Apache Kid
written by: Joyce Furstenau
revised by: April Smith
revised by: April Smith
The natives called it Arizonac. It was later shortened to Arizona. Throughout the early 19th century, most white visitors crossed this land on their way to California. Most did not want to settle in the dry deserts of Arizona. The Apaches did not like the visitors trespassing on their hunting grounds. There were a few incidents reported concerning the earliest pioneers. This situation changed in 1849 when gold was discovered in California. Thousands of people began crossing "Apacheria" (This word is what the Spanish called Arizona.) on their way to the gold fields. The Apaches revolted. Both whites and Apaches tried to drive the other out. The Apache chief Cochise went on the warpath. The Apaches used every means possible to defend their land. Soon they were considered the fiercest tribe in the entire Southwest.
By 1870, the U.S. government realized that a military solution would not work. They decided the only way to control the Apaches was to round up all the Indians and move them all into one place - a reservation. In December 1872, President Ulysses Grant established the San Carlos Indian Reservation northeast of Globe, Arizona. What the government officials did not take into account was that the Apaches were enemies with many of the tribes. Even Apache bands did not always get along. Many of them broke loose of the reservation. One of these young Apaches was Has-kay-bay-nay-natyl.
We are told he was born in the 1860's near Globe, Arizona. He is believed to have been a Pinal or White Mountain Apache. His name, Ha-skay-bay-nay-natyl supposedly means "the tall man destined to come to a mysterious end." Historian Paul R. Machula from Arizona says his name was actually Hashkee Binaa Nteel which means "he has angry eyes" in Apache. Since the citizens of Globe could pronounce neither, they just called him "the Apache Kid."
By the time he was ten years old, he was often in the Globe area doing odd jobs for miners and soldiers. It was at this time he learned to speak English. During his teenage years, he came to know the legendary scout, Al Sieber. Sieber served in the American Civil War and then he moved west. He ranched and prospected for gold. In 1871, Sieber was hired by General George Crook to be chief of the Apache Scouts. It was Crook's idea to hire several local Apache Indians to help patrol the area against raiding bands of Apaches. Sieber recognized Kid's leadership skills, and he hired him as a scout. Kid excelled in this role. Within a year he had made the rank of sergeant. Within two years he rose to become a first sergeant for the Company A Indian Scouts.
Sieber, Kid, and the scouts were in Mexico in 1886. They were called back to San Carlos after the surrender of Geronimo. In May of 1887, the Kid was left in charge of the scouts and the camp while Sieber and Captain Pierce were away. It was during this time that the trouble began. Two men ended up dead, and it was under the Kid's watch. Sadly, one of the dead was the Kid's father, Togo-de-Chuz. The other dead man was an Indian scout named Gon-Zizzie. He was the man who killed Kid's father. According to Apache law, a wronged person had the right to settle personal matters himself. The Kid believed that Gon-Zizzie's brother, Rip, had pushed Gon-Zizzi in the killing of his father.
Under Apache tribal law, Kid was duty-bound to settle the death of his father himself. He asked for permission to leave the reservation to find Rip. His request was denied, but he left anyway. Apache justice was swift. Rip was killed with one shot through the heart.
When the Kid finally realized the trouble he was in, he and three other scouts rode back to San Carlos to find Sieber and Captain Pierce. A crowd of Indians had gathered to see what was causing all the commotion. The Kid confessed what he had done to his commanders. The officers ordered the four Indian scouts to disarm themselves. Kid was the first to lay down his weapon. They were told they would have to stand trial. Captain Pierce ordered the four scouts to the guardhouse to be locked up.
As the scouts headed to the guardhouse a shot was fired from the crowd and a fight broke out. In the scuffle, Sieber was shot in the leg. It ended up crippling him for life. The disarmed Kid broke away and ran for cover. He and the other scouts found horses and rode off into the Arizona wilderness along with a dozen or so other Apaches. Sieber blamed the Kid for his injury even though the Kid was actually not the one who shot him. Two troops of the Fourth Cavalry followed the escapees.
As news of the trouble spread, the territory began to prepare for another Apache outbreak. The cavalry followed the escaped men for two weeks. When they were located, the cavalry managed to capture their horses, supplies, and equipment. The Kid and his band escaped again, this time with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Without horses or weapons, the group faced little chance of survival in the wilderness. Finally, the Kid somehow got a message to Crook's replacement, General Nelson Miles. He said that if they would call off the cavalry, he and his band would surrender. On June 25, 1887, the Kid and seven others surrendered.
