In his own words
The FamilyMy
grandfather, Maco, had been our chief. I never saw him, but my father
often told me of the great size, strength, and sagacity of this old
warrior. Their principal wars had been with the Mexicans. They had some
wars with other tribes of Indians also, but were seldom at peace for any
great length of time with the Mexican towns.
Maco died when my father was but a young warrior, and Mangas-Colorado
became chief of the Bedonkohe Apaches. When I was but a small boy my
father died, after having been sick for some time. When he passed away,
carefully the watchers closed his eyes, then they arrayed him in his
best clothes, painted his face afresh, wrapped a rich blanket around
him, saddled his favorite horse, bore his arms in front of him, and led
his horse behind, repeating in wailing tones his deeds of valor as they
carried his body to a cave in the mountain. Then they slew his horses,
and we gave away all of his other property, as was customary in our
tribe, after which his body was deposited in the cave, his arms beside
him. His grave is hidden by piles of stone. Wrapped in splendor he lies
in seclusion, and the winds in the pines sing a low requiem over the
dead warrior.
After my father's death I
assumed the care of my mother. She never married again, although
according to the customs of our tribe she might have done so immediately
after his death. Usually, however, the widow who has children remains
single after her husband's death for two or three years; but the widow
without children marries again immediately. After a warrior's death his
widow returns to her people and may be given away or sold by her father
or brothers. My mother chose to live with me, and she never desired to
marry again. We lived near our old home and I supported her.
In 1846, being seventeen
years of age, I was admitted to the council of the warriors. Then I was
very happy, for I could go wherever I wanted and do whatever I liked. I
had not been under the control of any individual, but the customs of our
tribe prohibited me from sharing the glories of the war path until the
council admitted me. When opportunity offered, after this, I could go on
the war path with my tribe. This would be glorious. I hoped soon to
serve my people in battle. I had long desired to fight with our
warriors.
Perhaps the greatest joy
to me was that now I could marry the fair Alope, daughter of No-po-so.
She was a slender, delicate girl, but we had been lovers for a long
time. So, as soon as the council granted me these privileges I went to
see her father concerning our marriage. Perhaps our love was of no
interest to him; perhaps he wanted to keep Alope with him, for she was a
dutiful daughter; at any rate he asked many ponies for her. I made no
reply, but in a few days appeared before his wigwam with the herd of
ponies and took with me Alope. This was all the marriage ceremony
necessary in our tribe.
Not far from my mother's
tepee I had made for us a new home. The tepee was made of buffalo hides
and in it were many bear robes, lion hides, and other trophies of the
chase, as well as my spears, bows, and arrows. Alope had made many
little decorations of beads and drawn work on buckskin, which she placed
in our tepee. She also drew many pictures on the walls of our home. She
was a good wife, but she was never strong. We followed the traditions of
our fathers and were happy. Three children came to us-- children that
played, loitered, and worked as I had done.
Text prepared by Jeroen
Daanen, Peter Meindertsma, Else-Kirsten de Schiffart, Elfie Theijs and
Carlo Tinschert
© 1994- 2005. All rights reserved
