by Geronimo
Flying Chipmunk Publishing
2010
SKU: 9781604599855
First published in 1906, Geronimo's Story of His Life is the true account of the life of Geronimo, in his own words, narrated in the style of his people.
In the annals of the Wild West, the one named Geronimo was the most feared of all Indians. While he preferred peace, he was unafraid to go to war when he deemed it necessary. He led both the Mexican army, and later the American, on wild chases across the southwest, and was known as a fierce, fearless fighter who neither asked nor gave any mercies.
Goyahkla was born to the Apache Bedonkohe band, near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River in what is today the state of New Mexico, but was then part of Mexico. He considered the area to be their homeland and never desired to leave it. His grandfather (Mako) had been chief of the Bedonkohe Apache. He had three brothers and four sisters.
After the death of his father, his mother took him to live with the Chihenne (red paint people) and he grew up with them. When he was 17 he married a woman (Alope) from the Nedni-Chiricahua band of Apache; they had three children. On March 6, 1858, a company of 400 Mexican soldiers from Sonora attacked Geronimo's camp outside Janos while the men were in town trading. Among those killed were Geronimo's wife, his children, and his mother. His chief, Mangas-Coloradas, sent him to Cochise's band for help in revenge against the Mexicans. It was the Mexicans who named him Geronimo. This stemmed from a battle in which, ignoring a deadly hail of bullets, he repeatedly attacked Mexican soldiers with a knife, causing them to utter appeals to Saint Jerome ("Jeronimo!").