Analysis: The Surrender of Geronimo

Date: 1886 (published 1906)

Author: Geronimo, with S. M. Barrett

Genre: autobiography

Summary Overview

Geronimo's autobiography, from which these passages are taken, was one of the few records that told of the Native American-white conflict from the Native American perspective. As such, it was and is of great value. Additionally, the fact that it was Geronimo, the last Apache leader to try to retain his freedom through the use of arms, made it even more significant. He was the last major American Indian leader to surrender to the US government, having fought on and off for three decades, and successfully evaded thousands of army troops. The inclusion of Geronimo's thoughts, in addition to his account of which events he deemed important, has made a substantial contribution to a full understanding of the conflict and its resolution. The surrender of Geronimo, and his followers, the focus of the text, brought to an end the last major deployment of army troops within the United States for a military purpose. For those settling in the American Southwest, Geronimo's surrender signified that this region was finally to be fully integrated into the United States.

Defining Moment

Although the Indian groups collectively known as the Apaches were not exceptionally large in number, they did make their presence known through their fierce interaction with their neighbors. When the Spanish, and later the Americans, came into contact with them, this pattern continued. However, these outside groups had not had historical interaction with the Apaches, and thus did not understand the Apache culture. The nineteenth-century transition from Spanish to Mexican to American claims for this territory, did not always go smoothly. The lack of understanding lingered, stirring up discontent and a series of wars between Apaches and the group currently claiming ownership of the region. During this transitional period, miscommunication and less than honorable negotiations, first with Mangus Coloradas (Central Apache), then with Cochise (Chiricahua Apache), and later with Geronimo (Bedonkohe Apache) stimulated the on-again, off-again fighting. Geronimo demonstrated an extraordinary ability to survive not only difficult living conditions, but also the battle with any number of opponents. By the end of the struggle there were more than 5,000 American Army troops, hundreds of Indian scouts, and hundreds more civilian volunteers arrayed against Geronimo and his fewer than forty Apache warriors. Special communication lines were established, in order to try to get any information about Geronimo quickly to these forces. Although he had evaded his opponents for years, it seems ultimately to have become clear to Geronimo that the Americans could not be stopped from taking over the region.

This was something that Native American tribes across North America had come to realize as American settlers came to find the region desirable. The Apache homeland just happened to be the last area, in what became the lower forty-eight states, where settlers arrived in large numbers. Thus, the surrender of Geronimo was the surrender of the last leader of a major tribe that had tried to use traditional warfare to preserve their freedom and way of life. While there were later battles and massacres, never again was there a Native American leader who systematically tried to defeat the deployed forces of the United States. This was the end of an era and part of what was known as the closing of the American frontier. Geronimo's autobiography was dictated two decades after the surrender, when the Apache leader sought to let Americans know his side of the story.

Author Biography

Geronimo (1829–1909) was born in what is now Arizona and became a leader of the Bedonkohe Apache people. His given name could be written as Goyathlay. His father had been tribal chief, but died before Geronimo reached maturity. Becoming a warrior at sixteen, he married the next year and had three children. In 1851, while he was peacefully trading in town, Mexican soldiers raided his camp, killing dozens, including all his family. From that day on he saw himself as a warrior, and attacked Mexicans whenever he had the chance. Trying to protect their traditional way of life, Geronimo joined with other Apaches to contest American intrusion, as well as in ongoing differences with Mexicans. From 1851 to 1886, Geronimo was a feared warrior, but he also tried several times to make peace with the Americans. In the 1880s, the American Army had more than 100 soldiers for each Apache warrior and finally ground down their resistance. Geronimo surrendered and lived the rest of his life as a prisoner of war, although relatively freely after the first few years. The last fifteen years of his life he lived in Oklahoma and became a national celebrity. His last words were that surrendering had been a mistake.

Geronimo was not literate, so he dictated his autobiography to S. M. Barrett, who had been superintendent of education in Lawton, Oklahoma. Barrett had previously helped Geronimo in another matter and was accepted as his friend by Geronimo when he discovered that Barrett had been wounded by a Mexican.

Document Analysis

Having spent two years on the San Carlos Reservation, Geronimo and his followers left the reservation in 1881. It was during this period off the reservation that Chapter XVI began. These two chapters of Geronimo's autobiography continue to document much of what had been contained in the previous fifteen, concerning the uncertainty of relations between the Apaches and the Army, or the Mexicans. When off the reservation, continual small skirmishes took a toll on both sides. Ultimately, Geronimo recognized that those who followed him could not continue to live a hard life on the run, and he decided to make peace. He did not believe anything promised him, having seen promises made to previous leaders disappear, as well as having personal experience with broken promises. However, at the time of the last chapter, about one-fourth of the US Army was trying to capture him, while he was supported by fewer than forty warriors, and accompanied by just over 100 others, who needed protection and were traveling with him. When Geronimo believed it was finally time to give up the fight, he arranged a meeting with General Miles, the commander in the region. They then reached an agreement to bring peace to the area, with the result that Geronimo and those with him were deported to military bases in Florida, and then Alabama, and finally ending up at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. As Geronimo stated, he did follow his end of the agreement for the remaining years of his life. With this peaceful surrender, at the end of the historical document, for the first time since the massacre of his family in 1951, he vowed to “quit the warpath and live at peace hereafter.”

This autobiography was intended for the general public, in order that they might understand what the Apaches had faced. Because it was dictated, many scholars have said that it follows the form of oral histories that had been handed down as part of the Apache heritage. Obviously told from Geronimo's perspective, it does seem to have followed the viewpoint of a traditional warrior. Because Geronimo was trying to avenge the loss of his family, or trying to help his people retain their way of life, he does not show any remorse for the fighting or the killing of so many people. The way his story unfolds, these were just events to be expected for someone in his position. When the tribe was attacked, it was the warrior's job to repel the attacker, whatever defensive or offensive efforts were necessary. While Geronimo adapted to the new way of life after his surrender, well into the 1900s when he was in Oklahoma, whenever the opportunity availed itself, he asked everyone—up to the president himself—to allow his people to return to Arizona. When he surrendered, the war had been lost and this request was never granted.

Bibliography and Additional Reading

Debo, Angie. Geronimo. Norman, Oklahoma: U of Oklahoma P, 1976, reprinted 2012. Print.

Geronimo & S.M. Barrett. Geronimo's Story of His Life. New York: Duffield & Co., 1906. Project Gutenberg, 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.

“Obituary: Old Apache Chief Geronimo Is Dead.” The New York Times, On this Day: February 18, 1909. New York Times Company, 18 Feb. 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.

Utley, Robert M. Geronimo. New Haven: Yale UP, 2012. Print.