Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1906-03-30
Ger0nimo's Farewell sT
To The Apaches

Men and Cigarette Smokers When
yonder sun sinks behind the sage
brush, Geronimo, great chief Of the
Apaches, will mingle with the old
tincans, moth, eaten blankets and
busted plug hats that ornament
the reservation junk pile. =
1t is well.
Geronimo is q hold.Gyer from the
time when the Apache brayes were
monafchs of the sage grass country
and pestiferous cusses in the estI-
nation Of the Great White Father
in Washington. Then the Apaches
were warriors, and Geronimo was
their chief.
He led his braves to the annual
fall harvest of white mems scalps,
and brought home enough topnots
to make robe of state: he pulled
the snarling grizzly bear from its
hole by it's hind legs and banged
the everlasting daylights out of 1t
against the white oak; he conquer
ed the wild horse of the plain; he
pierced the fierce buffalo; he perfo-
rated the feet jack rabbit on the
run at 100 yards, and he has out
lasted eight squaws, who have
come to his tepee in state OF
matrimony and IA brand Few horse
blanket.
Where YOU now squat, full of
reservation redeye and dopey from
inhaIing the smoke Of home made
shroud pins, the prairie dog. at
night bayed unmolested at the
moon, and in the daytime the grass
hopper chewed all the grass he
wanted to and spit where he blame
pleased. The squaws titled the
maize, ground the corn, tanned the
skins (also the pappooses when 1t
was necessary, and did all the
work. The braves painted their
faces with poke berry juice and
went out looking for trouble-gen'
orally finding plenty of it.
Now all is changed.
The path through the Forest
along which the red man trod with
silent foot, and in single file like a
lot of geese going to a pond, is OBJ
liberated. Along its course the
noisy choo-choo wagon of the white
man scoots like a yellow pup with
a sand crab hanging to its tail,
Let it scoot!
The forests, once full of game
and "beggar lice" have been leyei-
ed by the white man and chewed
up by his buzz machine. Where
the red man once tracked the deer
some white man with one suspend
ed and corn cob pipe now PAGES
back and forth from one horizon
to the other behind pair Of mules
and double shovel pillow. The red
man may sit on the fence (lf it is
Mt barbed wire } aud watch him, OF
he can take hoe and tickle the
face of the earth for 80 cents day
but he dare not insert a chunk OF
warm lead into the mans anatomy
lift his insect jungle and elope with
his flea bitten mule,
/ Not much Marann!
The tree is hollow at the butt
and its branches are whitening
The red has lost his spirit and dig.
nifty. Some have even gone to
work. and Others have been known
to intentionally take o bath. Thu
Apache brave is no longer war
rior; he is pimple on the face o.
civilization; he wont fight unles h
is full of firewater, and then hi
aim is bad and he gets put into tn
-ealaboose,
The white men keep crowding il
! closer and closer; they drive u
f from one place to another ant
build their pigpens on the grave
. of our fathers.
, Geronimo is sick at heart; alS'
, sick at his stomach. His squaw
/ have forgotten how to roast do|
n properly and they feed him on stui
J recommended by the white squaw
cook book.
Geronimo's day is long past. an
c if he does not kick the bucket pref
ty soon the path to the happyhun'
ing ground will be blotted out an
y he will be forced to join the jews
harp brigade in the pale face here