Hostiles

Geronimo, Tom Horn, and C.S. Fly

In March of 1866, the notorious Apache leader Geronimo met with General George Crook to negotiate the terms of his surrender.

Rather than meet on U.S. soil, the Apache chose a spot just south of the border in Sonora. Crook arrived on March 25th, and in addition to the usual compliment of troops and interpreters, he brought along a photographer named C.S. Fly.

If that name sounds familiar, Fly witnessed the gunfight at the OK Corral just a few years prior. In fact, the shootout took place in an alley adjacent to Fly’s studio.

“Tombstone photographer Fly kept busy with his camera, posing his Apache models with a nerve that would have reflected undying glory on a Chicago drummer. He coolly asked Geronimo and the warriors with him to change positions, and turn their heads or faces, to improve the negative. None of them seemed to mind him in the least except Chihuahua, who kept dodging behind a tree, but at last caught by the dropping of the slide.”

One of the most exciting aspects of these photos is that they’re the only known images taken of Native Americans during wartime. Geronimo and his Apache were actively at war with the United States Army during this meeting. And, rather than surrender to Crook, they’d slide sightly back into the Sierra Madres just a few days later, still armed, still deadly, and still free.

It wouldn’t be until September 4th, 1886, several months after these photos were taken, that Geronimo would finally surrender for good.

Interestingly, the young Chief of Scouts, Tom Horn, was another notable figure present for these negotiations. Tom had spent the last few years working as a civilian contractor for the U.S. Army and had served in several campaigns against the Apache.

Horn would go on to become a range detective, Pinkerton, and—in time—one of the deadliest gunmen of the Old West. I’m currently working on Tom’s story and hope to have it ready in just a couple of weeks. This will be another long series, but during part 1, we’ll discuss Horn’s childhood and his time among the Apache.

Big thanks for all the kind words regarding the recent series on the Lewis & Clark Expedition! The sixth and final installment will be released this Wednesday, April 17th. Then, the following week, we’ll dive into the life of the first mountain man, John Colter!

Huge shoutout to everyone continuing to support The Wild West Extravaganza! Thank you for listening, and thank you for sharing the word! If you know someone interested in reading this, please forward it to them! Till next time…

Adios!