Victorio. In Nana's final days, he joined up with the warrior whose name would eclipse all those who came before him. Nana had fought with all of them, and no one was

better equipped to offer counsel to the last great Apache leader, Geronimo. Next time on Legends of the Old West, it's the final campaign of the Apaches. The warrior who leads the last charge has fought with his people for decades. Now his name will ring out louder than all the others. The story of Geronimo is next week on the season finale of Apache Wars, here on Legends of the Old West. This season was researched and written by Jason Strykowski. Script editing by Christopher Markakis. Audio editing and sound design by Dave Harrison.

I'm your co-writer, host, and producer, Chris Wimmer. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening. Check out our website, Black Barrel Media, for more details and join us on social media. We're at Old West Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks again. We'll see you next week.