_Massacre_
Again it was spring, the spring of 1858, and almost the entire village
of Mimbreno Apaches was on the move.
Twenty or more youngsters, who couldn't contain their own bubbling
spirits and wouldn't restrain their lively ponies, led the main column
by half a mile. Next, riding his immense war horse and surrounded by his
sub-chiefs, came Mangus Coloradus himself--a giant of a man and a great
leader. Immediately behind this group were more than three hundred pack
horses and burros. Their packs bore tanned skins, fruit of the saguaro
cactus, edible roots of the mescal plant, and other trade goods.
The pack train was guarded by warriors who rode on either side. Far
enough behind so that they would not be bothered too much by the dust
of the pack train, came the remainder of the warriors, the old people,
and the women and children. All were mounted. Some of the smaller
children rode four or five to a pony. They were going on a holiday of
the happiest sort.
[Illustration]
Though the Apaches were usually at war with the Mexicans, they had
arranged a peace so that they might have their great annual trading
party, or _fiesta_, in Mexico. Most of their trading would be done in
the town of Casas Grandes, deep in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. But
before reaching Casas Grandes they intended to stop and trade at a
smaller town which they called Kas-Kai-Ya.
Two and a half miles short of town they halted and set up camp. This was
a simple enough business. Most of the Indians just cast their blankets
down on the ground and arranged a fireplace. Some cut green saplings and
thrust the thick ends in the ground to form a circle. Next they bent the
tops together and held them with buckskin thongs. Then they thatched the
walls with deer skins or blankets.
Geronimo started building such a wickiup for his mother, Alope, and his
three children. His two daughters, ten and five, and his seven-year-old
son tried so enthusiastically to help him that the wickiup never would
have been built if Alope hadn't taken charge.
The Apaches had not stopped so far from Kas-Kai-Ya because they were
afraid of the Mexicans. But, though Mexican women might roam at will in
Apache villages, no Apache woman would think of showing herself in a
Mexican town. Besides, trading was a man's business.
Leaving enough warriors to protect a peaceful camp, the eighty men who
were going in town to trade set out, led by Mangus Coloradus himself.
They took only thirty horses, twelve of which were laden with trade
goods. The rest of the trade goods and the pack horses and burros were
saved for trading in Casas Grandes.
Every warrior except Geronimo had a hidden knife. Some carried hidden
pistols, and a few had carbines, or short rifles, thrust inside their
breeches. To enter the town openly armed would surely provoke a fight,
and a fight would spoil the holiday. But even though they were
supposedly at peace, no Apache ever trusted any Mexican and no Mexican
ever trusted any Apache.
Geronimo carried only a buckskin pouch filled with yellow metal that,
to him, hadn't the slightest value. Made into arrow or lance heads, it
blunted on almost any target. It was too heavy for hair or ear
ornaments, and useless to the Apaches except as playthings for the
children. But the Mexicans, who called the metal _oro_--gold--prized it
greatly.
The traders reached the sun-dried brick wall enclosing the town of
Kas-Kai-Ya and found a squadron of _rurales_ drawn in formation across
the gate. All these soldier police were mounted and armed, and their
snapping black eyes were filled with hatred for Apaches. As Geronimo
knew, there was good reason for this hate. Apaches had raided too long,
too often, and too successfully in Mexico to win any friendship from
_rurales_ whose duty it was to stop them. Mangus Coloradus addressed the
uniformed officer:
"_Buenas tardes, Señor Rurale._ We would trade."
The officer made an effort to stare Mangus Coloradus down, and when he
couldn't do it, flushed angrily. But he replied civilly:
"_Buenas tardes_, good afternoon, Señor Apache. You may enter."
The _rurales_ drew aside, let the Apaches through the gate, and then
reformed across it. The Apaches braced themselves to meet the horde of
peddlers that screeched and squawked down on them.
Geronimo was confronted by a lanky man whose only garment was a tattered
_serape_, or blanket-like robe, that was draped over one shoulder and
pinned at the sides with thorns. His hair looked as though it hadn't
been combed in years, his beard was as tangled. His body was dirty. His
eyes were both cunning and humble.
In sharp contrast were the fierce eyes of a golden eagle that the
Mexican had imprisoned in a wooden cage. In spite of broken and
bedraggled feathers, the eagle still looked royal. The Mexican lifted
the cage.
