Newspapers / The Charlotte Labor Journal … / March 18, 1937, edition 1 / Page 9
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Gt/gSt—GEftOINIMO gets a MONUMENT Clnd Nobody Blowi It Up By Oren Arnold ITIZENS near the Mexican fron tier have recently erected an •dd rock monument and—rather surprisingly! — it has not yet been dynamited. It commemorates the original west American gangster, the real tough guy of the old Southwest. His name was Oeronimo. He was an Apache Indian chieftain, ( and his idea of a good time was to cap ture a dozen palefaces and cut off their fingers and toes, pitch some of them on < thorny cactus plants, and tie others over beds of glowing coals. He showed i especial finesse in the destruction of white women and children. j He did those things 60-odd years ago,' and the pioneers who survived him nourished their hate and multiplied it when he died, so that Geronimo’s raids became a terrible memory. When new families with new loyal ties crowded into New Mexico and Arizona, hbwever, they had memories mainly of the East. Geronimo was just a name in local history. When they got around to reading about him, they de cided he was very quaint and “pic Usresque.” Geronimo. bloodthirsty Apache chief, shown at left, terrorised two states half a century ago. His idea of a good time was to tie palefaces over beds of glowing coals. At right, the new monument near Douglas. Aris., which marks the spot where he surrendered. That was all right, as a private opin ion. But when the new people began saying so, a social disturbance rocked part of two great states. When the new comers first wanted to erect a monu ment to Geronimo’s memory, a form of war itself broke lose. Ed McGinley (who recently died in the Arizona Pioneers’ Home at the age of 107) almost had a spasm when he heard it. So did other oldtimers. The foundation rocks were laid, in cement mortar. Cement anti tools were stacked around and it is said that sketches for the statue itself were tak ing shape. Then one night a loud explosion re verberated through the mountain pass. At dawn, workmen found the founda tion blown to bits. That all happened more than 15 years '•go. The new people in the state then were astounded. They had been at tracted to Arizona by the rapid com mercial and industrial expansion, new reclamation projects, new mining de velopment, new tourist resorts. They had thought to become good citizens of their adopted state, by commemorating some of its historic “heroes.” But— Bang! “You ain’t seen nothing, yet!" said the old-timers, speaking this time through one of their group named Clay ton G. (Uncle Clay) Washburn. Mr. Washburn is a prospector, can’t re member when he wasn’t. He says that he was a grown man when Geronimo finally surrendered to Gen. Nelson A Miles of the United States Army in September of 1886, and that he had personal friends tortured to death by Geronimo. rPHE matter of the Geronimo monu ment died a natural death after the dynamiting, and was forgotten by most people. Rapidly, too, the old-timers passed on. When Franklin Rooaevelt and his New Deal came along, with federal money to spend on public works, the proposed Geronimo monument was re vived. Dr. A. C. Lockwood of the Uni versity of Arizona faculty lent a sym pathetic ear: so did a few other influen tial men. CWA workers were soon turned loose on the job. ,-r-* Doubtless the ghosts of many a pi oneer has been indignant, but the mon ument was completed at last. Its build ers were careful, however, not to “praise" Geronimo. They simply marked the spot where he surrendered. The monument is far from its original site. It stands beside the highway 35 miles east of Douglas. Arte. It is 22 feet high, on a base 18 feet in diameter, is made of colorful boulders found nearby. Im bedded in it are several Indian metates (grinding stones for corn). Buried in side it in a sealed copper box are news papers, photographs, and other records of this era. Its builders tried to dedicate it with out any more publicity than necessary, because they wanted it to endure. It has stood for several months now. Sad ly enough, the fiery pioneers are gone, or impotent with their years. One of them did come in to town at Phoenix, and declared tearfully that he would tear the blankety-blank monu jnent down with his fingers if he could get to it. “Might as well erect a monument to John Dillinger or A! Capone," he swore, “only they wasn’t half as bad as Ge ronimo. 1 saw that Indian’s band burn a farmer’s home. Geronimo took the woman. He bashed out the brains of her little uns. and had a Are dance around her husband, who had fought as long as he could.” The Geronimo campaign of 1B05-M has been called the most remarkable in the history of America's Indian wars. In that campaign. 35 men and eight boys led by Geronimo defied 5000 U S. Army troops, 500 Indian allies, and 300 or more armed civilians! It sounds incredible, but it is re corded history. It is even more incred ible to hear ^hat Geronimo never was “captured," but eventually surrendered on invitation: this notwithstanding the many liars who later claimed to have “helped capture” Geronimo. The wily chieftain's handful of men were the real gangsters of pioneer days, and they enjoyed just about every il legal pleasure they could conceive. Their field of operation, in New Mexico and Arizona, was roughly 200 by 400 miles.
The Charlotte Labor Journal and Dixie Farm News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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March 18, 1937, edition 1
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