Legends of the Old West - APACHE WARS Ep. 4 | “Geronimo”

Episode Date: June 17, 2020

Geronimo finally takes his place as a leader during the final years of the Apache Wars. To avenge the murder of his family, he wreaks havoc on northern Mexico. As his raids on Arizona and New Mexico intensify, the U.S. Army sends nearly a quarter of its force to stop him. When the fighting finally ends, the legend of Geronimo begins. 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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Let's go seize the night. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Visit amex.ca slash yamex. Benefits vary by car and other conditions apply. This episode is brought to you by Lego Fortnite. Lego Fortnite is the ultimate survival crafting game found within Fortnite. It's not just Fortnite Battle Royale with minifigures. It's an entirely new experience that combines the best of Lego play and

Fortnite created to give players of all ages, including kids and families, a safe digital space to play in. Download Fortnite on consoles, PC, cloud services, or Android and play Lego Fortnite for free. Rated ESRB E10+. In 1851, a group of Apaches traveled to the city of Llanos in northern Mexico to trade goods.

For years, the area was a destination for Apaches to exchange items like beef, spices, and tobacco. The area was comfortable for the Apaches, and after the trades, they decided to celebrate. Many Apaches, joined by local Mexicans, gathered in their camp just outside the city. They partied a little too hard and drank a little too much mezcal. They partied a little too hard and drank a little too much mezcal. With their senses dulled, many of the Apache warriors didn't notice as men from a Sonoran militia surrounded their camp. The men of the militia wanted revenge. The Apaches had raided their lands for years, and now the militia would make them pay.

The militia attacked, and they killed indiscriminately. They slaughtered men, women, and children. A 20-year-old medicine man named Goyakla wasn't at the camp during the massacre. He was nearby with the trading party. Goyakla was informed of the tragedy soon afterward. He hurried back to the camp. In the carnage, he found the bodies of his mother, his wife, and their three children. All of them were scalped and lying in pools of their own blood. Goyacla was enraged and distraught, and a vision came to him in his grief. He heard his name repeated four times, and then he

heard a promise. No gun can ever kill you. I will take the bullets from the guns of the Mexicans and I will guide your arrows. Goyacla would now have great power. He also had a burning desire for revenge. For the rest of his life, he would seek blood atonement from the Mexicans who stole his family. His power and anger made him so fearsome on the battlefield that some Mexicans screamed for St. Jerome to save them.

In the confusion, it sounded like they were screaming, Geronimo. From Black Barrel Media, this is Legends of the Old West. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and this is the season finale of a four-part series about one of the longest conflicts in american history the apache wars this is episode four geronimo as a podcast network our first priority has always been audio and the stories we're able to share with you.

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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. Geronimo was born around 1829 to a respected family of the Badonkahe Band of the Chiricahua Apache. His grandfather was a great chief, but the lineage was not enough to guarantee Geronimo a similar position among his people. Instead, Geronimo drew power from the world around him. When he was still a child, a major celestial event, Halley's Comet, lit up the night sky. It was an omen that foreshadowed major changes for the young warrior and future leader. Like other Apache boys, Geronimo learned how to fight at an early age.

During his teens, he conducted himself well on four raids. The number four was sacred to the Apaches and it meant that he was ready to be a warrior and accompany men on war parties. The greatest reward of his graduation into manhood was the right to marry the woman of his dreams. Her name was Elope and he had loved her his whole life. Elope came from the Nedney band and was a pretty and graceful girl. Ever the independent, Geronimo refused to wait for other adults to arrange the marriage. He simply did it himself. The newly married couple traveled back into the mountains to be with Geronimo's band. There, they raised their family and avoided the encroaching hostilities of the

Mexican-American War. A couple years after the war ended, Jeronimo and his family went down to the state of Chihuahua in northern Mexico to trade. They had peaceful intentions, but the Apache in general had raided the area for generations. The Mexicans had grown tired of the constant fighting and raiding, so some attempted to normalize the relationship by trading for furs with the Apaches. It was a bustling market. But not all Chihuahuans liked the new arrangement. General Jose Carrasco, who commanded the frontier troops,

tracked down an Apache camp near Llanos. The Apaches had stopped temporarily to do more trading. It wasn't a raiding party or a war party, so the Apache camp was filled with women and children. During the day, the men went to town to trade while everyone else stayed at the camp. One day while the men were at town, they started hearing alarming rumors that a general had attacked the camp. The Apache men met at an established rendezvous point just as night set in. They agreed to proceed quietly to the camp to see what had happened. A few men were sent ahead to make sure there was no danger. What they found when they arrived was the stuff of nightmares. Women and children were dead on the ground. Their bodies were left for the crows.

