Who is Geronimo: Apache medicine man, prophet, and seer

In 1829 the area now known as western New Mexico was part of the Mexican territory. It was in this area that the most famous of all Apache leaders, Geronimo (jur-ahn'-I-moh) was born. Originally know as Goyathlay ("one who yawns"), Geronimo was a Bedonkohe Apache by birth. During his early manhood he would be a Net'na. He would eventually become a member of the Chiricahuas, a migratory band of Apaches who followed the seasons for hunting and farming.

Historians disagree as to why he was given the name Geronimo by Mexican soldiers of that time but all agree that as the leader of the Apaches in Sonora his bravery and feats of daring made him singled out from all other Apaches.

It was during his time in Sonora that legends grew among the superstitious military and settlers of the area. Some of these legends had Geronimo's successful raids as having been a gift from supernatural beings. Other legends spoke of him as being able to see into the future, walk without leaving footprints and even being invulnerable to bullets.

Geronimo was never actually an Apache chief but outsiders often thought he was. They were unaware of him being his brother-in-law Juh's spokesman. Juh had a speech impediment and would allow Geronimo to verbally handle matters.

Aggressiveness and courage were the essence of the Apache values at that time. Raiding neighboring tribes was not only the custom; it was considered an honorable way of life. While these traits were encouraged among the Apache, the early settlers feared them.

These early settlers of the Arizona and New Mexico areas believed Geronimo to be a cold-blooded murderer and this reputation has live until today. According to the Apache, Geronimo wasn't always that way.

When the first American settlers arrived in the Arizona and New Mexico areas the Spanish already had a strong foothold. The military and missions were always looking for Indian Slaves and Christian converts and in 1858 Geronimo's life would be changed after coming home from a trading expedition into Mexico.

During his absence the Spanish troops from Mexico had made a raid of their own against the Apache and Geronimo returned to find his wife, mother and three young children murdered. It is said this incident caused such hatred against the whites he vowed to kill as many as he possibly could. From that day forward he kept his vow by terrorizing the Mexican settlements whenever the chance occurred.

As stated before, Geronimo wasn't an actual chief. Instead he was a medicine man of great power. He was a seer as well as a spiritual and intellectual leader for his people. The Apache chiefs considered him a man of great wisdom who was given visions by the gods.

As the American people moved west and settled, the Apache like all other tribes were being forced onto reservation lands. In 1875 all Apaches west of the Rio Grand were ordered to "Hell's forty acres" or what the Americans called the "San Carlos Reservation" in eastern Arizona. The Chiricahua tribes were no exception but as the U.S. military enforced the move in 1876.

Geronimo and a band of followers managed to escape and would lead the U.S. Military on a merry chase. Eluding capture for years, Geronimo would eventually have one-quarter of the entire Army (over 5,000 men), 500 scouts and an estimated 3,000 Mexican soldiers attempt to track him down.

In May 1882 Indian scouts working with the U.S. Army surprised Geronimo at his secret camp in the Sierra Madre Mountains. Forced to return to the reservation once again, Geronimo stayed until May 17, 1885 when he and Juh with some 35 warriors as well as 109 women and children escaped.

In January 1886 Apache scouts once penetrated Juh's hideout and Geronimo negotiated with General George Crook about terms of surrender. Crook gave terms that his superiors as well as the President felt were too lenient. In them, Juh, Geronimo and their band of followers would be kept as prisoners for two years. After that time, Crook agreed that the group could be returned to their people on the reservation.

With the President and the military incensed by these terms, Crook was relieved of his duties and General Nelson Miles was given strict orders that with the exception of their lives, the terms of surrender would be unconditional.

On September 4, 1886 Geronimo finally surrendered himself, 16 warriors, 12 women and 6 children to Gen. Miles. The U.S. government was determined there would be revenge for the twenty-five years Geronimo had held out against the military.

Transporting him and 450 other Chiricahua Apache men, women and children to Florida, Geronimo's people would be divided. Some were sent to Fort Marion and others to Fort Pickens where they were treated as prisoners of war A year later the government would again divide them by moving some of them again to Fort Sill in Oklahoma while the others would be sent to the Mt. Vernon Barracks in Alabama. For those who went to Alabama, over a quarter of them would die of tuberculosis and other diseases.

Geronimo was paraded out at times as a novelty. He appeared at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis and rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade.

Geronimo died of pneumonia on February 17, 1909 as a prisoner of war who had never been allowed to return to his homeland. For those interested in his grave, it is located in the Apache cemetery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.