Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-02-24

body of troops was placed at his dis
posal, and in month he had succeed
ed in driving Geronimo back to his
reservation, capturing him and his men
ON the Mexican border.
In 1885 Geronimo broke out again
and this time was surrounded by Crook
in the Canon de los EmbidOs. But the
Indians succeeded in slipping away,
and Crook was removed and Nelson A.
Miles placed in command. Miles had
already gained a reputation as an In
dian fighter, and, while he did not ex-
actly cut the field wires behind him to
prevent interference from Washington,
stories are told of the frequent disre-
gard of troublesome messages.
Lawton and Wood We're placed in
command of the scouts late in the sum-
mer of 1855. They asked permission
to take picked body of men into the
hostile territory and endeavor to run
down Geronimo. General Miles finally
sent them off with many misgivings.
There followed months of privation
and hardships which We're never for
gotten by the men who went with the
two young officers. They We're gone
nearly a year, General Miles often not
knowing even where they were or
whether or not they had been destroy
ed by the enemy. On the night of Aug.
20, 1856. the general was sitting at the
telegraph instrument in the office at
Wilcox, Ariz., waiting for dispatches,
when the key suddenly clicked off the
news that Geronimo and his men had
! been surrounded at the junction of the
San Bcrnardino and Baische rivers.
near the Mexican border. Miles has
tened there and met the chief on his
way north under guard of Lawton.
The old warrior was surrounded by
| about 400 bucks, squaws, papooses and
dogs. They had little else than their
| blankets and tent poles. The people
of the west demanded that he be not
tallowed to go back to the reservation.
He and his bucks We're accordingly
sent to Fort Pickens and the squaws
and papooses to Fort Marion. Fla 1t
| was finally decided to keep Geronimo
| confined rs q prisoner of war. His
| desire to go back to the west was so
] pun uoNSNti. hV Npo ii.ii'
ferred to Fort Sill, where he spent the
remainder of his days.
General Wood tells an interesting
anecdote of an incident which occur
red one afternoon when he was guard
ing the old chief while Lawton went
in search of his command, the location
of which he had lost soon after the
| surrender:
| About . o'clock in the afternoon the old
| Indian came to me and asked to see my
| rifle. 1t was a Hotchkiss, and he said he
| had never seen its mechanism. When he
asked me for the gun and some ammuni-
| ton 1 must confess 1 felt little nervous.
| for l thought it might be device to get
| hold of one of our weapons. l made no
| objection, however, and let him have it,
| showing him how to use it. He fired at
| a mark, just missing one of his own men
| who was passing. This he regarded as a
great joke. rolling on the ground and
laughing heartily and shouting, Good
gun!''
| Some of Geronimo's feats of endur-
ance were remarkable Once he rode
500 miles on horseback without rest
to escape troops that pressed him hot
~. Again he ran forty miles in day
rnd eluded capture. Soon after he
lind his followers covered 1900 miles,
Tiled fifty persons and got off.