Geronimo His Own Story
Part I: The Apaches
Part II: The Mexicans
Part III: The White Men
Part IV: The Old And The New
Part I: The Apaches
Early Life
I was born in No-doyohn Canon, Arizona, June, 1829.
In that country which lies around the head waters of the Gila River
I was reared. This range was our fatherland; among these mountains
our wigwams were hidden; the scattered valleys contained our fields;
the boundless prairies, stretching away on every side, were our
pastures; the rocky caverns were our burying places.
I was fourth in a family of eight children-- four boys and four
girls. Of that family, only myself, my brother, Porico, and my sister,
Nah-da-ste , are yet alive. We are held as prisoners of war in this
Military Reservation (Fort Sill).
As a babe I rolled on the dirt floor of my father's tepee, hung
in my tsoch (Apache name for cradle) at my mother's back, or suspended
from the bough of a tree. I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the
winds, and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes.
When a child my mother taught me the legends of our people; taught
me of the sun and sky, the moon and stars, the clouds and storms.
She also taught me to kneel and pray to Usen for strength, health,
wisdom, and protection. We never prayed against any person, but
if we had aught against any individual we ourselves took vengeance.
We were taught that Usen does not care for the petty quarrels of
men.
My father had often told me of the brave deeds of our warriors,
of the pleasures of the chase, and the glories of the war path.
With my brothers and sisters I played about my father's home. Sometimes
we played at hide-and-seek among the rocks and pines; sometimes
we loitered in the shade of the cottonwood trees or sought the shudock
(a kind of wild cherry) while our parents worked in the field. Sometimes
we played that we were warriors. We would practice stealing upon
some object that represented an enemy, and in our childish imitation
often perform the feats of war. Sometimes we would hide away from
our mother to see if she could find us, and often when thus concealed
go to sleep and perhaps remain hidden for many hours.
When we were old enough to be of real service we went to the field
with our parents: not to play, but to toil. When the crops were
to be planted we broke the ground with wooden hoes. We planted the
corn in straight rows, the beans among the corn, and the melons
and pumpkins in irregular order over the field. We cultivated these
crops as there was need.
Our field usually contained about two acres of ground. The fields
were never fenced. It was common for many families to cultivate
land in the same valley and share the burden of protecting the growing
crops from destruction by the ponies of the tribe, or by deer and
other wild animals.
Melons were gathered as they were consumed. In the autumn pumpkins
and beans were gathered and placed in bags or baskets; ears of corn
were tied together by the husks, and then the harvest was carried
on the backs of ponies up to our homes. Here the corn was shelled,
and all the harvest stored away in caves or other secluded places
to be used in winter.
We never fed corn to our ponies, but if we kept them up in the
winter-time we gave them fodder to eat. We had no cattle or other
domestic animals except our dogs and ponies.
We did not cultivate tobacco, but found it growing wild. This we
cut and cured in autumn, but if the supply ran out the leaves from
the stalks left standing served our purpose. All Indians smoked---men
and women. No boy was allowed to smoke until he had hunted alone
and killed large game--wolves and bears. Unmarried women were not
prohibited from smoking, but were considered immodest if they did
so. Nearly all matrons smoked.
Besides grinding the corn (by hand with stone mortars and pestles)
for bread, we sometimes crushed it and soaked it, and after it had
fermented made from this juice a tis-win, which had the power of
intoxication, and was very highly prized by the Indians. This work
was done by the squaws and children. When berries or nuts were to
be gathered the small children and the squaws would go in parties
to hunt them, and sometimes stay all day. When they went any great
distance from camp they took ponies to carry the baskets.
I frequently went with these parties, and upon one of these excursions
a woman named Cho-ko-le got lost from the party and was riding her
pony through a thicket in search of her friends. Her little dog
was following as she slowly made her way through the thick underbrush
and pine trees. All at once a grizzly bear rose in her path and
attacked the pony. She jumped off and her pony escaped, but the
bear attacked her, so she fought him the best she could with her
knife. Her little dog, by snapping at the bear's heels and distracting
his attention from the woman, enabled her for some time to keep
pretty well out of his reach. Finally the grizzly struck her over
the head, tearing off almost her whole scalp. She fell, but did
not lose consciousness, and while prostrate struck him four good
licks with her knife, and he retreated. After he had gone she replaced
her torn scalp and bound it up as best she could, then she turned
deathly sick and had to lie down. That night her pony came into
camp with his load of nuts and berries, but no rider. The Indians
hunted for her, but did not find her until the second day. They
carried her home, and under the treatment of their medicine men
all her wounds were healed.
The Indians knew what herbs to use for medicine, how to prepare
them, and how to give the medicine. This they had been taught by
Usen in the beginning, and each succeeding generation had men who
were skilled in the art of healing.
In gathering the herbs, in preparing them, and in administering
the medicine, as much faith was held in prayer as in the actual
effect of the medicine. Usually about eight persons worked together
in make medicine, and there were forms of prayer and incantations
to attend each stage of the process. Four attended to the incantations
and four to the preparation of the herbs.
Some of the Indians were skilled in cutting out bullets, arrow
heads, and other missiles with which warriors were wounded. I myself
have done much of this, using a common dirk or butcher knife.
Small children wore very little clothing in winter and none in
the summer. Women usually wore a primitive skirt, which consisted
of a piece of cotton cloth fastened about the waist, and extending
to the knees. Men wore breachclothes and moccasins. In winter they
had shirts and legging in addition.
Frequently when the tribe was in camp a number of boys and girls,
by agreement, would steal away and meet at a place several miles
distant, where they could play all day free from tasks. They were
never punished for these frolics; but if their hiding places were
discovered they were ridiculed.
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Native American Legends A-B