ng from many quarters, we
disbanded.

In about four months we reassembled at Casa Grande to make a treaty of
peace. The chiefs of the town of Casa Grande, and all of the men of Casa
Grande, made a treaty with us. We shook hands and promised to be
brothers. Then we began to trade, and the Mexicans gave us mescal. Soon
nearly all the Indians were drunk. While they were drunk two companies
of Mexican troops, from another town, attacked us, killed twenty
Indians, and captured many more.[22] We fled in all directions.

FOOTNOTE:

[22] It is impossible to get Geronimo to understand that these troops
served the general government instead of any particular town. He still
thinks each town independent and each city a separate tribe. He cannot
understand the relation of cities to the general government.

CHAPTER XII

GERONIMO'S MIGHTIEST BATTLE

After the treachery and massacre of Casa Grande we did not reassemble
for a long while, and when we did we returned to Arizona. We remained in
Arizona for some time, living in San Carlos Reservation, at a place now
called Geronimo. In 1883 we went into Mexico again. We remained in the
mountain ranges of Mexico for about fourteen months, and during this
time we had many skirmishes with Mexican troops. In 1884 we returned to
Arizona to get other Apaches to come with us into Mexico. The Mexicans
were gathering troops in the mountains where we had been ranging, and
their numbers were so much greater than ours that we could not hope to
fight them successfully, and we were tired of being chased about from
place to place.

In Arizona we had trouble with the United States soldiers (explained in
next chapter) and returned to Mexico.

We had lost about fifteen warriors in Arizona, and had gained no
recruits. With our reduced number we camped in the mountains north of
Arispe. Mexican troops were seen by our scouts in several directions.
The United States troops were coming down from the north. We were well
armed with guns and supplied with ammunition, but we did not care to be
surrounded by the troops of two governments, so we started to move our
camp southward.

One night we made camp some distance from the mountains by a stream.
There was not much water in the stream, but a deep channel was worn
through the prairie and small trees were beginning to grow here and
there along the bank of this stream.

In those days we never camped without placing scouts, for we knew that
we were