Renegade: The Apache Kid
Bandits weren't as common in the Old West as Hollywood would have us believe but they were common enough, and they came from every nationality and ethnic group. Haskay-bay-nay-ntayl, better known as the Apache Kid, proved the equal of any White or Mexican bandito when it came to cattle rustling, murder, staying hidden and fading into legend.
The Kid was born around 1860 as a White Mountain Apache, but taken captive at an early age by a Yuma war party. He was later freed by the U.S. Army and spent his youth as an orphan hanging around army camps looking for handouts. He was eventually adopted by Al Sieber, Chief of Apache Scouts and, in 1881, enlisted as a scout during General George Crook's campaign against Geronimo. By 1882, he had proved so good at his job of tracking and skirmishing that he was promoted to Sergeant and trusted by both Sieber and Army commanders. During a raid into Mexico, the Kid was involved in a riot and arrested by Mexican federales, but released due to Sieber's intercession and sent back to Arizona.
In 1887, while Sieber and several officers were away from San Carlos on other business, the Kid and several other Apache scouts began drinking tiswin, a potent brew made from the fruit of the saguaro cactus. Another scout killed the Kid's father, and the friends of the Kid killed that scout, while the kid killed yet another scout involved in the altercation. In June, 1887, Sieber and the post commander confronted the scouts involved, including the Kid. The altercation drew a crowd and shots were fired. The Kid and the other erring scouts fled into the wilderness. They were tracked down in late June and put on trial. The Kid and four others were court-martialed, found guilty of mutiny and desertion and sentenced to the firing squad, with a commutation to life imprisonment. General Nelson A. Miles commuted their sentences and they were sent to Alcatraz, which was a military prison at the time. Their convictions were overturned a year later, in 1888, and they returned to Arizona.
But the former scouts weren't welcome even among the Apache. The Kid and the other scouts were arrested, but the kid escaped. He was recaptured and the scouts were sentenced to 7 years in prison. They were locked up in Globe, awaiting transport to Yuma Territorial Prison. During the transfer, the Kid escaped, along with 8 other prisoners. They ambushed a stage coach driver in what became known as the Kelvin Grade Massacre. The Kid spared the driver, but took his watch as a souvenir. A manhunt ensued, which eventually netted the 8 other prisoners, but the Kid remained at large. From then on, up through the 1920's, whenever any crime occurred in Arizona, the Kid was the first suspect on the list. During the 1890's, an older Apache was shot dead and found to be in possession of a watch and pistol belonging to someone else on the stagecoach, but he was deemed too old to have been the Apache Kid. In 1894, a rancher claimed that he and his cowboys had killed the Kid, but that ID was disputed, as well.
Many people claimed to have killed the Kid or seen him living among various groups of Apache, but these sightings were never confirmed. An Apache woman claimed to have been married to the Kid,but her story could not be verified. A jeweler later claimed to have been mysteriously sent a watch to repair, that just happened to be the old stagecoach driver's watch, but no one verified that claim, either. In the San Mateo Mountains, a marker stands over an empty grave which was said to be the site where the Kid was killed in 1894. The Marvel Comics character, the Apache Kid, is named after but otherwise not based on the Kid's exploits.
The Kid was born around 1860 as a White Mountain Apache, but taken captive at an early age by a Yuma war party. He was later freed by the U.S. Army and spent his youth as an orphan hanging around army camps looking for handouts. He was eventually adopted by Al Sieber, Chief of Apache Scouts and, in 1881, enlisted as a scout during General George Crook's campaign against Geronimo. By 1882, he had proved so good at his job of tracking and skirmishing that he was promoted to Sergeant and trusted by both Sieber and Army commanders. During a raid into Mexico, the Kid was involved in a riot and arrested by Mexican federales, but released due to Sieber's intercession and sent back to Arizona.
In 1887, while Sieber and several officers were away from San Carlos on other business, the Kid and several other Apache scouts began drinking tiswin, a potent brew made from the fruit of the saguaro cactus. Another scout killed the Kid's father, and the friends of the Kid killed that scout, while the kid killed yet another scout involved in the altercation. In June, 1887, Sieber and the post commander confronted the scouts involved, including the Kid. The altercation drew a crowd and shots were fired. The Kid and the other erring scouts fled into the wilderness. They were tracked down in late June and put on trial. The Kid and four others were court-martialed, found guilty of mutiny and desertion and sentenced to the firing squad, with a commutation to life imprisonment. General Nelson A. Miles commuted their sentences and they were sent to Alcatraz, which was a military prison at the time. Their convictions were overturned a year later, in 1888, and they returned to Arizona.
But the former scouts weren't welcome even among the Apache. The Kid and the other scouts were arrested, but the kid escaped. He was recaptured and the scouts were sentenced to 7 years in prison. They were locked up in Globe, awaiting transport to Yuma Territorial Prison. During the transfer, the Kid escaped, along with 8 other prisoners. They ambushed a stage coach driver in what became known as the Kelvin Grade Massacre. The Kid spared the driver, but took his watch as a souvenir. A manhunt ensued, which eventually netted the 8 other prisoners, but the Kid remained at large. From then on, up through the 1920's, whenever any crime occurred in Arizona, the Kid was the first suspect on the list. During the 1890's, an older Apache was shot dead and found to be in possession of a watch and pistol belonging to someone else on the stagecoach, but he was deemed too old to have been the Apache Kid. In 1894, a rancher claimed that he and his cowboys had killed the Kid, but that ID was disputed, as well.
Many people claimed to have killed the Kid or seen him living among various groups of Apache, but these sightings were never confirmed. An Apache woman claimed to have been married to the Kid,but her story could not be verified. A jeweler later claimed to have been mysteriously sent a watch to repair, that just happened to be the old stagecoach driver's watch, but no one verified that claim, either. In the San Mateo Mountains, a marker stands over an empty grave which was said to be the site where the Kid was killed in 1894. The Marvel Comics character, the Apache Kid, is named after but otherwise not based on the Kid's exploits.
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