Geronimo walked through the horrible scene to the spot where his family had camped. He found his mother, his wife, and their three children murdered and scalped. Then he drifted down to the banks of the river that flowed past the camp. He stared at the water and tried to process the new reality of his life. Finally, Geronimo rejoined the other warriors. They decided to return to Arizona. For the next few days, Geronimo struggled through the desert as Mangus Coloradus led 80 Apaches home. When they reached their settlement, Geronimo was greeted by painful memories of his family. His wife had painted their wiki up. His children left their playthings scattered about. All of it reminded him of the life he could never get back. Geronimo burned it

all. Then he wandered into the woods to cry. A voice came to him in his misery and said his name four times. The voice had an unequivocal message. No gun can ever kill you. I will take the bullets from the guns of the Mexicans, so they will have nothing but powder. And I will guide your arrows. Geronimo already knew he was difficult to kill. He'd been wounded in battle and had always survived. Now he had new power.

For years, Geronimo believed he could not be killed by a bullet. In addition, he had a new enemy he would fight for the rest of his life. The Mexicans stole his family and he would have his revenge. But he would have to wait. There were other battles to fight first. Geronimo was not a chief, and as badly as he wanted revenge, he needed the permission of Mangus Coloradus. The great chief had witnessed the atrocity down in Mexico, and he gave Geronimo permission to go on the warpath. Geronimo went to see Cochise, who called a council and then agreed to fight.

Then Geronimo went to see an old friend named Hu. The two warriors had grown up together and were lifelong friends, and they were also like fire and ice. Hu was a massive man with a rollicking sense of humor. Geronimo was smaller and more serious. They rode together and raided together for years. Geronimo had little trouble convincing Hu to join him, and he recruited Chief Cuchillo Negro from a different Apache tribe. With their war party assembled,

they headed to Mexico. They followed rivers south and largely escaped detection until they were about 60 miles into the Mexican state of Sonora. There, the Apaches found the Mexicans who'd slaughtered Geronimo's family. The fighting began with a limited engagement, but the next day, the Mexicans brought their full force to bear. Two companies each of cavalry and infantry joined the fight between the locals and the Apaches. The Apaches met them in a wooded area with Geronimo in the lead. They tried to surround and outflank the Mexicans. Many of the Apaches fought with bows and arrows, and then moved in for hand-to-hand combat. The bloody battle lasted for two hours. When it was over, both sides had heavy casualties, but it was clear the Apaches had won.

Geronimo had demonstrated his great power, and he had shown an affinity and talent for killing Mexicans. He also left the battle with a new name, Geronimo. Over the next two decades, Geronimo proved himself a cunning warrior. Other Apaches often enlisted his help in a fight. In 1861, Geronimo captured an American wagon for Cochise. The mission was part of the Battle of Apache Pass. Later, Geronimo warned Mangus Coloradus not to trust the peace conference organized by the white trader and soldier, Jack Swilling. But Mangus Coloradus and his bodyguard, Victorio, went to the meeting anyway.

Like the others, Geronimo was horrified by the death of Mangus Coloradus. In addition to being a respected warrior, Geronimo was also a renegade. Like most native tribes, the societal structure and hierarchy of the Apache was complex. Geronimo needed permission from the chief to form a war party, but he didn't need permission to grab a few men and go on a raid. He raided into Mexico often, and then evaded American attempts to capture him or to make peace with him. After years of fighting, Geronimo rose to prominence in the 1870s, and in 1876, he finally pushed the Americans too far. An 1876 raid into Mexico inflamed tensions. Geronimo struck at the Pima tribe south of Tucson and then killed nine people in Mexico. It was the last straw.

Indian agent John Clum called for Geronimo to be captured and taken to San Carlos. Clum became the Indian agent at San Carlos in 1874, when he was just 22 years old. He was bright and motivated and tried to make the best of the job of managing an uninhabitable reservation. motivated and tried to make the best of the job of managing an uninhabitable reservation. At first, Clum wanted to try peace policies, but Geronimo forced his hand. Geronimo and a band of followers camped near the Ojo Caliente Reservation in New Mexico. They traded with the Apaches inside the reservation, yet avoided authority. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington was troubled by their behavior and he asked Klum to bring Geronimo into line.

