Following their 1885 escape, Geronimo and his 39 warriors were pursued by 5000 American and about 5000 Mexican troops, yet they were able to evade their pursuers, and to raid local food supplies for rations while on the run. Soldiers and Generals alike were amazed at the ability of these warriors. The army was unable to catch Geronimo and his warriors, but the constant pursuit had worn down the Apaches. Geronimo and his warriors agreed to surrender to General Miles and serve a 2 year sentence.
This agreement was broken by President Cleveland who imprisoned the Apaches at Fort Pickens, Florida by train (see photo below), until 1894.
Geronimo's ability to evade 2 armies of 10,000 men, while leading only 39 Apaches during the 1885 escape from the reservation, made him a folk hero in Mexico and America. Buffalo Bill asked Geronimo to join his "Wild West" show because of his celebrity.
In his later years, as a prisoner of war, he mellowed, adopted, grew several varieties of melons on his small farm. He caught pneumonia and died in 1909.
