[Granville-Hough] Geronimo - 14 April 2009

[Trustees and Executors for Granville W. Hough]

[I think this was a response to something Granville received that
was humorously intended.]

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Geronimo - the Apache Hero.

According to the recollections of 
people at Fort Sill, he did know the difference between good whiskey and 
bad, but turned down none. When he got too drunk to navigate, it is 
recalled he checked himself into the Fort Sill prison for a free and 
warm night's sleep. He may indeed have learned something about Army 
blankets there. In the 1950s, one point of interest at Fort Sill was 
Geronimo's cell, where he actually slept. He was born in 1829 and died 
at Fort Sill 17 Feb 1909, where he was buried in the Fort Sill Cemetery. 
He had been a prisoner of war in Florida, Alabama, and Fort Sill since 
1886. It is said white grave robbers desecrated his grave and took his 
skull. Some of his descendants lived not far from Fort Sill, where they 
were considered industrious and innovative cattle ranchers. Others went 
back to Arizona when their clan was allowed to do so after a generation 
of exile.
There are indeed quotes credited to Geronimo. ""I cannot think that we 
are useless, or God would not have created us. There is one God looking 
down on us all. We are all children of one God. The sun, the darkness, 
the winds are all listening to what we have to say."
"When a child, my mother taught me to kneel and pray to Usen (the one 
God) for strength, health, wisdom, and protection. Sometimes we prayed 
in silence, sometimes each one prayed aloud, sometimes one person prayed 
for us all." No pope required.
It is probable that the legend of Geronimo will long outlive the record 
of any soldier or Army Commander who fought him or had control of him 
during his 23 years as a prisoner of war.