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In 1873,
General George Crook fought the Apaches before being posted north to fight the
Sioux (including participation in the 1876 campaign in which George Armstrong
Custer was massacred at the Little Big Horn). In 1882, Crook returned to
Arizona to lead a column in pursuit of Geronimo, Chato and other Apache
warriors raiding Arizona and New Mexico, whom he eventually subdued.
Geronimo
I remember looking at the iconic picture of Geronimo, the
fierce and gruesome Apache leader, and thinking that some intrepid newspaper
photographer had journeyed into Geronimo’s lair to take a true action shot of
the great warrior. This old time photo
certainly looks like it was taken in the desert wastelands. Unfortunately, the photo is a fake. It was taken by A.F. Randall who did photographic
studies of Apache Indians in the comfort of his studio. Individuals,
including the great warriors Geronimo and Chato were posed against a neutral
backdrop, surrounded by desert plants.
Geronimo in the studio
Chato in the studio
The real action
photographer was Camillus "Buck" Sydney Fly of Tombstone
Arizona, who accompanied General Crook’s expedition, and got this picture of
Geronimo in his camp during surrender negotiations with General Crook.
Geronimo in camp
C.S. Fly captured the only
known images of Native Americans while still at war with the United States.
Geronimo with his warriors
Custer’s Last Stand: Portraits in Time
For almost one hundred and fifty years, Custer has been a Rorschach test of American social and personal values. Whatever else George Armstrong Custer may or may not have been, even in the twenty-first century, he remains the great lightning rod of American history.
Legends of the Superstition Mountains
Arizona’s Superstition Mountains are mysterious, forbidding, and dangerous. The Superstitions are said to have claimed over five hundred lives. What were these people looking for? Is it possible that these mountains hide a vast treasure? Is it possible that UFOs land here? Is it possible that in these mountains there is a door leading to the great underground city of the Lizard Men? Join us as we explore the history of the: Legends of the Superstition Mountains.
Custer’s Last Stand: Portraits in Time
For almost one hundred and fifty years, Custer has been a Rorschach test of American social and personal values. Whatever else George Armstrong Custer may or may not have been, even in the twenty-first century, he remains the great lightning rod of American history.
Legends of the Superstition Mountains
Arizona’s Superstition Mountains are mysterious, forbidding, and dangerous. The Superstitions are said to have claimed over five hundred lives. What were these people looking for? Is it possible that these mountains hide a vast treasure? Is it possible that UFOs land here? Is it possible that in these mountains there is a door leading to the great underground city of the Lizard Men? Join us as we explore the history of the: Legends of the Superstition Mountains.
1 comment:
The fact that the Geronimo portrait is posed in a studio does not make it "fake." It's obviously a posed studio image. Photo studios in the 19th century commonly used painted canvas backdrops, furniture, guns, and even costumes to liven up their photographs.
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