Haskay-bay-nay-ntayl ( 1860 – in or after 1894), better known as the Apache Kid, was born in Aravaipa Canyon, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of San Carlos Agency, into one of the three local groups of the Aravaipa/Arivaipa Apache Band (in Apache:Tsee Zhinnee – ″Dark Rocks People″) of San Carlos Apache, one subgroup of the Western Apache people. As a member of what the U.S. government called the "SI band", Kid developed important skills and became a famous and respected scout and later a notorious renegade active in the borderlands of the U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico in the late 19th and possibly the early 20th centuries.
His exact date of birth is unknown, but he is believed to have been born sometime in the 1860s. His year of death is generally given as 1894, but some New Mexico cattle ranchers claimed he was alive until the 1930s. The Apache Kid Wilderness in New Mexico is named after him. The Apache Kid character in Marvel Comics was also named after him, but otherwise has no connection.
Early history
Haskay-bay-nay-ntayl was captured by Yuma Indians as a boy, and after being freed by the U.S. Army, he became a street orphan in army camps. As a teenager, in the mid-1870s, the Kid met and was essentially adopted by Al Sieber, the Chief of the Army Scouts. A few years later, in 1881, the Kid enlisted with the U.S. Cavalry as an Indian scout, in a program designed by General George Crook to help quell raids by hostile bands of Apache. By July 1882, owing to his remarkable abilities in the job, he was promoted to sergeant. Shortly thereafter he accompanied Crook on an expedition into the Sierra Madre Occidental. He worked on assignment both in Arizona and northern Mexico over the next couple of years, but in 1885 he was involved in a riot while intoxicated, and to prevent his being hanged by Mexican authorities, Sieber sent him back north.
Sometimes he is also counted as White Mountain Apache, but it does not match his family background. He was the son (some sources say grandson) of Togodechuz/Togo-de-Chuz, chief of the so-called "SI band" and he had very high prominence in that particular band. Kid married into another important family, becoming the son-in-law of the prominent "SL band" chief Eskiminzin (Hashkebansiziin – "Angry, Men Stand in Line for Him", 1828–1894), his wife was possibly Nahthledeztelth. Because Eskiminizin was also a band chief of another Aravaipa local group consequently, that gave him high status very early on.
Arrests and trials
In May 1887, Sieber and several army officers left the San Carlos post on business, and the Kid was left in charge of the scouts in their absence. The scouts decided to have a party, and brewed up what was called tiswin, a type of liquor. During the drinking, several became intoxicated, and an altercation between a scout named Gon-Zizzie (a member of a third Aravaipa band, the "SA band") and the Kid's father, Togo-de-Chuz, resulted in the Kid's father being killed. In turn, friends of the Kid killed Gon-Zizzie. The Kid also killed Gon-Zizzie's brother, Rip. On June 1, 1887, Sieber and Lt. John Pierce confronted the scouts involved in the altercations, and ordered them to disarm and comply with arrest until the incidents could be handled properly through investigation. The Kid and the others complied, but a shot was fired from a crowd that had gathered to watch the events. Several other shots were fired from the crowd, including one that hit Sieber in the ankle. During the confusion, the Apache Kid and several others fled.
The army reacted swiftly, sending two troops of the 4th Cavalry in pursuit of the escapees. The Kid and his followers evaded the soldiers, while relying on assistance from sympathetic Apaches. The Kid contacted the army and explained that if the soldiers were recalled, he would surrender. They were, and he did, on June 25, 1887. The Kid and four others were court-martialed, found guilty of mutiny and desertion, and sentenced to death by firing squad. In August, the sentence was commuted to life in prison. General Nelson A. Miles intervened and further reduced the sentence to ten years in prison.
The five prisoners were sent to Alcatraz, where they remained until their convictions were overturned in October 1888. They were freed, but in October 1889, Apaches in the area enraged by their release were able to force the issue of new warrants, and again the Kid was on the run. Again the Kid and the others were arrested, and again they were convicted, this time sentenced to seven years in prison.