Arizona silver belt., 1890-03-15
OLD GEaeNINe.
Interesting Facts Generating His Preach.
 cry Related by John F. CIum

eFy hc1dlcG OJ "Oh'A NA"%a
 Apropos to the effort now being made to move Geronimo and his band of cut-throat Apaches, now in Florida, to Fort Sill, Indian Territory, the New York Herald publishes a long interview with John P. Cum, who was Indian agent in this Territory. Mir. Cum IS now in New York on business, and to the Herald reporter said; "A worse Indian never lived, than this selt-same Geronimo. I can not understand why General Crook should say otherwise. He was tricky, treacherous, deceitful, dishonest, mur- derous, and in every way lawless. Words cannot picture the infamy of his life during the years that he was a terror on the Arizona borders. The only time that he is a good injun is when he is in chalns, and Crook knows 1t as well as any one.
 Geronimo was not known until 1876 He was one of the famous chiefs belonging te the Chiricahua branch of the Southern Apaches, which for many years had made their homes in the Dragoon and Chiricahua noun talns. Old CochlSe was their chief. He was great warrior, old Cochlse, and did much to populate the earth of Southeastern Arizona with the clay of white men. In 1872 General Howard and a single aid went into the very den of Cochise and succeeded in mak- ing treaty of peace, which the ven- erable Indian faithfully kept till his death. At the same time a tribe farther south, whose chiefs were Ge- ronlmo, Ju and Nolgee, expressed a desire to be included in the treaty, as they had an itching to share in the rations connected herewith. Cochise left two sons, Tahzay and Nachee, the former of whom had to kill old Skin yea, the head warrlor of his father's coherts. before he held undisputed possession of the chieftalnship It was to keep faith with the white man that he did this deed, and the young war rior afterward became one of the most trusted lieutenants. He died of pneu- monia ir Washington and his faithful sbeaes- nez rest m the Congressional cemetery.
 'It was at this time that Geronimo, the serpent, appeared on tbe scene. Accompanied by Ju and Nolgee he sought me out, and told me how he and his people had joined with Cochise in the Howard treaty. They were terribly anxious to go to San Carlos with the sons of CochlSe and their peo- pie. They knew nothing at all, of course, about the outbreak which had been started by the wicked Skin-yea. They were the very incest, tanest savages ln all the world. Would please. give them pass SC that they could go and get thelr families, who were about thirty mile away? I said yes; butI could not help suspectlng Che Indian, and I had him shadowed by my Indian scouts.
 HE sKIPs.
 1t turned cut that h1s camp was only ten miles away, instead of thirty. As soon as he got there he gave orders to march. The band was got into light marching order. The dogs were killed, as their barking might lead to detection; the old and disabled ami mals were taken to a lonely canyon where they would not be likely to be discovered, and then away they went at a rapid pace toward the Mexican line aud the Sierra Madre mountains, which for so many years afterward furnished hiding place and fortress for the renegades.
 AFTER THEM.
 'In March, 1877, a young o&cer, Lieut.. Henley by name, was passing up the Rio Grande. when he saw and recognized Geronimo at Los PaIomas, whIther the latter had come to trade off some of the stolen stock, as was his custom. Henley shrewdly surmised that the chief was making his head quarters at the Southern Apache Agency. at Ojo Caliente or Hot Springs, and teIegraphed General kautz to that effect The latter telegraphed to the War Department, which turned the case over to the Department of the Interior, and I got the following order by telegraph;
 WAsmNGroN, D. C., March 20, 1877.
 AGENT CLUM, San Uarlos:-lf prac- tical take Indian police something of my own invention, by the wayl and arrest renegade Indians at Southern Apache Agency, seize stolen stock Tn their possession, restore the property to rightful owrers. remove renegades