GERONIMO IN MEXICO “The Chief’s loss and Geronimo’s gain: 1866-67”

Most of us know of the Apache leader Geronimo but most of what most of us know we learned at the movies.  Leader of the Chiricahua Apaches, Geronimo led the fight against the expansion into Apache tribal lands by the United States during the Apache Wars.  But you knew that much from the movies.  It is true that the greatest wrongs that were visited upon the Apaches were from the United States government.  But the history of the Geronimo’s war parties started in Mexico…and we continue with the story.

Early in the summer of 1866 Geronimo took thirty mounted warriors and invaded Mexican territory. The war party went south through Chihuahua as far as Santa Cruz, Sonora, then crossed over the Sierra Madre Mountains, following the river course at the south end of the range. The Indians kept on westward from the Sierra Madre Mountains to the Sierra de Sahuaripa Mountains, and followed that range northward.

Geronimo collected all the horses, mules, and cattle they wanted, and drove the animals northward through Sonora into Arizona. Mexicans saw the Indians many times and in many places, but they did not attack at any time, nor did any Mexican troops attempt to follow them. When the Apaches arrived at the Homeland, Geronimo gave presents to all, and the tribe feasted and danced. During this raid the warriors had killed about fifty Mexicans.

Next year, in 1867, Chief Mangas Coloradas led eight Chiricahua Apache warriors on a raid into Mexico.  Geronimo went along as a warrior, for even if not in charge he was always glad for an opportunity to fight the Mexicans. The Indians rode south from near Tombstone, Arizona, into Sonora, Mexico. They attacked some Mexican cowboys, and after a fight with the Mexicans the Indians drove all the Mexican cattle toward Apacheria. On the second day of travel, as the war party drove the cattle northward, the Chief failed to set out scouts.

When not far from Arispe, Mexican troops rode down upon the Apaches. The Mexicans were well armed and well mounted, and when the Apaches first saw them the Mexicans were less than half a mile away. The Indians abandoned the purloined cattle and rode as hard as they could toward the mountains, but the Mexican troops gained on them rapidly. Soon the troopers opened fire, but they were still far away.  The Indians returned fire but they were unable to reach the Mexicans with their arrows.  At last the Indians reached some timber, and, leaving their ponies, fought the Mexican troops from the cover of the trees. The Mexicans simply halted, collected the Indian’s ponies, and rode away across the plains toward Arispe, driving the cattle with them. Mangas Coloradas and the Apache war party could do nothing but stand and watch the Mexicans until they disappeared in the distance.  After that, the Indians set out on their disappointing walk home to Arizona.

The Indians arrived home in five days with no victory to report, no spoils to divide, and not even the ponies on which they had ridden into Mexico. The whole tribe considered this Mangas Coloradas expedition disgraceful.

The warriors who had been with the Chief on this last expedition wanted to return to Mexico. They were not content with the unsatisfactory results of the raid.  More importantly, they felt intensely the taunts and jeers of the other warriors.

Mangas Coloradas either would not or could not lead them back to Mexico, so Geronimo took command.  A war party of only six went on foot, directly toward Arispe in Sonora, and made their camp in the Sierra de Sahuaripa Mountains. The Indians raided several Mexican settlements at night and captured many horses and mules.  They loaded the animals with the provisions, saddles and blankets they had taken from the Mexican villages. Then Geronimo and the war party, traveling only at night, rode back to Arizona.

When the warriors arrived at their home, Geronimo sent out sentries to prevent any surprise by Mexicans who might have trailed them, assembled the tribe, divided the spoils, and the Apaches feasted and danced into the night.  Because of the disgrace felt by the tribe as a result of the last raid, Mangas Coloradas did not receive any of this plunder.  And it seems, according to Geronimo’s words, that the war party did not care. No Mexican troops followed Geronimo’s war party back to Arizona.