Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 April 1887 — GERONIMO'S BAND. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GERONIMO'S BAND.

How They Pass Their Time In Florida— Man gus an Intractable Savage. tFort Pickens (Fla.) cor. New York Tribune. Natchez, the true hereditary chief, is a fine specimen of Indian manhood, over six feet high, erect, well-proportioned, grave, and dignified nnder his weight of 30 years. The rest of tLe band treat him with pronounced respect. < His words are few, and his dislike of that fierce light which beats upon royalty of all grades is most emphatic.

Mangus is an intractable savage. His arm is still in bandages from the effects of injury received while on Lis way to Pensacola. When nearing that city at the rate of forty miles an hour, Mangus suddenly sprang through the car window, and was stunned by sudden collision with the ground. Regaining consciousness simultaneously with recapture, he was put in irons until the final destination was reached. Two dingy ol<J casements in the interior of the fort, each containing a large open fireplace, furnish comfortable accommodations to these uncomfortable nomads. Here provisions, consisting of tbe regular army rations, are prepared by an Indian cook assigned to that duty. Glad to be beyond the reach of Arizona justice, every member of the band is quiet, submissive," tractable and industrious. Shovel, rake, saw and ax have already become familiar tools. The wheelbarrow proved to be as intractable at first in the hands of Geronimo as a bucking bronoho in those of a metropolitan dude. But he is said to have achieved oomplete triumph over the singular implement. The dexterous grace with which he swings the sounding ax is not exceeded by that with which he was wont to fling the tomahawk. Work as yet is simply amusement. No more fantastic toilers than these willing Apaohe warriors can be found in all the sunny South. One of the undistinguished braves evinces considerable artistio ability, and delights in making colored sketches of the sergeant of the guard. Observers find it difficult to regard the prisoners as criminals worthy of death. Visitors cordially shake them by the hand, and vCish to possess photographs of the group. Bribery is often necessaiw to overcome objections to the camera. Mangus is the only “Barkis” among the number. The happy possessor of an old blouse with Captain’s shoulder-straps, he is more than “willin’’ at every opportunity. The Man Who Captured Chief Mangus. Chief Mangus was captured by Captain Charles L. Cooper, in the fall of 1886, after having resorted to every strategy which his industrious brain could invent, defying authority at ter his capture and exerting himself in every way for a means of escape. It was a most daring exploit.

Captain Cooper left Fort Apache, Arizona, on the 14th of October, 1886, and sighted the Indians on tho evening of the 17th, they being on the top of a mountain and he at its foot. He at once gave pursuit, chasing the redskins over five mountains and fifteen miles distance. The Indians in their flight abandoned their stock and sought refuge in various places. All were hnnted out and siCTendered. Captain Cooper was bora in New York in March, 1845. Upon the breaking out of the war he enlisted in the Seventy-first New York Regiment, being then but sixteen years of age. After his discharge he re-enlisted. At the age of twenty he became First Lieutenant of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment, United States colored troops, and soon afterward was given a position on Gen. Bimey’s staff. At Petersburg he resumed the command of his men, however, and participated in the closing battles of the war. At the close of the war, through the instrumentality of John A. Dix, Thurlow Weed, A. A. Low, and other prominent men, he was made Second Lieutenant in the United States regular army, and assigned to duty in the Thirty-ninth Regiment, United States Infantrv. He was promoted Oct. 5, 1867, to be" First Lieutenant, and in January, 1871, was assigned to the Tenth United States Cavalry, and shortly afterward was promoted to a captaincy. ■

CHIEF MANGUS.

CAPTAIN COOPER.