General Miles decided the Kid and his friends should face a court martial. The group probably didn't understand much of the proceedings. To no one's surprise, they were found guilty. They were sentenced to death by firing squad. General Miles was upset with the verdict, however. He asked the court to reconsider. They reconvened and the outcome was changed to a life sentence. General Miles then commuted the sentence to ten years. On January 23, 1888, the Army decided to send the prisoners to Alcatraz Island in California.
This sentence was later reviewed by the Judge Advocate General's office. It was determined that the officers at the court martial were prejudiced. The sentence was lifted and the five prisoners along with some others were freed and returned to San Carlos. This decision outraged the citizens in the Southwest territory to no end.
Even thought they had been living on the reservation peacefully since their return, in 1889 the Sheriff of Gila County, Glenn Reynolds, decided to issue a warrant for the freed Apaches. The Apache Kid was on the list. They were once again arrested and went to trial once more. This time the charges were for assault to commit murder in the wounding of Al Seiber. By now, the Kid was probably pretty disillusioned with the white man's laws. The four were found guilty and sentenced to seven years in the Yuma Territorial Prison.
The prisoners were to be brought to the Yuma by stagecoach. It was more than a two day ride. The sheriff, a deputy, and the stagecoach driver were the only guards. The prisoners were taken off the stagecoach to walk during a particularly steep climb. When the stagecoach disappeared from view, the prisoners overpowered their three guards. One of them died of fright right on the spot. The sheriff was killed and another deputy was shot. The deputy survived. He told authorities that the Kid actually saved his life. It seems one of the Apaches wanted to "finish him off," but the Kid talked him out of it. The Apaches escaped into the wilderness again. Their tracks were quickly covered by a snowstorm that day.
No one actually knows where the Kid's band hid out after that. A five thousand dollar bounty was put on his head. His companions were eventually caught, but Kid was not. For the next several years the Kid was blamed for many different and horrific crimes. No one knows for certain if he actually committed any of them. No one knows for certain what actually happened to the Apache Kid from then on. Many people believed the crimes he may have committed revolved around revenge for the way the Apache scouts had been treated by the Army.
A gravesite memorial was erected high in the San Mateo Mountains in New Mexico where they believe he was killed, but no one has proof that it was actually the Apache Kid. Several versions of the Kid's story have been circulated. His story has become a legend in the Southwest. The U.S. Government named 44,626 acres in New Mexico the Apache Kid Wilderness Area in 1980.
By 1870, the U.S. government realized that a military solution would not work. They decided the only way to control the Apaches was to round up all the Indians and move them all into one place - a reservation. In December 1872, President Ulysses Grant established the San Carlos Indian Reservation northeast of Globe, Arizona. What the government officials did not take into account was that the Apaches were enemies with many of the tribes. Even Apache bands did not always get along. Many of them broke loose of the reservation. One of these young Apaches was Has-kay-bay-nay-natyl.
We are told he was born in the 1860's near Globe, Arizona. He is believed to have been a Pinal or White Mountain Apache. His name, Ha-skay-bay-nay-natyl supposedly means "the tall man destined to come to a mysterious end." Historian Paul R. Machula from Arizona says his name was actually Hashkee Binaa Nteel which means "he has angry eyes" in Apache. Since the citizens of Globe could pronounce neither, they just called him "the Apache Kid."
By the time he was ten years old, he was often in the Globe area doing odd jobs for miners and soldiers. It was at this time he learned to speak English. During his teenage years, he came to know the legendary scout, Al Sieber. Sieber served in the American Civil War and then he moved west. He ranched and prospected for gold. In 1871, Sieber was hired by General George Crook to be chief of the Apache Scouts. It was Crook's idea to hire several local Apache Indians to help patrol the area against raiding bands of Apaches. Sieber recognized Kid's leadership skills, and he hired him as a scout. Kid excelled in this role. Within a year he had made the rank of sergeant. Within two years he rose to become a first sergeant for the Company A Indian Scouts.
