Geronimo

Family

Geronimo had a very large family and many wives. Geronimo’s father was Tablishim. His mother was Juana. Juana educated him according to Apache traditions. She was killed by Colonel Jose Maria. Geronimo married a woman from the Chiricauhula ban of Apache. They had three kids together. After she was killed, Geronimo remarried to another Apache named Chee-hash-kish. Together Geronimo and Chee-hash-kish had two kids. The kids’ names were Chappo and Dohn-say. Geronimo had six more wives after her. They were Nana-tha-thtith, Zi-yeh, She-gha, Shtsha-she, Ih-tedda, and Azul in that order. Geronimo never had more than two wives at a time because he was always on the warpath. Since Geronimo was always on the warpath it would be very challenging to support anymore than two families.

Religion

Geronimo was religious. Geronimo was raised in the religious views of the Bedonkohe. That meant only their relations to Usen and members of his tribe were considered religious responsibilities. Usen was the main god in Bedonkohe religion. In his religion they had no definite idea of the relations and surroundings of the afterlife. He believed in afterlife but wasn’t sure what part of man lived after death. In afterlife he hoped that family and tribe relations would continue. Also he hoped it would be more afterlife would be more pleasant than his current one. Later in life he decided to embrace Christianity. He believed Christianity helped him. He believed it was wise to go church. Another thing he believed was that Christians improved his character. The one thing about Christianity he did not understand was the spirit. He did not know what the spirit was. Also he had never seen the spirit before.

Mexican’s Attack Village

A company of four hundred soldiers from Sonora attacked Geronimo’s camp in March 5, 1851. The soldiers attacked while the men were out trading. When the soldiers left they left a little guard to protect the village. The guard was slaughtered by the company of soldiers. They killed his wife Alope. The company also killed Geronimo’s children. All their village supplies were destroyed. The soldiers also capture all their ponies. The whole village assembled at their appointed place of rendezvous a thicket by the river. Geronimo found out that he had lost everything and started to hate Mexicans. When they assembled the rest of the warriors held a council. Geronimo didn’t vote for any measures during that council. It was decided to go back to their homes in Arizona because they were out of supplies. He made a vow to get revenge on the Mexicans. During the trip back to Arizona Geronimo didn’t eat anything.

Revenge

Geronimo finally got to get his revenge on the Mexicans of Sonora. Geronimo assembled warriors from Chokonen. The warriors collected arms and supplies for the warpath. Geronimo convinced Nedni Apaches to join their cause. He acted as a guide in Mexico to sneak the band in Sonora. When they almost arrived at Arispe they camped. Eight men rode out from the city to parley with them and Geronimo’s band killed and scalped them. They did this to lure the soldiers out of the city. That night they posted sentinels and didn’t move the camp but rested up for the next day. Early in the morning the next day they prayed for strength for the upcoming fight. At 10 o’clock the Mexicans came out with two companies of Calvary and two companies of infantry. Geronimo recognized the Calvary soldiers as the ones that killed their village. He told this to the chieftains and they allowed them to lead the charge. The battle lasted for two hours and at the end of the battle only Geronimo and one other soldier was left. He was elected chief at the end of the battle.

Raid on Mexico

Geronimo led the summer raid of 1863. Geronimo hand selected three warriors to accompany him. They traveled south in Sonora, camping in the Sierra de Shuaripa Mountains. They were about forty miles west of a small village called the Crassans. They decided to attack this village. Geronimo noticed around midday no one was stirring so they planned to attack at this time the next day. Quietly the group snuck into the town. They were armed with spears, bows, and arrows. When the war-whoop of the group was let out the Mexicans fled. They managed to shoot down only one Mexican. Since all the Mexicans were gone they looked through all the houses. Geronimo and the other warriors had the pleasure of taking whatever they pleased. They drove a herd of horses and mules into the city. After that they packed as much as they could on them. They then traveled back to their homes in Arizona with everything they got.