"See?" he whined. "See, Señor Apache? Grieved though I must be to part
with anything so precious, this noble bird is yours for only three
horses."
Geronimo brushed haughtily past the man and walked on. The peddler
called anxiously, "Will you give me some mescal?"
Geronimo's eyes expressed his disgust. If wild things were not meant for
the wilds, the god, Usan, would not have placed them there. They might
be hunted for food but never should any be imprisoned.
"Some tobacco?" the eagle's captor wailed.
Geronimo turned, glared, and the Mexican scurried away. Geronimo
continued his unhurried walk. Kas-Kai-Ya was truly remarkable, largely,
Geronimo thought, because so many people could live in such a small
area. They were so crowded that Geronimo wondered how they kept from
suffocating each other.
He saw a man lying with his head on a chunk of adobe, the same sun-dried
brick from which the town walls and all the buildings were fashioned.
Suddenly the man leaped up and began to scream. Other Mexican men,
women, even children at once started to scream or shout as loudly as
they could. The clamor was deafening.
The amazed Apaches halted and gaped. After a bit, assuring himself that
this senseless yelling must be a sickness suffered by those who allow
themselves too little room, Geronimo went on.
Presently he halted beside a Mexican who had a basket supported by a
ragged rope over one shoulder. The basket was divided into compartments
and filled with glass beads that were separated according to color.
[Illustration: _He halted beside a Mexican_]
The beads were so fascinating that Geronimo scarcely knew that the
horrible din had quieted.
He caught up a half dozen assorted beads and one by one put them back in
the proper compartments. He took out his pouch of gold. But though he
yearned for the beads, and would gladly have given all his gold for
them, he was too good a trader to offer everything at once. Geronimo
dropped two small nuggets onto the palm of his hand and held them out.
"No," the bead vendor refused.
But excitement made him breathe hard, and he could not take his eyes
from the pouch. Geronimo gave him two more nuggets. The Mexican gasped
and Geronimo thought he was once more refusing. Recklessly he poured
half the gold into the bead vendor's palm. The Mexican moaned, slipped
the basket from his own shoulder and hung it on Geronimo's, cupped the
gold with both hands, and ran.
Geronimo dropped the still half-filled pouch of gold into the dust and
forgot it. He noticed for the first time that his comrades were making
their way toward the gate. Trading had been brisk. The Apache trade
goods were gone and each warrior had at least a double handful of
knickknacks. The _rurales_ drew their horses aside and let the departing
Apaches through the gate.
The Indians started back to their camp. But when they were halfway there
Mangus Coloradus halted suddenly. A split second later, every warrior
was alert. From a brush-grown _arroyo_, or gully, came the hushed voice
of Pedro Gonzalez, one of those who had stayed behind.
"This way."
[Illustration]
The eighty melted into the _arroyo_ as quietly as eighty quail might
slip away from an approaching hunter. They found Nadeze with Pedro. The
wives of five of the men who had gone into town and the wives of four
who had stayed behind were there also. And two girl children. The faces
of all showed shocked, numbing grief. But the eyes of all, even the two
children, blazed with fury.
"Some _rurales_ came!" Pedro snarled. "I know not from where! But they
outnumbered us two to one. And when we warriors would have fought rather
than let them enter the camp, they reminded us that this is a time of
peace! They said they wished only to trade and talk, but once among us
they attacked without warning! We slew many, but our horses, our arms,
our trade goods, are now theirs! Of those men, women, and children who
stayed behind, we alone live!"
"Where are the _rurales_ now?" asked Mangus Coloradus.
"In what was our camp, awaiting your return," Pedro said.
Mangus Coloradus said, "When Apaches do not make fools of Mexicans, the
Mexicans seem determined to make fools of themselves. The _rurales_ must
have known that some escaped, and that we would be warned. They should
have ambushed us as we left the gates of Kas-Kai-Ya."
Sadly he thought of all who had been killed. Then he added "I will take
the wives of our brave men and these two children with me, and I will
hold myself responsible for their safety. Of the rest, each seek a
different path and hide his trail. We will meet at the place we have
chosen to be our rendezvous."
A moment later, the _arroyo_ was empty of Apaches.