Geronimo Exhibit at the AZ Historical Society Museum

I have been studying the history of the west for several years now from the early American Indians, mountain men, fur trappers, pioneers, the forts out west, the Indian wars, etc.  So when I was researching things to see and do in Tucson, an exhibit about Geronimo came up.  I marked my calendar as something not to miss.  So yesterday, Doug and I went to the museum to see this exhibit.  I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t a very big exhibit but I did learn much more about Geronimo.  The museum had the actual rifle Geronimo turned over to the American troops when he surrendered.  I guess because of his bravery in leading his small gang that it is why we yell “Geronimo!” when doing something exciting. 
 
Here is a brief biography of Geronimo:  
Geronimo was born to the Bedonkohe band of the Apache, near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River in the modern-day state of New Mexico, then part of Mexico. He had three brothers and four sisters. Geronimo's parents raised him according to Apache traditions; after the death of his father, his mother took him to live with the Chihenne and he grew up with them. Geronimo married when he was 17, and eventually had 9 wives. On March 6, 1851, a company of 400 Mexican soldiers from Sonora led by Colonel José María Carrasco attacked Goyahkla's camp outside Janos while the men were in town trading. After a Mexican attack on his tribe, where soldiers killed his mother, wife, and his three children in 1851, Geronimo joined a number of revenge attacks against the Mexicans. During his career as a war chief, he was notorious for consistently leading raids upon Mexican provinces and towns, and later against Anglo settlements across Arizona, New Mexico and Western Texas. The loss of his family led Geronimo to hate all Mexicans for the rest of his life; he and his followers would frequently attack and kill any group of Mexicans that they encountered. In 1886, Geronimo surrendered to US authorities after a lengthy pursuit as a prisoner of war. He was told he could return to his tribe on the reservation after 2 years but was held in Florida for 27 years. At an old age, he became a celebrity; appearing in fairs but was never allowed to return to the land of his birth. He later regretted his surrender and claimed that the US government had broken promises it made to secure his surrender. Geronimo died in 1909 from complications of pneumonia at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. When Geronimo was elderly, he even led Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade and it is said that he stole the show!