Mangas Coloradas or Mangus-Colorado (La-choy Ko-kun-noste, alias "Red Sleeves"), or Dasoda-hae (c. 1793 – January 18, 1863) was an
Apache
The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
tribal chief
A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribal societies
There is no definition for "tribe".
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...
and a member of the
Mimbreño (Tchihende) division of the Central Apaches, whose homeland stretched west from the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
to include most of what is present-day southwestern
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. He was the father-in-law of
Chiricahua
Chiricahua ( ) is a band of Apache Native Americans.
Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua historically shared a common area, language, customs, and intertwined family relations with their fellow Apaches. ...
(Tsokanende) chief
Cochise,
Mimbreño chief
Victorio
Victorio (Bidu-ya, Beduiat; ca. 1825–October 14, 1880) was a warrior and chief of the Warm Springs band of the Tchihendeh (or Chihenne, often called Mimbreño) division of the central Apaches in what is now the American states of Texas ...
, and
Mescalero (Sehende) chief Kutu-hala or Kutbhalla (probably to be identified with
Caballero). He is regarded as one of the most important
Native American leaders of the 19th century because of his fighting achievements against the Mexicans and Americans.
The name (red sleeves) was given to him by Mexicans. Named A Bedonkohe (''Bi-dan-ku'' – 'In Front of the End People', ''Bi-da-a-naka-enda'' – 'Standing in front of the enemy') by birth, he married into the Copper Mines local group of the Tchihende and became the principal chief of the whole Tchihende Apache division. His influence also included the neighboring Mimbreño local group of the Warm Springs Tchihende, directly led by chief Cuchillo Negro (in Apache language,
Baishan), second chief of the Tchihende Apache division and his long-time companion.
Apache war chief
During the 1820s and 1830s, the Apaches' main enemy were the Mexicans, who had won their independence from Spain in 1821. By 1835, Mexico had placed a bounty on Apache
scalps. After Juan José Compa, the leader of the Coppermine Mimbreño Apaches, was killed for bounty money in 1837 in the massacre at
Santa Rita del Cobre, Mangas became a war leader and a chief, joining forces with his friend and long-time companion (and possibly brother-in-law)
Cuchillo Negro (Spanish: Black Knife). They began a series of retaliatory raids against the Mexicans, around the mining town and sieged Santa Rita, attacking the column of fleeing Mexicans and slaughtering a large number. Mangas Coloradas became the principal leader of the Coppermine Mimbreños and led them for about 25 years while Cuchillo Negro led the Warm Springs Mimbreños.
In 1846, when the United States
went to war with Mexico, the Apache Nation promised U.S. soldiers safe passage through Apache lands. Once the U.S. occupied
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
in 1846, Mangas Coloradas signed a peace treaty, respecting them as conquerors of the hated Mexican enemy. An uneasy peace between the Apache and the United States lasted until an influx of gold miners into New Mexico's
Pinos Altos Mountains led to open conflict.
In 1851 the settlement at Santa Rita del Cobre of the U.S. delegation (with
John Russell Bartlett
John Russell Bartlett (October 23, 1805 – May 28, 1886) was an American historian and linguist.
Early life
Bartlett was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 23, 1805, the son of Smith Bartlett and Nancy (Russell) Bartlett. In 1819 he ...
) in the Mexican-American Border Commission and the reopening of the Santa Rita del Cobre copper mines increased tensions as well. Mangas Coloradas, like Cuchillo Negro,
Delgadito, Ponce, Coleto Amarillo, and the most important Tchihende and Ndendahe chiefs, had to face new problems. In June 1851 Mangas Coloradas, Delgadito, Ponce, and Coleto Amarillo met Bartlett in Santa Rita del Cobre; the discussions continued until the Apaches no longer felt disappointed and betrayed by the newcomers.
According to John C. Cremony's book, ''Life Among the Apaches'', in 1861, near the Pinos Altos mining camp, Mangas Coloradas was attacked by a group of white miners who tied him to a tree and severely
flogged him. Yet historian Edwin R. Sweeney finds issue with this claim in his biography of the chief: if it was true,
Geronimo, who spent a great deal of time with Mangas Coloradas during the 1850s and 1860s, would have likely mentioned it to his biographer.
