Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-09-17
GERONIMO's FATE.


REASONS 10 BELIEVE THAT THE Willy CHIP
DID NOT SURRENDER uxcoHprTIoNALLY-
GEN. MILks' DISREGARD OF THE WAR DE-
PARrMkNr ORDERS.
Nodetailed report OF she surrender OF Gsroui.
moand his companions has yet reached the War
department. and department officials are stul
In doubt as TO what the conditions of surrender
were. That there were conditions or prom ises
OF some kind there ID no longer any reason IN
doubt, notwithstanding tho fact that the first
dispatch OF General Miles % General Howard
stated that Geronimo had surrendered unoon.
oltonally. The fact that General Miles paid no
attention to the orders from the War depart.
ment leaves . strong impression that he was
bound by promise Of some kind to remove tho
surrendered Apaches from Arizona. He re-
9nested permission TO take them 10 Fort Bowie,
"a faso. Texas. or Florida. he was ordered by
the department, however,t TO convey them 70 the
nearest nearest post, whatever It might be. and keep
TO their nnai disposition. Notwithstanding
this order, he started them on their way -
stating that they could be stopped & San An.
tonic. They were stopped at that place and
are there now. but in this way the supposed
kept
VIEWS OF AN ARMY OFFICER.
An army officer said to-day that he was salts
NED that Gen. Crook could have effected cap
ture of the renegade Indians that would have
In no way differed from that OF Gen. Miles. He
was instructed by the War department, how
eyer eyer that the surrender must be unconditional.
w men Geronimo and his followers surrendered
last winter, after the killing Capt. era wford,
zen: Crook would not satisfy them that they
t Mouid not be turned over 70 the civil suthori-
CROOK, but when they could secure no word OF
promise from him they At once became fearful
their escape. What Gen. Miles was after, said
the ofncer, was the capture OF Geronimo, how
ever II might be effected: He regarded success
lions that might arise i'm consequence to be set
tied hereafter.
AVERY IMPORTANT QUESTION
hangs upon the character Of their surrender.
Ii they were promised immunity from the civil
authorities. the only possible way In which
they can be punished il by . military commits
sion, for they can not be tried by cOurt-martial.
order their trial by military com ission win
not be oftcially considered until after the re-
port regarding the surrender, IL Is probable that
II does arise 1t will have to be referred TO the
Attorney General for an opinion. II has been
supposed that the trial by military commission
OF the Modoc Indians was q precedent for a
similar trial Of the Apaches, but there are wide
na Snt so between the crimes OF the Apaches
Military commissions, since the time OF the
Mexican war, have been regarded a. author
ment OF crimes which do not come within the
ttaL
THE TRIAL OF THE Mopocs
The principal offense for which the Modocs
were tried by q military commission In July,
1873, was Tor the treacherous killing OF the
enemy during truce, and this was charged N
murder In violation of the laws OF war" Ger
onimo and his companions have not been
guilty OF such q crime 1t was held in 1873
that u military commission could not legally be
convened for the trial OF Indians for violation
OF the laws OF war, on account OF thefts rob-
berries and murders committed by them upon
incursons made into Texas, where they were
mere raiders (unlike the Modocs) with whose
tribe as such the United states was not en-
gagged In war. The question Of ordering q mill
tary commission, II 1t arises, will doubtless
hinge on the nature OF the hostility which may
properly bring Indians within the description
OF public enemies. The Supreme Court has
held that a detached band OF marauding In.
dams was not an "enemy" in the sense OF the
act Of March 3, 1S49, but II il thought that IL
there Is q very strong desire to punish the
Apaches for their crime that IL can be shown
that the Apache tribe has been at war with the
government from time TO time for the past
fifteen or twenty years, and that the fact that
the few Indians in question were the only ones
on the war-path recently. will not initiate
against their being considered enemies In the
sense of the word which would bring them
within the Jurisdiction OF q military commits
sion,