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| Chiricahua Apache war captain Geronimo had evaded U.S. forces for 16 months since his escape from the San Carlos Reservation in May 1885 |
Captain Henry W. Lawton’s command had escorted Geronimo the remaining renegade Chiricahuas across the Mexican border, arriving at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona just before nightfall on September 2. The canyon was given its name from the still visible remains of 19 Mexicans ambushed and killed there by the Tombstone outlaw Curly Bill and his gang, who more than a century later would be immortalized as the Earp brothers’ antagonists in the film “Tombstone.” Despite this grisly legacy, the canyon actually presented a serene landscape as its stream wound lazily from the low Peloncillo Mountains down to the arid San Simon basin. Lawton and Geronimo found several commands of regular soldiers already there when they arrived, which triggered the Chiricahuas’ fear of treachery. Lawton sent another desperate message through the chain of command, and the next day the Acting Assistant Adjutant General of the Department, William Thompson, heliographed Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles (Commander of the Arizona Territory): “Lawton says the hostiles will surrender to you, but if he does not see you today he is afraid they will leave.”
Finally, after days of delay, Miles and his entourage arrived at Skeleton Canyon at 3PM on September 3. Geronimo immediately rode down from his campsite in the rocks overlooking the stream. He dismounted from his horse and approached the general.
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| The glade in Skeleton Canyon where Geronimo met Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles (Images via http://abell.as.arizona.edu/~hill/4x4/skeleton/skeleton.html) |
Geronimo replied: “I never saw him, but I have been in need of friends. Why has he not been with me?”
The tension broke as everyone within earshot burst into laughter.
As the conference began in earnest, Miles told Geronimo: “Lay down your arms and come with me to Fort Bowie, and in five days you will see your families now in Florida, and no harm will be done to you.” Miles became frustrated with the laborious translation procedures that transformed English into Spanish into Apache and back again. He picked up some stones and drew a line in the dirt, and said “This represents the ocean.” He placed a stone near the line. “This represents the place where Chihuahua is with his band.” He then placed another stone a short distance from the first and said, “This represents you, Geronimo.” He picked up a third stone and put it near the second one. “This represents the Indians at Camp Apache. The President wants to take you and put you with Chihuahua.” He then picked up the stones representing the Apaches in Arizona and put them beside the one representing Chihuahua in Florida. “This is what the President wants to do, get all of you together.”
Miles indicated the stay in the East would be of indefinite duration, but that eventually the Apaches would be returned to Arizona. He concluded: “Tell them I have no more to say. I would like to talk generally with him, but we do not understand each other’s tongue.”
Geronimo turned to Gatewood and smiled. “Good,” he said in Apache, “you told the truth.” He shook Miles’ hand and said that no matter what the others did he was surrendering.
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| Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles, the vain, ambitious (and later controversial) officer who accepted Geronimo's formal surrender 126 years ago today. |
“And I think it is the last time,” Miles replied.
Four days later the prisoners were assembled on the parade ground at Fort Bowie and packed into heavily guarded wagons for the trip to the rail station. As they departed, the 4th Cavalry band played “Auld Lang Syne.” Geronimo was left to wonder why the soldiers jeered and laughed as they sang “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind.”
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| The Geronimo Surrender site, on Highway 80 near Apache, Arizona, looking East toward Skeleton Canyon. |
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