He was known to the Apache tribe as Goyalkla which translates into “One who yawns,” but most non-native Americans knew him by his Spanish nickname, Geronimo. While most people have likely heard of his name, many may be unfamiliar with the dramatic and heroic life this most famous native American man lived.

When Geronimo was a young man, he was thrust into violence and chaos early on. While he was out on a trading trip, his wife and children were murdered in a savage attack on his village. From that moment on, he became one of the fiercest native American warriors of all time.

In his show of grief, Geronimo burned his family’s belongings to the ground and then headed into the wilderness to bereave the deaths. According to the his autobiography, it was in the wilderness where Geronimo heard a voice tell him: “No gun will ever kill you. I will take the bullets from the guns of the Mexicans … and I will guide your arrows.”

For a decade, Geronimo then exacted his revenge on the Mexican soldiers who murdered his family and when he was done with them, he turned his attention to the whites who were wreaking havoc on his people by stealing their land.

For three more decades, Geronimo would prove to be as elusive as he was aggressive. Operating in southern Arizona and New Mexico, Geronimo and a band of 50 Apache warriors succeeded in fighting off the white settlers who were trying to overtake their land.

After successfully protecting his land for decades, Geronimo began to grow weary of the constant battles and the never-ending barrage of white settlers who eventually overtook the diminishing Apache tribe.

On September 4, 1886, Geronimo surrendered and turned himself in to General Miles. He would become the last native American to formerly surrender to the United States. This move would mark the beginning of a new era, one in which the indigenous people of the North American continent would be pushed onto reservations, their land seized, and their fate sealed.

Geronimo would spend the next decade of his life bouncing around between prisons where his tales of war had made him a celebrity. Eventually, his celebrity status would grant him a private audience with then President Theodore Roosevelt. During their meeting Geronimo would plead with the president to let his people return to Arizona. However, he would be denied.

In 1909, Geronimo would finally succumb to death—but the voice he heard in the wilderness was right, it was not by a bullet. As he rode home on a cold February night, Geronimo was thrown from his horse. He was gravely injured and by the time he was found the next day, his health was rapidly declining. Six days later, the last native American warrior would die.

On his deathbed, and while he was still a prisoner of war, Geronimo’s final last words were regret for surrendering.

“I should never have surrendered,” he said. “I should have fought until I was the last man alive.”


https://thefreethoughtproject....-warrior-surrenders/

quote:

Originally posted by olfuzzy:
“I should never have surrendered,” he said. “I should have fought until I was the last man alive.”

Meh. He wouldn't have made it that much longer. The history was inevitable. Neither he, nor any other Indian warrior, was going to stop it.

I have stood in front of his grave.

Wrong. The Seminoles in Florida never surrendered. They were never defeated by the U.S. army.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Collins:
I have stood in front of his grave.

Yep. Buried on Ft. Sill.

quote:

Originally posted by arlen:
Wrong. The Seminoles in Florida never surrendered. They were never defeated by the U.S. army.

The fact that the Seminoles did not surrender does not work against the assertion that Geronimo was the last warrior TO surrender.

Geronimo, Crazy Horse, Tecumseh-- whatever you think of this whole epoch of our history, these and many others were some of the bravest, toughest men ever to live. For a while, I had this quote from Tecumseh as a signature line:

"When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

quote:

Originally posted by justjoe:
Geronimo, Crazy Horse, Tecumseh-- whatever you think of this whole epoch of our history, these and many others were some of the bravest, toughest men ever to live. For a while, I had this quote from Tecumseh as a signature line:

"When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

What a great quote! I can only hope I can live up to that when my time comes.

quote:

On September 4, 1886, Geronimo surrendered and turned himself in to General Miles. He would become the last native American to formerly surrender to the United States. This move would mark the beginning of a new era, one in which the indigenous people of the North American continent would be pushed onto reservations, their land seized, and their fate sealed.

He was lied to, and never received what was promised to him and his people.

Defending his land and avenging his murdered family. Can't say I'd be much different. No way I'd surrender though. Gonna have to kill me.

Why is it that when it comes to the Confederate Flag, libs say “get over it, you lost” but will fight for Native American rights? They lost too....

quote:

Originally posted by Phantom229:
Why is it that when it comes to the Confederate Flag, libs say “get over it, you lost” but will fight for Native American rights? They lost too....

Because they aren't white Europeans, so they are an "oppressed" people. Although I prefer to think of them as conquered, just like thousands of other cultures in world history.