Geronimo (Mescalero-Chiricahua: Goyaałé [kòjàːɬɛ́] “one who yawns”; June 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader of the Bedonkohe Apache who fought against Mexico and Texas for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars.
What made him great was his incredible ability to improvise and think creatively. To anticipate the moves of his enemies.
Geronimo was very strategic in his thinking. He consistently outmaneuvered the United States Army, while tying up resources, and conducting raids and hit and run operations along the way.
How he managed to do this has been the subject of debate for almost 100 years now.
I was talking with one Apache elder recently, named “Ronnie Lupe”of the White Mountain Apache clan who offered incredible insight into this remarkable man.
Note: Lupe served the United States as a Marine in the Korean war and currently sits on the White Mountain Apache Tribal Council. He is an expert in Apache culture and tradition.
He said that “Geronimo traveled on average of 12 hours a day, covering up to 40 miles in a single day, while being pursued by thousands of US Cavalrymen. He would travel from midnight to noon, when the temperatures were the coolest, thereby needing less water than his pursuers who traveled from sun up to sun down…”
He went on to say that “Geronimo was a hunter. He knew how to listen to the animals, the rabbit, deer and birds. As well how to read and recognize their calls and their reactions for warnings of danger. The obvious was that they had a greater sense of hearing and smell than humans. He also knew how to hide, find food and survive in a desert environment…”
Geronimo was also very smart. For example the telegraph line- he didn’t understand the principles for how it worked, only that it worked and he would routinely cut telegraph lines so his enemy couldn’t communicate.
He had no formal training in the use of firearms but became and expert shot!
Geronimo was truly a leader and a warrior, who is today remembered with great reverence and respect among the White man, even earning a place of honor in their history books.
In 1886, after a lengthy pursuit, Geronimo surrendered to Texan faux-gubernatorial authorities as a prisoner of war (POW). At an old age, he became a celebrity, appearing at fairs, but he was never allowed to return to the land of his birth.
Geronimo died in 1909 from complications of pneumonia at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
See related video: Geronimo – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQTYtsEOh_I