Klum sent a message to the cavalry in New Mexico to capture Geronimo and bring the Apache warrior and his people to San Carlos. But the cavalry couldn't move quickly enough. Instead, Klum and local police met with Geronimo. The agent and the warrior sat on the porch of an adobe building at the Ojo Caliente Reservation. Clum told Geronimo that the Indian agency would no longer tolerate his behavior. There could be no more raids, murder, or theft. Geronimo had disobeyed the terms of peace, and now he must live on the

reservation. Geronimo replied, we are not going to San Carlos with you, and unless you were very careful, you and your Apache police will not go back to San Carlos either. Your bodies will stay here at Ojo Caliente to make food for the coyotes. Klum listened to Geronimo's warning and then made a brief hand signal to one of the guards. The police ran into the building with their rifles drawn. Geronimo reached for his revolver, but a guard had the drop on him. Facing the barrel of a rifle, Geronimo surrendered his gun.

For a brief moment, he thought about fighting with just his knife, but there was even less chance of escape using a knife than there was with a gun, so he abandoned the idea. The police marched Geronimo and his people to the corral, and they slept that night in the hay. The next day, they began the long walk to San Carlos. It was dangerous and made much worse because Geronimo and a handful of others

made the trip while shackled. It was more than 200 miles, and it took 19 days. And at the end of the journey, Geronimo remained in cuffs. Later in life, he would claim this was the only time the Americans captured him with their guns.

Like Victorio, Geronimo found San Carlos to be miserable. On April 4th, 1878, he arranged the first of many breakouts. Alongside other notable Apache leaders, Geronimo slipped out and headed for Mexico. Along the way, he reunited with his old friend Hu. Throughout 1879, Victorio, Geronimo, and Hu raided targets along the borderlands. But Geronimo and Hu got tired of it. They surrendered at the end of 1879 and agreed to return to San Carlos. For a time, Geronimo accepted peace. Somehow, Geronimo stayed away from the fray as Victorio and then Old Nana went to war. Geronimo and Victorio didn't much care for each other, but they were brethren. Victorio only went to war when absolutely necessary. He disdained Geronimo's constant aggression.

But when Victorio finally met his end, Geronimo was sad and angry. All the fighting made Geronimo nervous, and the authorities at San Carlos didn't put his mind at ease. Once again, he left the reservation and fled to Mexico. Along the way, he and a collection of warriors raided southern Arizona. The army pursued them, and as they passed Tombstone, the mayor of the town organized a posse to catch them. The posse included a pair of brothers who were relatively new to town,

Virgil and Wyatt Earp, but the locals couldn't stay with the effort for the long haul. Geronimo and the disparate bands rendezvoused in the Sierra Madre mountains of northern Mexico. Who was there, as well as old Nana, who'd survived Victorio's final campaign? About 40 American troopers and an additional 30 army scouts followed Geronimo's group into Mexico. The scouts were discovered by a few Apaches who were out cooking mezcal. The scouts fired on the Apaches and killed all four of them. Back at camp, Geronimo and the other warriors heard the shots. They grabbed their weapons and fired at the scouts as they ran for cover in the rocks. The shots weren't effective, but they bought them enough time to hide.

As the firing continued, the Americans couldn't drive the Apaches from their hiding places. They finally had to stop the advance. The Apaches were able to escape, but they suffered significant losses. With few horses left, they had to cross the plains to reach the next meeting place. The Americans continued their pursuit as the Apaches moved into a dry stream bed. As the Apaches moved up the aurorio, a few warriors covered the rear of the formation. The Apaches were not prepared for Mexican soldiers who rushed in from a nearby ravine. The Mexicans fired at everyone, including women and children. Geronimo screamed at the warriors to gather around him and return fire. While some Apaches fled,

Geronimo had enough men to fight back. The Apaches stepped up to the rim of the aurorio and fired. Meanwhile, women dug safety shelters in the sand of the dry river. When the warriors shot through their rounds, the women scurried out of safety and sprinted to higher ground. They dodged incoming fire to find abandoned rounds left behind in the desert. The skirmish continued until sunset. Then, someone set the dry desert grass on fire. The smoke provided enough cover and confusion for Geronimo's people to escape into the mountains. They struggled to move over the rough terrain. Many were injured, and others were exhausted. Deep in the Sierra Madre Mountains of northern Mexico, Geronimo's group rejoined Hu and his people to prepare a fresh round of attacks.

