41 Facts About Geronimo

Geronimo led breakouts from the reservations in attempts to return his people to their previous nomadic lifestyle.

In 1898, for example, Geronimo was exhibited at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska; seven years later, the Indian Office provided Geronimo for use in a parade at the second inauguration of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Geronimo died at the Fort Sill hospital in 1909, as a prisoner of war, and was buried at the Fort Sill Indian Agency Cemetery, among the graves of relatives and other Apache prisoners of war.

Geronimo's fighting ability extending over 30 years forms a major characteristic of his persona.

In eyewitness accounts by other Apaches, Geronimo was able to become aware of distant events as they happened, and he was able to anticipate future events.

Geronimo was born to the Bedonkohe band of the Apache near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River in the modern-day state of New Mexico, then part of Mexico, though the Apache disputed Mexico's claim.

Geronimo married a woman named Alope, from the Nedni-Chiricahua band of Apache, when he was 17; they had three children.

Later, it was heard that Geronimo was spotted outside, nearby.

Geronimo launched a second expedition into Mexico, and on January 9,1886, Crawford located Geronimo and his band.

Maus, the senior officer, met with Geronimo, who agreed to meet with General Crook.

Geronimo, camped on the Mexican side of the border, agreed to Crook's surrender terms.

Geronimo gave Gatewood credit for his decision to surrender as Gatewood was well known to Geronimo, spoke some Apache, and was familiar with and honored their traditions and values.

Geronimo acknowledged Lawton's tenacity for wearing the Apaches down with constant pursuit.

When Geronimo surrendered, he had in his possession a Winchester Model 1876 lever-action rifle with a silver-washed barrel and receiver, bearing Serial Number 109450.

Geronimo repeatedly insisted in his memoirs that his people who surrendered had been misled, and that his surrender as a war prisoner in front of uncontested witnesses was conditional.

General Oliver O Howard, chief of US Army Division of the Pacific, said on his part that Geronimo's surrender was accepted as that of a dangerous outlaw without condition.

In 1898 Geronimo was part of a Chiricahua delegation from Fort Sill to the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska.

Under Army guard, Geronimo dressed in traditional clothing and posed for photographs and sold his crafts.

In President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 Inaugural Parade, Geronimo rode horseback down Pennsylvania Avenue with five Indian chiefs who wore full headgear and painted faces.

Later that same week Geronimo met with Roosevelt and made a request for the Chiricahuas at Fort Sill to be relieved of their status as prisoners of war and allowed to return to their homeland in Arizona.

In 1905, Geronimo agreed to tell his story to S M Barrett, Superintendent of Education in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Geronimo came to each interview knowing exactly what he wanted to say.

Geronimo was escorted to the event by soldiers, as he was still a prisoner.

The teachers who witnessed the staged buffalo hunt were unaware that Geronimo's people were not buffalo hunters.

In February 1909, Geronimo was thrown from his horse while riding home and lay in the cold all night until a friend found him extremely ill.

Geronimo died of pneumonia on February 17,1909, as a prisoner of the United States at Fort Sill.

Geronimo married Chee-hash-kish, and they had two children, Chappo and Dohn-say.

Geronimo later had a wife named Zi-yeh at the same time as another wife, She-gha, one named Shtsha-she and later a wife named Ih-tedda.

Geronimo was raised with the traditional religion of the Bedonkohe.

Geronimo joined the Dutch Reformed Church in 1903 but four years later was expelled for gambling.

Geronimo met with Skull and Bones officials about the rumor.

The revelation led Harlyn Geronimo to write to President George W Bush requesting his help in returning the remains:.

Harlyn Geronimo, known to be Geronimo's great-grandson, said to the Senate Commission on Indian Affairs:.

Geronimo is a track recorded by Les Elgart and his orchestra on their Sophisticated Swing album.

In 1972, Michael Martin Murphey's song Geronimo's Cadillac was inspired by Walter Ferguson's photo of Geronimo sitting in a luxury Locomobile.

Geronimo has been featured in many western movies; for example, in John Ford's Stagecoach, it is Geronimo's band that chases the stagecoach across Monument Valley.

In 1993, two films about Geronimo were released within a few days of each other.

The biopic Geronimo has a wider scope, and he is played by Native American actor Joseph Runningfox.

On June 29,1938, a fictionalized Geronimo appeared in a radio episode of The Lone Ranger, titled "Three Against Geronimo".

Geronimo was the title of episode 21 of the ABC western series Tombstone Territory.

Geronimo, played by Enrique Lucero, features prominently in the 1979 miniseries Mr Horn, starring David Carradine as Tom Horn.