The times., 1899-04-16
GERONIMO.
Indian Chief and His People Dccinr-
ed to BE Misreprescnfed

Indian Chief and His People Decinr-
ed to BE Misreprescnted.
tfort Sill Correspondent in the Chicago Record.)
There have been so many false 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 satisfied here.
that | thought IL would not be out OF place
to have the truth known about him and
his band
This is my third trip here. and the nexr
day after arriving 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
/ looking better than / had ever seen him
before He is in good health and looks
| several years younger than he did a year
| ago. told him | wanted to paint another
/ portrait OF him. He said: "How much YOU
give! | replied: Same as gave you be-
| fore- He said very emphatically- NO
dahl" which means No." and added: M.
savey you make heap lot Of money from,
my pictures. You must pay me so much"
and he held up both hands twice and one
hand once, which meant $25.
He said he was on the way to the doe
| tors, as his little girl was not we'll 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
feeis very proud over his visit there but
II has had a bad effect on him in one way
| he saw so much money there that he imag-
| ines all white people have lots of money.
and now he charges accordingly. Where hs
used to charge $3.50 for a bow and four
arrows now he charges 81
! is i'm
| bluff him.
had with me rifle. He put piece of
paper on stump, and said I could lave
the first shot. and every time | hit tbs.
mark he would give NE So but that /
must do likewise with him. This | did
not agree TO. so We shot for fun without
rest l missed nearly every shot, whiie
| he hit the mark every time and me time
| he hit it square in the centre They say
Geronimo's eyesight is very poor. but he
proved to me that his eyesight was good.
| especially for an old man nearly seventy
| In the afternoon / went with him to
| where the Comanehe. Kiowa, and Apache
| Indians gather for gambling and horse
racing. 1t is interesting to see them
| gamble at cards. The game I do not IN
| derstand. but it is interesting 10 watch.
Any number can play. Everything is fair,
natured. They take turns in handling the
| cards. Geronimo. of course, was in the
| game, and il was fun to see MIN handle the
| cards He was as expert as any OF them
and at times would get so excited he
would yell at the top of his voice The
| principal point in the game is to bet
on the turn OF card. Quite often three
| and four Comanches would chip in and bet
| on the turn of a card when Geronimo was
10 ba
| their money every time. They couldn't
| blum him.
| While he was playing cards white man
| stepped up to Geronimo and bet him si8
| that his horse could beat Geronimo's. Ger
| onimo looked at the white mans horse
and then took the bet The money was
| tied up in a handkerchief and laid on the
| ground for the winner to take. Sometimes
| II 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 20 mis-
! people, especially to the poorer ones, Civ
ing 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, easy 10 make friends with and their
| friendship lasts forever. Here at Fort Sill
they are very Industrious. They are work
| ing all the time, tending 10 their stock or
working on their farms. They raise all
the vegetables, watermelons and mu5hmei-
ons used by the soldiers and whites at the
post, and have corn and wheat to sell.
A few months ago two Apaches were Of
fered s75 month each and all expenses
paid TO travel with a show, but they re-
fused 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 cat
tie to a white man. They are posted on
prices and know how much they should re-
ceive. II any fences are to be built the
Apaches build them The Comanches 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. GerO-
| nimo takes great pride in the work the
| Apaches are doing around him. and works
| good deal himself for an old man.
Mr. Grinnell has an article in the March
| Cosmopolitan in which he states that
| there is probably not an Indian tribe in thu
| United States which could not under ths
entirely seif-supporting within ten years
The Apache Indians at Fort Sill are today
virtually self-supporting. and they have
| been here but four years, but they had the
| right kind of men to direct them in Capt
| II. L. Scott and Lieutenant Beach. who are
as particular with these Apache Indians
and take as much interest in them
though they were their own children.
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