Crook should have taken this as a sign of trouble, but in an uncharacteristic lapse of judgment, continued riding north for the border.
Depressed about their surrender and apprehensive regarding their impending exile, Geronimo, Naiche, and most of their band got drunk off of mescal purchased from Godfrey Tribolet, a trader contracted to sell beef to the Army. From the army camp two ravines away, Crook’s soldiers heard gunshots through the night. In the morning, Kaytennae reported that Naiche was so drunk he could not stand, and Bourke found Geronimo and four other warriors riding aimlessly – five men on a pair of mules – “all drunk as lords.” In their state of intoxication, the Apaches were only able to march a few miles toward the border on the 28th.
That night, in a cold, drizzly rain, the Chiricahuas drank again. This time not only did Tribolet sell them mescal, he filled their heads with horror stories of how they would be murdered as soon as they crossed the border. The Apaches argued amongst themselves, and when almost everyone else had fallen asleep, Geronimo, Naiche, 19 warriors, and 19 women and children quietly slipped away into the night.
Maus did not realize they had fled until the next morning. He immediately set out with his mounted scouts to catch Geronimo, whose band had only taken two horses with them. They followed Geronimo’s trail for 60 miles through “the most impassable mountains,” finding only one horse that had been stabbed to death en route. The old warrior used his usual tricks, changing direction abruptly when his trail vanished on solid rock. With little food, the fugitives ran and walked 60 miles without stopping. At last, his horses worn out and his rations dwindling, Maus gave up the chase and departed for Fort Bowie with Chihuahua and the 77 Apaches who had refused to join the new outbreak.
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| Geronimo and Naiche on horseback at Canon de los Embudos, prior to their surrender, drinking binge, and reneging. |
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