In December 1860, 30 miners
launched a surprise attack on an encampment of Bedonkohes on the west bank of the
Mimbres River. Historian Edwin R. Sweeney reported, the miners ''"... killed four Indians, wounded others, and captured thirteen women and children."'' Shortly after that, Mangas began raids against U.S. citizens and their property.
Mangas Coloradas' daughter Dos-Teh-Seh married Cochise, principal chief of the Tsokanende or Chiricahua Apache.
In early February 1861,
U.S. Army Lieutenant
George Nicholas Bascom, investigating the "Indian" kidnapping of a rancher's son, apparently without orders, lured an innocent Cochise, his family and several warriors into a trap at
Apache Pass, southeastern
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
. Cochise managed to escape, but his family and warriors remained in custody. Negotiations were unsuccessful and fighting erupted. This incident, known as the "
Bascom affair", ended with Cochise's brother and five other warriors being hanged by Bascom. Later that year, Mangas Coloradas and Cochise struck an alliance, agreeing to drive all Americans out of Apache territory. They were joined in their effort by middle-aged
Delgadito and
Nana,
Victorio
Victorio (Bidu-ya, Beduiat; ca. 1825–October 14, 1880) was a warrior and chief of the Warm Springs band of the Tchihendeh (or Chihenne, often called Mimbreño) division of the central Apaches in what is now the American states of Texas ...
,
Juh and Geronimo. Although the goal was never achieved, the White population in Apache territory was greatly reduced for a few years during the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, after federal troops had been withdrawn to the east.
Death
Drawing of Skull of Mangas Coloradas from 1873 book "Human Science" p. 1196 by ">Orson Squire Fowler
In the summer of 1862, after recovering from a bullet wound in the chest, Mangas Coloradas met with an intermediary to call for peace. In January 1863, he decided to meet with U.S. military leaders at Fort McLane (
Apache Tejo) in southwestern New Mexico. He was promised provisions in return for peace, but the American government did not want to have peace with them. Mangas arrived under a
flag of truce to meet with Brigadier General
Joseph R. West, an officer of the California militia and a future
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
senator from
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. Armed soldiers took Mangas into custody. West gave an execution order to the sentries.
That night, Mangas was tortured, shot, and killed under the pretext of a supposed escape attempt. While tied on the ground, Mangas was provoked with red hot bayonets until he moved to simulate his attempt to "escape." The following day, some soldiers who were fascinated by the size of the Apache (Mangas was 6 feet, 6 inches tall), cut off his head, boiled it, and sent the skull to
Orson Squire Fowler, a phrenologist in New York City. Analysis of the skull and two sketches of it appear in Fowler's book.
Daklugie, one of informants in
Eve Ball's book,
said the skull went to the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
. However, the Smithsonian reported that it never received the skull. Mangas's descendants and sources based on their testimony may have confused the Smithsonian with Fowler's Phrenological Cabinet in New York, where the skull was on display, leading to the misattribution. Another possible fate of the skull was that it was returned to the Apaches by the Smithsonian in a 1990 transfer but was not individually labeled.
The mutilation of Mangas's body especially enraged the Apaches since they believed he would not enter the afterlife without his head. This further envenomed the conflict between the Apaches and the United States, leading Cochise to engage in a nine-year campaign of reprisals in Arizona and Sonora.
Notes and references
Further reading
* Etulain, Richard W. ''New Mexican Lives: A Biographical History''. University of New Mexico Center for the American West,
University of New Mexico Press
The University of New Mexico Press (UNMP) is a university press at the University of New Mexico. It was founded in 1929 and published pamphlets for the university in its early years before expanding into quarterlies and books. Its administrativ ...
, 2002.
* Haley, James L. ''Apaches: A History and Culture Portrait''.
University of Oklahoma Press
The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established ...
, 1997.
* Sweeney, Edwin R. ''Mangas Coloradas: Chief of the Chiricahua Apaches''.
University of Oklahoma Press
The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established ...
, 1998.
* Yarbrough, Leroy. 1968. ''The Apache and the Sioux''. REAL WEST magazine
External links
Jay W. Sharp. The Night They Shot Mangas Colradas. Desert USA.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coloradas, Mangas
1790s births
1863 deaths
Chiricahua people
Murdered Native American people
Native American leaders
Native American people of the Indian Wars
People of New Mexico in the American Civil War
People murdered in New Mexico
Apache Wars
Deaths by firearm in New Mexico
American torture victims
People murdered in 1863
Native American people from New Mexico