Sieber, Kid, and the scouts were in Mexico in 1886. They were called back to San Carlos after the surrender of Geronimo. In May of 1887, the Kid was left in charge of the scouts and the camp while Sieber and Captain Pierce were away. It was during this time that the trouble began. Two men ended up dead, and it was under the Kid's watch. Sadly, one of the dead was the Kid's father, Togo-de-Chuz. The other dead man was an Indian scout named Gon-Zizzie. He was the man who killed Kid's father. According to Apache law, a wronged person had the right to settle personal matters himself. The Kid believed that Gon-Zizzie's brother, Rip, had pushed Gon-Zizzi in the killing of his father.
Under Apache tribal law, Kid was duty-bound to settle the death of his father himself. He asked for permission to leave the reservation to find Rip. His request was denied, but he left anyway. Apache justice was swift. Rip was killed with one shot through the heart.
When the Kid finally realized the trouble he was in, he and three other scouts rode back to San Carlos to find Sieber and Captain Pierce. A crowd of Indians had gathered to see what was causing all the commotion. The Kid confessed what he had done to his commanders. The officers ordered the four Indian scouts to disarm themselves. Kid was the first to lay down his weapon. They were told they would have to stand trial. Captain Pierce ordered the four scouts to the guardhouse to be locked up.
As the scouts headed to the guardhouse a shot was fired from the crowd and a fight broke out. In the scuffle, Sieber was shot in the leg. It ended up crippling him for life. The disarmed Kid broke away and ran for cover. He and the other scouts found horses and rode off into the Arizona wilderness along with a dozen or so other Apaches. Sieber blamed the Kid for his injury even though the Kid was actually not the one who shot him. Two troops of the Fourth Cavalry followed the escapees.
As news of the trouble spread, the territory began to prepare for another Apache outbreak. The cavalry followed the escaped men for two weeks. When they were located, the cavalry managed to capture their horses, supplies, and equipment. The Kid and his band escaped again, this time with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Without horses or weapons, the group faced little chance of survival in the wilderness. Finally, the Kid somehow got a message to Crook's replacement, General Nelson Miles. He said that if they would call off the cavalry, he and his band would surrender. On June 25, 1887, the Kid and seven others surrendered.
General Miles decided the Kid and his friends should face a court martial. The group probably didn't understand much of the proceedings. To no one's surprise, they were found guilty. They were sentenced to death by firing squad. General Miles was upset with the verdict, however. He asked the court to reconsider. They reconvened and the outcome was changed to a life sentence. General Miles then commuted the sentence to ten years. On January 23, 1888, the Army decided to send the prisoners to Alcatraz Island in California.
This sentence was later reviewed by the Judge Advocate General's office. It was determined that the officers at the court martial were prejudiced. The sentence was lifted and the five prisoners along with some others were freed and returned to San Carlos. This decision outraged the citizens in the Southwest territory to no end.
Even thought they had been living on the reservation peacefully since their return, in 1889 the Sheriff of Gila County, Glenn Reynolds, decided to issue a warrant for the freed Apaches. The Apache Kid was on the list. They were once again arrested and went to trial once more. This time the charges were for assault to commit murder in the wounding of Al Seiber. By now, the Kid was probably pretty disillusioned with the white man's laws. The four were found guilty and sentenced to seven years in the Yuma Territorial Prison.
The prisoners were to be brought to the Yuma by stagecoach. It was more than a two day ride. The sheriff, a deputy, and the stagecoach driver were the only guards. The prisoners were taken off the stagecoach to walk during a particularly steep climb. When the stagecoach disappeared from view, the prisoners overpowered their three guards. One of them died of fright right on the spot. The sheriff was killed and another deputy was shot. The deputy survived. He told authorities that the Kid actually saved his life. It seems one of the Apaches wanted to "finish him off," but the Kid talked him out of it. The Apaches escaped into the wilderness again. Their tracks were quickly covered by a snowstorm that day.
No one actually knows where the Kid's band hid out after that. A five thousand dollar bounty was put on his head. His companions were eventually caught, but Kid was not. For the next several years the Kid was blamed for many different and horrific crimes. No one knows for certain if he actually committed any of them. No one knows for certain what actually happened to the Apache Kid from then on. Many people believed the crimes he may have committed revolved around revenge for the way the Apache scouts had been treated by the Army.
A gravesite memorial was erected high in the San Mateo Mountains in New Mexico where they believe he was killed, but no one has proof that it was actually the Apache Kid. Several versions of the Kid's story have been circulated. His story has become a legend in the Southwest. The U.S. Government named 44,626 acres in New Mexico the Apache Kid Wilderness Area in 1980.