The record-union., 1899-04-26
GERONIMO AND HIS PEOPLE.
Both Declared To Be Generally
Misuud erstOod.

Inere have been so many IalSe state
ments in the newspapers lately about
Geronimo in regard to his going mad,
! his leaving the reservation and going
| on the warpath and his not being satis-
| fed here, that 1 thought it would not
! be out of place to have the truth known
| about him and his band.
| This is my third trip here, and the
next day after arriving l went to see
Geronimo, who lives about three miles
from the post / met him on the road
on horseback with his little daughter
sitting back of him and his little
nephew back of her, three on one horse.
He shook hands with me. He is lock-
! ing better than l had ever seen him be-
| fore. He is in good health and looks
several years younger than he did a
year ago. l told him I wanted to paint
another portrait of him. He said: How
much you give?" 1 replied: Same as
1 gave you before He said, very en-
| phatically: "Ta-dah!" which means
mo- and added: ME savey you make
heap lot of money from my pictures
! You must pay me so much,' and held
up both hands twice and one hand once,
which meant $50.
He said he was on the way to the
doctors as his little girl was not well.
Then he added that he wanted to see
me again So the next day, Sunday, |
spent the day with him. He showed me
! the different things he collected at
/ Omaha last year. He feels very proud
over his visit there, but it has had
bad effect on him in one way-he saw SO
much money there that he imagines all
white people have lots of money, and
now he charges accordingly. Where he
used to charge So for a bow and four
arrows now he charges 81.
He is an inveterate gambler and a
good one He is very lucky and no one
can bluff him.
l had with me a rifle. He put a piece
! of paper on a stump and said l could
have the first shot and every time I
hit the mark he would give me $40, but
that I must do likewise with him. This
| did not agree to, so we shot for fun
without rest. / missed nearly every
1 shot, while he hit the mark every time.
and one time he hit it square in the
center. They say Geronimo's eyesight
is very poor, but he proved to me that
his eyesight was good, especially for an
old man nearly 20.
In the afternoon I went with him 10
where the Comanche Kiowa and
| Aldcue INDIANS Sdln0T LOT
and horse racing. 1t is interesting to
! see them gamble at cards. The game
do not understand but it is interest
| ing to watch. Any number can play.
Everything is fair, no cheating going on
and all are good natured. They take
turns in handling the cards. Geronimo,
of course. was in the game, and it was
fun to see him handle the cards He
! them of
times would get so excited he would
yell at the top of his voice. The princi-
pal point in the game is to bet on the
| turn of a card. Quite often three and
| four Comanches would chip in and bet
a good sum on card when Geronimo
was handling the cards, and he would
| cover their money every time. They
couldn't bluff him.
! While he was playing cards white
man stepped up to Geronimo and bet
| him SO that his horse could beat Ge-
ronimo's. Geronimo looked at the
white mans horse and then took the
bet. The money was tied up in a hand
kerchief and laid on the ground for the
winner to take. Sometimes if Geronimo
thinks he has an easy horse to beat he
will ride the horse himself, but in this
case he got small Apache boy to ride,
and his horse won the race.
Geronimo is generous and good 10 bis
people, especially to the poorer ones.
giving them money whenever they need
! it.
The Apache Indians probably are
more misunderstood than any other
tribe, and they do not deserve the bad
reputation that they have They are
very easy to get along with and their
friendship lasts forever Here at Fort
Sill they are very Industrious They
| are working all the time tending to
| their stock or working on their farms.
They raise all the vegetables, watermel-
ons and muskmelons used by the sol
Ediers and whites at the post, and have
corn and wheat to sell
| 4 few months ago two Apaches were
offered SO a month each and all ex-
penses paid to travel with a show, but
they refused because they had work to
do on their farms and could not leave.
! When the Apaches first came here
four years ago the Government gave
them few cattle; now they have big
| herd and the other day an Apache sold
200 head of cattle to white man. They
are posted on prices and know how
much they should receive. If any fences
are to be built the Apaches build them
| The Coma nches and Kiowas do very
| little work. The Apaches are very neat
| and clean. Their houses and yards are
neatness itself Everything IS kept in
its place and taken care of Geronimo
takes great pride in the work the
Apaches are doing around him, and
works a good deal himself for an old
man.
Mr.. GrinneH has an article in the
March Cosmopolitan. in which ne
states that there is probably not an
| Indian tribe in the United States which
could not, under the direction of the
right kind of man. become entirely self
supporting within ten years. The
Apache Indians at Fort Sill are to-day
virtually self-supporting, and they have
| been here but four years, but they had
the right kind of men to direct them in
| Captain H. L. Scott and Lieutenant
| Beach, who are as particular with
these Apache Indians and take as much
interest in them as though they were
their own children.-Fort Sill 60. T)
letter in Chicago Record.
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