The Apache Kid

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Sometime in the 1860’s, Haskay-bay-nay-ntayl was born on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona.  After being kidnapped as a young boy, he wound up in Globe doing odd jobs while learning English.  His name was hard for many to pronounce, so it was shortened to simply, the Kid.  Under this name, he would be known as a White Mountain Indian scout, a renegade, and the most violent Apache next to Geronimo.  While he was a teen and still living in Globe, he was taken care of by Al Sieber, the Chief of the Army Scouts.

In 1881, en enlisted in the US Cavalry as a scout and was able to find the trails the Apache hunters used the most.  Because of his extraordinary talents, he was promoted to sergeant in July of 1882.  In 1885, while in Huasabas, Mexico, he escaped being hung while involved in a drunkin’ brawl.  He was fined twenty-five dollars, and sent back to San Carlos.  This seemed to be the beginning of his troubles.  In May of 1887, he was left in charge of the scouts when several officers left the San Carlos post on business.  The Kid threw a party and brewed up liquor called, tizwin.  Many became very drunk with a fight breaking out between the Kid’s father and another scout named, Gon-Zizzie.  The Kid’s father was killed so the kid retaliated and killed Gon-Zizzie and his brother, Rip.  All the scouts involved were disarmed and arrested until the incident could be investigated.  Shots rang out before anyone could be arrested, the Kid, along with others were able to escape.

The Apaches had sympathy for the renegades and helped hide them from the lawmen.  The Kid and four others surrendered when the soldiers backed off and were found guilty of mutiny and desertion.  They were sentence to death by a firing squad but eventually the sentence was changed to life in prison to later ten years incarceration.  They were set free on October 1889, but infuriated Apaches had new warrants issued for the men, and once more they were on the run.  After being rearrested and then escaping again, the Kid was accused of crimes such as rape and murder, but there was never any solid proof of his involvement.

There is lots of mystery about the year the Kid really died.  Most documents report him being killed in 1894 with different people claiming they killed him.  One story is he was killed in a shootout between Apache renegades and Mexican soldiers, while another claimed to kill him while he was rustling their cattle.  Some say he was still alive in 1899 and living amongst the Apache while others said he was still cattle rustling as late as the 1920’s.  The Apache Kid is reported to be buried high in the San Mateo Mountains of the Cibola Nation Forest and only a marker stands as a grave for the Apache Kid.


Comments

  1. Sharon DayApril 5, 2012 at 7:50 AM

    Fantastic history. I always wondered what his story was because I had heard people speak of him, but no real details.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Julie FergusonApril 5, 2012 at 8:17 AM

      I looked at a few sources and still couldn't get exact information. I was curious about him and what role he played in Arizona's history.

      Delete
  2. Jessica PenotApril 5, 2012 at 11:51 AM

    That's a neat little bit of history. I had never heard of the Apache Kid before.

    ReplyDelete

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