Apache Fury

by J Washburn

This story was forbidden—

Censured.

There were those who tried to keep Geronimo silenced, keep his story unspoken forever. He almost didn’t get the chance to tell us his side of what happened.

He was no writer, so the manuscript could never have existed through him alone. He needed help to speak to the world, and that help came in the form of S.M. Barrett, an anthropologist who studied at UC Berkeley.

But many in the U.S. Military organization found this project to be “objectionable” and attempted to stop them, as you’ll soon read.

Thanks to Barrett’s persistence, Roosevelt’s patronage, and Geronimo’s own insightful perspective, we do now have this priceless manuscript—

Geronimo’s own words—

Translated from the original Apache into English with candid plainness—

The unique words of a Native American warrior and chief from a period in history that will now never be forgotten.

* * *

Since first reading my great grandfather’s encounter with Geronimo in LINE RIDER (Chapter 2: House Guests), I’ve been keenly interested in finding and sharing that infamous Warchief’s story and also in learning more about that fearsome tribe known as the Apaches.

I’m proud to present to you here some treasures that I discovered in my search.

Herein, three shorter works have been edited and compiled into a single

The first narrative is “Geronimo’s Story of His Life,” dictated by Geronimo himself in Apache. This epic spans nearly the whole of his life, from 1829 till the manuscript was published in 1905. His is a tale of revenge. In his youth, he faced a tragedy almost without comparison—he lost his family in a bloody, unprovoked attack, an injustice beyond compare. This event sparked a fury inside him, a need to bring justice to the perpetrators and to somehow right the wrongs that fate had thrown upon him. This fire burned in him, unquenchably, and ultimately could never be satisfied—in spite of a lifetime of raiding and killing and blood.

The second narrative is “The Dread Apache,” a collection of true stories, most of which took place in Arizona in the 1880s, as recorded from various sources by Dr. M.P. Freeman. This portion reads almost like “a daily dose of Old West adventure,” as each installment is as notably brief as it is exciting. I thought the contrasting perspective had its value, as did the telling of the Apache Kid’s violent tale (whom Joe Pearce also encountered, making it pertinent to my research).

The third narrative is “The Apache Campaign,” by Captain John G. Bourke, and it has the narrowest focus, detailing just a few weeks of 1883. It’s a soldier’s account of the infamous hunt for the Chiricahua Apaches into Mexico, retelling the story of Geronimo’s final stand but viewed from the other side of the conflict. It is told in great detail, which brings it vividly to life. This third part feels more even-handed than the prior two, giving due credit to both the good and bad. In particular, Bourke praises admirable qualities among the Apache warriors serving with the U.S. troops, and in general he describes the Apaches nobly and beautifully. (Yet from that side of the conflict you may still get a whiff of General Crook’s contempt for the Warchief—something to watch for as you read.) Bourke’s words are eloquent, and his tongue is wry. Personally, this was my favorite part of the sequence.

212 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2025

About the author

J Washburn is the author of smart scifi and fantasy novels, including the acclaimed STARCHILD space opera books! He co-hosts the Start Writing podcast. And if you're wondering out his first name, check out
www.jwashburn.com !