An Indian named Goyathlay upon his birth would rise to become a great, if not always effective, leader of the Chiricahua Apaches known as Geronimo. Geronimo was a well-known warrior who supposedly is the last Native American who surrendered to U.S. troops. Geronimo led the common life of a warrior, taking a band into Mexico when the Chiricahua reservation was disbanded. He was captured only to escape and lead a number of raids throughout the Southwest. He was captured by an American General only to escape again and wage a series of wars with the U.S. Army. General Nelson A. Miles finally persuaded the warrior to surrender. He became a prisoner of war with many of his followers in Florida. Many died while in prison, but Geronimo survived and was confined to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he spent his time farming. He eventually converted to Christianity and became a celebrity in his own right, appearing at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. He also attended Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural ceremonies. In 1906, the once fierce warrior dictated his life story to Stephen M. Barrett, entitled Geronimo, His Own Story. In the opening of a chapter entitled “Hopes for the Future”, Geronimo expresses his purpose of the book, “I am thankful that the President of the United States has given me permission to tell my story. I hope that he and those in authority under him will read my story and judge whether my people have been rightly treated” (Barrett, Index 21, p. 1). If we are to judge whether or not Geronimo’s people have been rightly treated, they have not.
Geronimo is structured into four parts. The first details Geronimo’s days as an Apache and life within the tribe. Part two details the various fortunes and misfortunes of Geronimo and the Apaches with respect to their Mexican conflicts. Part three is titled “The White Men” and covers the great wrongs of the white men that were visited upon Geronimo and his p...