A pivotal piece of nineteenth-century Native American history from a tireless warrior seeking justice for his people. Storied leader of the Bedonkohe band of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, Geronimo led resistance against Mexican and American troops seeking to drive the Apache from their land during the 1850s through the 1880s. In 1886, he finally surrendered to the US Army and became a prisoner of war. Although he would never return to his homeland, Geronimo became an iconic figure in Native American society and even had the honor of riding with President Theodore Roosevelt in his 1905 inaugural parade. That same year, he agreed to share his story with Stephen M. Barrett, a superintendent of education from Lawton, Oklahoma. In Geronimo’s own words, this is his fascinating life story. Beginning with an Apache creation myth, he discusses his youth and family, the bloody conflicts between Mexico and the United States, and his two decades of life as a prisoner. Revered by his people and feared by his enemies, Geronimo narrates his memoir with a compassionate and compelling voice that still resonates today.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

In Geronimo, the famous Native American discusses the history of the Apache people - where they came from, their early life, and their tribal customs and manners. Geronimo expresses his personal views on how the white men who settled in the West negatively affected his tribe, from wrongs done to his people and removal from their homeland to Geronimo's imprisonment and forced surrender.

On September 5, 1886, the entire nation rejoiced as the news flashed from the Southwest that the Apache war leader Geronimo had surrendered to Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles. With Geronimo, at the time of his surrender, were Chief Naiche (the son of the great Cochise), sixteen other warriors, fourteen women, and six children. It had taken a force of 5,000 regular army troops and a series of false promises to "capture" the band. Yet the surrender that day was not the end of the story of the Apaches associated with Geronimo. Besides his small band, 394 of his tribesmen, including his wife and children, were rounded up, loaded into railroad cars, and shipped to Florida. For more than twenty years Geronimo’s people were kept in captivity at Fort Pickens, Florida; Mount Vernon Barracks, Alabama; and finally Fort Sill, Oklahoma. They never gave up hope of returning to their mountain home in Arizona and New Mexico, even as their numbers were reduced by starvation and disease and their children were taken from them to be sent to the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.