Evening star., 1940-12-04
By NELSON NJ. SHEPARD.

as infantrymen at Fort Sill. Okla,
shoulder to shoulder with Stalwart
grandsons of early white pioneers
There is a twist of irony about
the presence of these soldierly red
skins at Fort Sill, where memories
of the old West, of Clusters and Phil
Sheridan's hard-riding cavalrymen
still linger amid the humming &C
tivities centerng around the cre-
alton Of a modern army. A roman
tic and imaginative mind can see
the ghostly shadows of the Kiowa,
the Comanche and the Apache
braves riding the trails of those vast
plains as they did not so many dec
ades ago.
Somewhere beyond the hills
around the historic fort-no white
man knows where to this day-lies
the lonely grave of Geronimo, the
Apache chief whose name was a
synonym for terror to early cattle
men and homesteaders. Thereon
hangs a tale which no doubt has
been handed down to these modern
Indian warriors as it has been pre-
served In the memories Of officers
who recall Sill as a pioneer post.
Brig. Gen. D. c. Cubbison, COM
mandant, told it to party Of news
papermen who recently visited the
Field Artillery School.
Geronimo's Burial.
Conspicuous among the fine new
buildings at the fort Is the old post
guardhouse, which served as a dun
geon for many of the captive In
dian raiders and is used today as
the field artillery museum. For
many years after 1894 Geronimo
and some of his Apache band were
prisoners of war at Sill, some Of
them quartered in this stone guard
house.
AS second lieutenant, Gen.
Cubbison was first stationed at
Fort Sill. Then, he recalled, Geron-
imo died a prisoner and his body
was turned over to his tribe for
burial He was invited to follow the
long funeral procession, but all
white men in the procession were
stopped at Medicine Creek, outside
the post.
The Apaches then carried the
body across the river to give 1t
burial" Gen. Cubbison explained.
"They buried the old warrior Sc
cretly to guard against any pos
sible desecration of his grave by
the whites His people have kept
the secret all these years"
Fort Sill Is Unique.
Fort Sill is unique as the training
station for the only individual COM
pany of Indian troops and the only
Negro field artillery regiment of the
Regular Army. They presented a
study In contrast.
Tho Indian company consists OF
about 125 men and the most un-
usual feature is the fact that they
represent 81 different tribes-some
of them descendants of those same
Apaches who followed Geronimo.
They constitute a unit of the 180th
Infantry of the 45th National
Guard Division from Colorado, New
Mexico, Arizona, Arkansas and
Oklahoma
There are numerous Indians
mixed in the military units to be
found in the Southwest, just as
there are hundreds of swarthy-
faced men of Mexican extraction.
But officers at Fort Sill said they
knew of no other company COM
posed entirely of Indian enlisted
personnel.
They marched in review, headed
by a borrowed band, most of whose
musicians also we're Indians. One
would think there would be babel
Of trouble in a company composed
of 81 different tribes, but the men
were we'll disciplined and were said
to be companionable. They looked
Ike fit soldiers for any army, bet
ter drilled than most infantry
companies, because they are one Of
the shows" at the fort. 1mpas-
stve In expression, they went about
the business of soldering in a seri-
Gus, conscientious manner.
Has Garand Rifle.
This Indian company was
equipped with the new Garand
semi mi-automatic weapon, which is
now beginning to be distributed to
infantry units of the Army on
limited scale. They know how to
handle the weapon expertly. Their
oficers are white National Guards
men, but it is not rarity to find an
Indian junior lieutenant at South
western Army posts, as we found at
Fort Bliss, Tex.
Representing so many different
tribes, the Indians had the physical
characteristics of each. For the
most part they were inclined to
stockiness and they looked strong
and healthy.
In the new infantry training regu-
lations, which make much of swift
and secret movements, with empha-
sis on camouflaging, these Indians
may find a natural bent. A World
War veteran now associated with the
Indian Bureau in Washington re-
lates a true incident that points to
one unusual method for which In
dians could be used to advantage
in communication between distant
outfits.
one of the Western divisions
which had a great many Oklahoma
Indians in it was being seriously
bothered in the training trenches by
Germans who tapped their commu-
nicating telephone lines. 1t resulted
several times in interference with
carefully planned raids. Then one
Of the officers conceived the bright
idea of using some of the Indians
as communications men. 1t worked
beautifully. The Indians relayed
the messages in their native tongues.
The Germans listened in and were
mystified. Here was new Ameri-
can military code that simply wasn't
In the books Interference with
raiding plans stopped abruptly
The Indians at Fort Sill excel in
athletic events, especially in boxing.
A number of them are former Gold
en- Glove titlists and A. A. U. cham
pions. The Chilocco Indian School