Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Geronimo

GERONIMO, a chief of the Chiricahuas, belonging to the Apache tribe of North American Indians. As Geronimo had for some time been at the head of a band of “hostiles,” Lieut.-Gen. Sheridan ordered the pursuit, capture, and destruction of the chief and his followers. The expedition was commanded by Gen. George Crook, and a meeting with Geronimo was effected on 25 March, 1886. Gen. Crook demanded his unconditional surrender, with the members of his band; but the Indian declared that he would give himself up only on condition that the band should be sent east for a period not exceeding two years, with the privilege of taking their families with them, and that they should ultimately be returned to the reservation on the original status. The terms were accepted, and the party set out for Fort Bowie. On 29 March the Indians escaped to the mountains. Gen. Sheridan became dissatisfied, and, as Gen. Crook asked to be relieved, Gen. Nelson A. Miles took his place. The instructions given to the latter called for the ceaseless pursuit of the hostile Indians, and suggested “the active and prominent use” of the “regular troops” of the command. Then began one of the most exhausting and prolonged Indian campaigns on record. The Chiricahuas were followed with such sleuth-like pertinacity that even the endurance of the red men found its limit. The hardy old chief was given no time to rest or recruit; his followers were forced to keep moving until they yielded. But, even when reduced to such straits, Geronimo succeeded in making terms with his captors. When the news was received in Washington, it was supposed that the surrender was unconditional, and the president consequently ordered that the band should be kept as prisoners until they could be tried for their crimes or otherwise disposed of. It was subsequently ascertained that the “hostiles” had stipulated that they should be sent out of Arizona, and Gen. Miles had ordered them taken to Fort Marion, at St. Augustine. This order was countermanded by the president, and Geronimo and his fourteen adult companions were sent to Fort Pickens, Fla., where they now are (1887).