Here’s a very famous photo from the American West—and one more case where fact and folklore have become intertwined. Let’s explore the true story of Geronimo’s Cadillac.
In the familiar photo above, reportedly taken on June 5, 1905, the Apache warrior and insurrectionist Geronimo sits behind the wheel of an early Cadillac touring car. He’s dressed entirely in the white man’s clothing, including an elegant top hat, and joining him in the cockpit are three more Native Americans, including the man at Geronimo’s left, Edward Le Clair Sr., wearing a Ponca chief’s ceremonial headdress.
Countless tales in American folklore have been spun from this extraordinary, almost magical photograph: short stories, songs, oil paintings. The best known is a 1972 song by Michael Martin Murphey, “Geronimo’s Cadillac,” also covered by Hoyt Axton, Cher, and others. (Listen here.) “The two images together—Geronimo and a Cadillac—just struck me as a song title,” Murphey told a music magazine in 1987. “It was every irony I could ever think of about our culture in two words.”
Like all skilled songwriters, Murphey weaves together fact and legend in telling his story—one of the legends being that Geronimo’s automobile is a Cadillac. In truth, the car in the photo is a 1904 Locomobile Model C. Actually, Cadillacs of that period (example below) had a rather different appearance, employing a French or false front. (The engine is under the seat.) This tells us that the Cadillac part of the story probably took off a few years after the photo was taken, when Cadillac had adopted a hood and radiator similar to Locomobile.
1904 Cadillac Model B
However, Murphey nailed the important part of the story: Despite its whimsical composition, the photo does not depict a happy scene. Far from it. At this moment, Geronimo was a prisoner of the U.S. Army at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he had lived for years after his surrender to territorial authorities in 1886. He was allowed to leave the fort only when he was trotted out and put on display at exhibitions and wild west shows. At the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt he attended the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, and he rode in Roosevelt’s 1905 inaugural parade.
On the day the photo was taken with the Locomobile, Geronimo was one of the attractions at an exhibition for reporters and photographers at the Miller brothers’ 101 Ranch near Ponca City, Oklahoma. He never owned or drove an automobile. In February of 1909, after falling from a horse and contracting pneumonia, Geronimo died at Fort Sill at the age of 79.
Great story, however, it only supports how badly we mistreated the Native-Americans ( along with most other races) I always wondered where the tradition of yelling “Geronimo” when jumping off things came from. Apparently, among a few other reasons, it dates back to the early US paratroopers, before WW2, during training, a gutsy private named Aubrey Eberhardt, who was scared to jump, as were the others, said he was going to yell Geronimo, to prove he was not afraid. He did, and others followed suit, creating the tradition. Eventually, the Army prohibited paratroopers from screaming Geronimo, thinking it may give away the paratroopers position ( not that the parachute floating down didn’t) It’s hard to tell if we remember Geronimo for the paratroopers cry, or the brave warrior he was. Thanks, MCG.
Wow. But I think I’ll stick with Murphey’s song, thanks.
Now is the time we dance! German pop at its worst.
Great Story. thanks
History written by the ‘victor’ is bad enough, but when Writer’s take ‘Writer’s Liberties’ to get ‘head lines’ that is when Bad Histories begin! In my opinion! 2015