The late Native American Studies scholar Elizabeth Cook-Lynn wrote, "...a nation that does not tell its own stories cannot be said to be a nation at all." Therefore, please allow me to discuss my second great-grandfather, Francisco de Jesús Mariscal Leyva, referred to as Apache Francisco by his peers and simply as Jesús by his closest relatives. He and his older brother, José Mariscal Leyva, were born when the Gila Apache were at peace with Mexico during the early 1840s in Janos, Chihuahua.
My family, known then as Apache at Peace, engaged in farming and trading with the Janos community during this period. José and Francisco, the sons of Gila Apache leader Manuel Mariscal and his wife Norberta Leyva, also known as Ish-Noh-hnn, enjoyed a peaceful and contented life. Sadly, Manuel passed away in 1850 due to exposure. Ish-Noh-hnn remarried five years later and added two children to the family: a boy and a girl.
As adults, Francisco and his brother, José, lived among their local group at the Tularosa Valley Indian Agency in modern Catron County, New Mexico, during periods of operation (1872-1874). José remained, choosing to farm south of Quemado. At the same time, the leader Esquine (pronounced Es-kee-nay) and his Bedonkohe Apache, including Francisco, relocated to the Chiricahua Apache Indian Agency in southeastern Arizona. Esquine's group, once led by Geronimo's grandfather Makho and later Teboca, was on good terms with Delgadito, a leader of a local group of Chihenne who was also living there.
On June 30, 1876, Agent Thomas Jeffords reported that Esquine and Delgadito had left the Chiricahua Apache Indian Agency. They thirsted for the old way of life and the Warm Springs near present Cañada Alamosa, Socorro County, New Mexico. Similarly, Chihenne leaders Victorio and Loco had abandoned the Tularosa Valley Indian Reservation for the Warm Springs two years earlier. Esquine, Delgadito, Francisco, Gordo, and others traveled to Warm Springs in 1876. The Chihenne leaders were unwelcoming. Esquine and Francisco camped near Cuchillo. By mid-June, the total number of Bedonkohe people at the Warm Springs was 347.
That year, the Chiricahua Apache Indian Agency closed. Bedonkohe medicine man Geronimo and his ally, Juh, the Nedhni leader, promised Agent John P. Clum they would gather their people and relocate to the San Carlos Apache Agency. Instead, they headed south to the Sierra Madre Occidental. After Geronimo's return to the U.S., he was accused of murder and theft, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He moved to Warm Springs. Agent Clum, whom Geronimo had misled before entering the Sierra Madres, learned of Geronimo's whereabouts. Clum arrested Geronimo, Francisco, and others suspected of crimes with the aid of Apache Indian Police from San Carlos. This was the only time Geronimo was ever captured.
After Geronimo's arrest, Clum informed the leaders Victorio and Loco that their time at Warm Springs had ended. He ordered them to gather their people and marched them to San Carlos, where he took Geronimo and the other arrestees. Conditions at San Carlos were deplorable for the Chihenne. Illness and poor intra-band tensions made the Chihenne four-month stay uncomfortable. As for Geronimo, he was not hanged but was jailed for four months and released. John Clum resigned as agent.
A short time later, Victorio, Loco, Esquine, and Francisco were among the Chihenne and Bedonkohe who escaped, according to the late researcher Edwin R. Sweeney. Geronimo, possibly Gordo, and some of Geronimo's following remained. It is unclear who stayed, were captured by the pursuing soldiers, or returned on their own to San Carlos. Jason Betzinez, Delgadito's grandson, wrote, "The pursuers, overtaking us, captured several families whom they took back to San Carlos."
Most of the Chihenne and Bedonkohe who fled San Carlos surrendered at Fort Wingate. In discussions with Colonel Edward Hatch, the Apache were allowed to return to the Warm Springs, if only temporarily.
Woodworth Clum's story of Indian Agent John P. Clum asserts that on the night of April 4, 1878, Geronimo made off with a government pony and food from San Carlos, with Ponce, Gordo, and Francisco heading to the Sierra Madres.
Months later, the Chihenne received information that the Indian Bureau desired to return them to San Carlos after nearly a year of having returned to the Warm Springs. Given the first unsuccessful attempt at San Carlos, many Apache fled before the military arrived in October 1878. Sweeney insists that the Bedonkohes Francisco, Vicente (Geronimo's brother or brother-in-law), and Esquine were among the many who retreated to the mountains. The young Betzinez and Sam Haozous are reportedly among the 171 Chihenne with Loco who were returned to San Carlos.
In 1880, an argument between Geronimo and Juh led Geronimo to join Esquine. Victorio and many of his followers were killed or captured at Tres Castillos. Francisco was captured and sent to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania for eight months and later discharged due to "ill health" in 1883. He returned to his family in the Sierra Madres. He visited Anadarko, Oklahoma, where his mother resided. He was about 60 years old and was described as an "old man." His mother encouraged him to stay with her for a time.
Former Fort Sill historian Gillette Griswold labeled Francisco "elusive," stating that "he lived at Sill with the Apache but was never put on the rolls here." Griswold documented Francisco as Warm Springs Apache, like his mother, but categorized him as "Other disposition," denoting the Chiricahua, Warm Springs, and associated Apaches who were not sent East as prisoners-of-war. His baby sister had married Toclanny but passed away not long after without leaving any children. Griswold documents Francisco's time with his younger brother, Jim Miller, at the Mescalero reservation where he reportedly enrolled. His son, Leandro, my great-grandfather, married the granddaughter of Apache Elías, a local leader of the Sierra Madre Apache. This oral history highlights my family's strong connection with relatives living on and off reservations.
Today, interestingly, approximately 70% of American Indians live in urban areas, not reservations.