Geronimo

Geronimo (1823?–1909), Apache Indian leader.To Americans and Mexicans of the 1870s and 1880s, Geronimo personalized the horrors of Apache warfare. His surrender to U.S. officers in 1886 marked the end of four centuries of war between Indians and whites for possession of the North American continent.

Although the year of Geronimo's birth remains obscure, he was born a Bedonkohe Apache around the headwaters of the Gila River in the mountains of southwestern New Mexico. In later years, he became identified with the Chiricahua division of the Apaches. His Apache name was Goyahkla, or “One Who Yawns.”

Never a chief, and despised by many of his people because of factionalism combined with an unappealing personality, Geronimo nonetheless attained leadership through mastery of the guerrilla fighting style that baffled United States and Mexican troops. With small followings, he alternated between reservation life in Arizona and raids from Mexico's Sierra Madre. In 1882, General George Crook, relying heavily on Apache scouts and pack mules, penetrated the Sierra Madre and secured Geronimo's surrender. In 1885, however, he again took refuge in Mexico. Crook and his scouts pursued, and again Geronimo surrendered but then fled to the mountains. Crook, under severe criticism from Washington, asked to be relieved and was replaced by General Nelson A. Miles. Geronimo surrendered to Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, on 4 September 1886. Confined in Florida, Alabama, and finally near Fort Sill in present‐day Oklahoma, Geronimo in old age became a celebrity, appearing in parades and at expositions.
See also Expansionism; Indian History and Culture: From 1800 to 1900; Indian Wars; Southwest, The.

Bibliography

Dan L. Thrapp , The Conquest of Apacheria, 1967.
Angie Debo , Geronimo: The Man, His Time, His Place, 1976.

Robert M. Utley