In the mountains, Geronimo and Hu also linked up with Old Nana. After Nana's small group of soldiers had been cut off from Victorio's main body of troops, they had moved north into the Sierra Madres. The Mexican soldiers commanded by Colonel Terrazas had wiped out Victorio's men and forced Victorio into a position to take his own life. The three Apache leaders wanted revenge. First, they attacked the Presidio at Galeana, which had been the site of the massacre nearly 40 years earlier in 1846.

The commander at the Presidio had led one of the two columns that the Apaches held responsible for the death of Victorio. The Apaches attacked and killed 22 soldiers, and then burned the commander alive. After Colonel Terrazas learned of the brutal attack, he went after one of the three Apache leaders, Geronimo's good friend Hu. The Mexican cavalry quickly overtook Hu's camp and killed 14 people, including one of Hu's wives, who was also Geronimo's cousin. Hu also lost a baby in the fight. He never recovered from the loss.

The incident devastated him, and he drank himself to death a few months later. Geronimo's closest friend was now gone. In a strategic sense, his closest ally was gone. Just as Lieutenant Colonel George Crook stepped up his campaign to stop Geronimo. Crook was the head of the Department of Arizona, and the man the Apaches called Chief Wolf. He'd been sidelined briefly by politicians in Washington, but now he was back on the hunt. he was back on the hunt. He sent scouts to find Geronimo's people, and soon he took 200 soldiers into Apache country of the Sierra Madre Mountains in northern Mexico. The soldiers were exposed and had little chance of retreat if things went wrong. Despite being deep in enemy territory,

Colonel Crook left his company to go hunting alone. He was an avid hunter, and he often hunted alone, which scared his officers. On this day, their fears could have been justified. Crook left camp, and his men heard a blast from his shotgun that signaled he'd probably found some wild birds. And then there was silence. The scout for the army, Mickey Free, ran out to investigate and discovered Crook had been captured by Geronimo and several warriors. The Apaches had likely been watching the soldiers, and Crook had delivered himself into their hands. Geronimo could have killed the American commander quietly and easily, but he didn't.

They sat down and talked, and Geronimo agreed that he and his people would return yet again to San Carlos. The soldiers and many of the Apaches formed a caravan and headed for Arizona. They made it back to American soil in June of 1883, but Geronimo was not among them. In spite of what he'd said to Crook, Geronimo stayed in Mexico. Crook was ridiculed by newspapers for allowing Geronimo to remain at large, and then Geronimo inflamed the situation when he raided a ranch near Silver City, New Mexico. Geronimo's raids throughout the borderlands had raised tensions to new levels. Now the Chiricahua Apache on the reservation, Geronimo's own people, were tired of him. He hadn't surrendered, and other Apaches felt he brought hate and distrust upon the people as a whole.

Crook again sent troops and scouts to capture the renegade Apaches. Geronimo and a small group slipped back into Mexico. Crook's patience was wearing thin, and so was that of his superiors. In March of 1886, Crook joined a camp that his soldiers had set up just south of the Arizona border in Mexico. There, he once again met with Geronimo. At first, Geronimo talked about Mickey Free, an interpreter and scout for the army. Mickey Free was actually Felix Ward, the adopted son of an Arizona rancher. Felix had been kidnapped by Apaches 15 years earlier in 1861, the event that began the sequence known as the Bascom Affair. The boy had grown into a skinny young man with

the Apaches, but he'd been working with the army for the past couple years. Geronimo blamed many things on Free. He viewed Mickey as a traitor. The young man had grown up with the Apaches, and now he was helping the army hunt them down. Geronimo believed Mickey was spreading lies about him. As Geronimo and Crook spoke, the Apache leader grew annoyed. He said, What is the matter that you don't speak to me? I wish you would look and smile at me. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we now say. Crook answered, I have heard what you have said. You promised me in this Sierra Madre that peace should last, but you have lied about it.

Later, Crook made the terms of surrender clear. He told Geronimo, If you stay out, I'll keep after you and kill the last one, even if it takes 50 years. Not long after, Geronimo accepted the Americans' terms. Once I moved about like the wind, he said, now I surrender to you, and that is all. But it wasn't all. Geronimo didn't surrender. He once again bolted back to the Sierra Madre.

