Geronimo: An American Legend Page #3

I looked into my power.

I saw a white horse running.

I saw signs of war.

Nothing so concentrated

the bureaucratic mind...

...in dealing with the Indians as rumours

of a troublesome medicine man.

When a religious leader

showed up among the tribes...

...preaching doctrines perceived to be

dangerous, the government policy...

...was to have the Army

deal with it immediately.

I am here by order of General Crook.

Nantan Lupan.

The dead chiefs

will not rise if you are here.

The White-Eye must leave.

I pray this will happen.

This dance is a demonstration

hostile to the citizens of the United States.

And this demonstration

is unlawfully assembled.

I order you to stop at this instant!

Stop that!

Stop him! Arrest him!

Watch it!

You didn't have to shoot him, goddamn it!

I can handle this myself!

-What's he got there?

-He had a rock!

He has not done nothing!

We're not bothering no one!

You leave here!

You leave us alone!

Arrest him! Arrest Geronimo!

Where is your heart?

Arrest Geronimo! Arrest him!

-David never really--

-General Crook. Telegram, sir.

Pardon me.

Get a staff officer to me immediately.

Captain Ragsdale. Now!

General?

Geronimo's jumped Turkey Creek.

The Apache are out.

It all blew up at Cibecue.

Whole damn thing is a shambles.

Geronimo has taken

half of the reservation with him.

Men, women and children.

Spread the word.

All officers to their commands.

Yes, sir.

Geronimo had quickly divided

his forces into small bands...

...each headed for Mexico.

By the day after Cibecue,

Crook had five columns in the field.

The Geronimo Campaign had begun.

On the point!

Circle back!

Sir?

Yes, I see them, Mr. Davis.

Steady in the rank.

Go slow.

Beg your pardon, sir.

Do we attack?

Hold the column.

Sergeant!

Steady in the rank!

Steady!

-Sergeant.

-Column halt!

Whatever happens,

the Apache will take off.

Don't let the column pursue at speed.

Whenever you can,

you choose your ground to fight on.

Chato?

What the hell is going on?

Raiding party, split off from Goyakla.

Apache challenge Gatewood

to come out and fight.

Want to show off power

to other Chiricahua.

Chato.

Is there anything that should be done?

Geronimo's band had gone east

into the copper mining country...

...of the low hills.

His tactics were re-supply

at the expense of the civilians...

...who had settled on Chiricahua land.

This is Apache land.

This has always been Apache land!

We ain't never done nothing to you.

I mean, it ain't right.

Stop crying, damn it!

He's going to kill you anyway.

We make things out of this country!

There was nothing here before us,

there'd be nothing if we left it to you.

You are a fool...

...but at least you are brave.

Get off Apache land.

The next time, I will kill you.

Detail halt!

-Troops, right, straight!

-Left, right, face.

'The Apache known as

Dandy Jim and Skip-Hey...

'...have been found guilty by the

Military Court, Department of Arizona...

'...of insurrection at Cibecue Creek.

'The Apache Dead Shot...

'...Sergeant, Military Scouts,

Sixth Cavalry...

'...been found guilty of treason.

'The sentence of the court

for the three prisoners...

'...is death by hanging.'

Do any of you have anything

to say to me as Chaplain?

Are any of you Christians?

Nantan Lupan...

...I give you my hat.

Maybe you think my wife, my baby.

Don't trust the White-Eye.

With them there is no right way.

I am not afraid of their preacher.

The One God will welcome me.

There's three of them.

The driver should be nearby.

They didn't have to kill them

just to get their horses.

No, they didn't.

AI Sieber had had his wound

from Cibecue cauterised with a hot poker...

...and was back in the saddle

the following day.

All told, he had suffered

17 gunshot and arrow wounds...

...in his many years of fighting Apache.

The General wants to deploy me

and Dutchy to your column.

How's that wound, Mr. Sieber?

Which one?

Down here, here, here, here?

Hell, I'm in real good.

Ain't slowing me down none.

We came across an overland.

Four dead, horses gone.

If they've burned

two spreads off to the west...

...they've picked up horses,

food, a lot of ammunition.

I figure I'll just keep tracking off

to those hills there.

All right.

Mr. Davis, you and Sergeant Mulrey

stick with Mr. Sieber.

Be sure that he gets back

to the column by sundown.

Yes, sir.

That raiding party is real close.

Yup.

I want you to ride for the column.

Bring them back to pick up this trail.

On the double, pronto, go on,

get out of here!

You take him!

The hostile Apache that Dutchy and I

had been pursuing had gotten away.

Needless to say, at the time,

I was humiliated.

But much later I decided the incident

had come out for the best.

I'm quite content to go to my grave

knowing that I've never killed an Apache.

You all right, Mr. Sieber?

Caught up with three bucks

and some stolen ponies.

Gave one of them to Mr. Davis.

Seems he got away.

Sergeant Mulrey,

check the area for a dead hostile!

Sir!

Now, we crossing to Mexico tomorrow?

That's right.

We ought to send some

of the scouts back.

I don't trust them south of the border.

Geronimo's got a few of them spooked.

They're wondering...

...if they're on the wrong side.

I don't think so, Mr. Sieber.

Besides, we need every scout we have.

Yes, sir.

I guess you weren't there then,

when Dead Shot and the others...

...turned on us at Cibecue.

If I had been at Cibecue,

they wouldn't have turned.

Whole thing wouldn't have happened, Al.

I know you don't like me much

and I don't really care.

I know I'm rough in some of my ways,

I guess.

I ain't the gentleman type.

But, I think...

...compared to you, I am somewhat honest.

No offence intended, Lieutenant.

Speaking off the record, sir.

I just figure you're a real sad case.

You don't love who you're fighting for...

...and you don't hate

who you're fighting against.

Perhaps I could learn to hate

with the proper vigour from you, Al.

Well, maybe you could, Lieutenant.

Though I never managed to become

a close friend of AI Sieber...

...in the next few weeks of campaigning,

I did learn to get along with him.

Only a fool would fail

to profit from his vast experience.

In his own way,

he was as taken by the Apache...

...as was Lieutenant Gatewood.

Well, sir...

...your Apache rides a horse to death

and eats him and steals another.

I mean, the horse is just mobile food.

I've chased them when they made

50 miles a day on horse and foot.

Hell, they can live on cactus,

go 48 hours without water.

I mean, one week of that would kill

your average trooper.

I hear you can track

as good as any Apache.

That's right, but there's only one of me

and 1,000 square miles of Apache country.

General Crook figured that out, 'cause

it takes an Apache to catch an Apache.

White-Eyes can't catch them alone, no sir.

If you ever fight an Apache and things

go bad, save the last bullet for yourself.

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