Geronimo, the man who stunned America

He is a defiant, rebellious figure, the kind of rebel who, for his sacred land and his family—the essential elements of his existence—would even sacrifice his life if necessary. His name, Geronimo, made the United States tremble before becoming a symbol of courage. So much so that during World War II, his name was the cry of American paratroopers before their jump.

We have certainly heard of this legendary Native American, Geronimo, at least once in our lives (and perhaps more than once).

First of all, his real name, Go Khla Yeh, which means « the one who yawns » in a Native American language—pretty cute, right?

He’s a cool guy, a Chiricahua Apache, a peaceful people, a people free to roam their ancestral land, a sacred land. And yet, they are outsiders in their own country. Geronimo lives in his corner with his wife and three children. He’s a quiet man, cultivating corn, millet, and beans.

According to his people, he possesses a special gift, an extrasensory ability. They attribute to him the power to stop time, to freeze the clouds. These gifts of a sorcerer, a healer, are, moreover, highly respected among his tribe. Geronimo isn’t a traditional Indian chief, he isn’t an Indian chief at all; he’s more of a shaman.

He usually goes to a small Mexican village where he sells animal hides, which he trades for seeds.

On one side, there are the invading white settlers, and on the other, the expansionist Mexican army, which unfortunately disrupts his peaceful life. With his friends and Apache warriors, they manage to deal with these opportunists as best they can. And that’s before Geronimo loses his temper.

It all begins on that day in 1858, when he is 29 years old. He goes, as usual, to the neighboring Mexican village to trade hides for seeds and other goods.

On that day in 1858, everything will descend into horror and hatred.

He became a rebel because the Mexican army massacred his mother, his wife, and his three children that day. Imagine the anger and hatred that consumed this man, this Apache. Upon arriving in the village, he discovered death, the corpses of his family, of his tribe.

Geronimo went into Mexican territory and led retaliatory raids. He spent his time traveling from village to village, inciting the Apaches against the whites, the Mexicans. His revolt took the form of a merciless guerrilla war.

He arrived on September 30, 1859, Saint Jerome’s Day—this is significant. He avenges his family by killing as many Mexicans as possible who are begging their saint for help, shouting « Santo Geronimo, Santo Geronimo! »

It is from these cries of despair that he decides to change his name to « Geronimo, » the Spanish word for Jerome.

The trauma he endured made him an extraordinary warrior. He becomes the last of the renegades.

Especially since, in 1864, five years after the massacre of his family, Union troops destroyed a Cheyenne village while peace negotiations were underway. This was the San Crick Massacre. The toll was 100 dead, including women, the elderly, and children.

For 27 years, it was a violent war. He harassed and rebelled against the armed American forces, against the settlers whom the Native Americans called « the clear eyes, » and also against the Mexican army.

Geronimo fled and lived as a fugitive with about a hundred Apaches. With the help of Native American guides, the American army finally captured Geronimo and deported him to San Carlos. San Carlos was a cursed place, an open-air prison where the climate was humid and the land unproductive. It was hell for these Native Americans.

The Indians were dying from malaria, tuberculosis, and eye diseases. Geronimo escaped from this horrible reservation very quickly. There would be a total of four escapes.

During his last escape with a handful of loyal Apache warriors, 5,000 American soldiers—nearly a quarter of the army’s strength—and 3,000 Mexican soldiers were on his trail, trying to capture 36 Apaches.

This would last five months.

So, on the American side, they organized. The troops recruited Indian guides.