In Washington, D.C., Crook's superiors were tired of his failed maneuvers. They recalled him and sent General Nelson Miles to capture the Apaches once and for all. Miles was a veteran of the Civil War and had fought against the Kiowa and Comanche. He also planned to continue the policy of removing the Apache from Arizona and New Mexico and sending them east to Florida and Alabama. Despite a handful of successful raids, Geronimo's group weakened and dwindled. The Apaches numbered only 34, and they were the target of one quarter of the U.S. Army and thousands of Mexican militiamen. Geronimo was well aware of the odds. He met with an emissary of the Americans to discuss peace terms.

The emissary did not mince words. the Americans to discuss peace terms. The emissary did not mince words. He told Geronimo that if he surrendered, he'd be sent to Florida, and the president would make the final decision on his fate. Or, the last Apache leader could fight to the bitter end. Those were the choices. Geronimo didn't like the choices, but he said he'd consider them. That night, Geronimo held a council of trusted warriors. They stayed up late and stood around a fire discussing the limited possibilities. Finally, the warriors convinced Geronimo to surrender. They wanted to rejoin their families, even if it meant they had to go to Florida. Then Geronimo told them,

You have been great fighters in battle. If you are going to surrender, there is no use my going without you. I will give up with you. The next day, Geronimo met the emissary and agreed to the terms. The emissary said that Geronimo could trust General Miles. Geronimo would be allowed to keep his weapons, and he would surrender to Miles himself. General Miles' forces gathered at a place called Skeleton Canyon in the southwest corner of New Mexico Territory. It was an impressive show meant to demonstrate to Geronimo that he could not escape. Geronimo arrived on September 2nd, 1886, and waited for a full day before Miles showed up. Geronimo rode into the canyon alone and unarmed.

There, he met Miles face to face. To his credit, Miles listened as Geronimo said that much of the trouble was not his fault. He also asked if his people could go back to the White Mountains. Miles said no, the Chiricahua would have to go to Florida. He also promised Geronimo that he would not be killed. Geronimo told Miles, This is the fourth time I have surrendered. And Miles responded,

I think it is the last time. He was right. At that meeting, Geronimo's war ended. It was September 4th, 1886, the end of 25 years of fighting between the Americans and the Apache. Geronimo did not flee, and Miles kept his word. Arizonans wanted custody of Geronimo to execute him. They were angry after years of being subjected to Geronimo's raids. President Grover Cleveland almost granted their wish, but General Miles made sure the Apaches went to Florida instead.

On September 8, 1886, Geronimo boarded a train for the East Coast. He was detained in Florida and then sent to the Mount Vernon Barracks in Alabama. There, he became a tourist attraction. People traveled from all around to see the great Apache warrior. After centuries of roaming the mountains and plains of the southwest, the Apaches struggled in confinement. Old Nana gave them hope with promises that someday they would return to their home, but tuberculosis ended the lives of many. Victorio's sister Lozen died of the disease in Alabama and was buried in an unmarked grave. Geronimo remained healthy and outlived his old nemesis, George Crook, who died of a heart attack.

Geronimo was later sent to prison in Oklahoma Territory, the land that had been known as Indian Country just four years ago. There, his legend grew. Geronimo signed autographs at fairs. He went to expositions and rode in the inaugural parade of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905. He also wrote an autobiography. In 1909, at 80 years of age, Geronimo died of pneumonia.

His death convinced bureaucrats in Washington to allow the Chiricahua Apache to return home to New Mexico. The last great Apache fighter was dead, and the war was long over. Geronimo's vision had come true. No bullets stopped him in life, and his death didn't stop the growth of his legend. Geronimo became the namesake of three American towns and the subject of countless books, articles, movies, and television shows. Early paratroopers in the U.S. Army screamed his name as they jumped from planes. Though it remains controversial, his name will be forever tied to the special operations mission that killed terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

Few names of the American West have lived on to such a degree. Next time on Legends of the Old West, we're going to do something a little different. We're going to do an anthology of stories about one of the men who helped create the myths and legends of the Old West, Ned Buntline. That series begins July 15th, 2020. But subscribers to our Black Barrel Plus program will receive the entire series one week early on July 8th, as well as a bonus episode from this series. Go to our website blackbarrelmedia.com for more details. And if you want to read more about the Apache Wars, there are lots of great books out

there. But the one you want to start with is The Apache Wars, The Hunt for Geronimo, The Apache Kid, and The Captive Boy Who Started the Longest War in American History by Paul Andrew Hutton. 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 soon.