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During those first few months, the band
raiding numerous small camps in southern
New Mexico, killing
two miners near
Chloride and wounding another; killing four
men on the Silver City-Mesilla Road, and in June, raiding and
burning a ranch property near Lake Valley in June, 1881. Soon, a combined posse of civilians and
Buffalo Soldiers pursued them into a canyon about ten miles
west of
Lake Valley.
Unfortunately, for the posse, Nana and his warriors ambushed
them immediately killing their leaders and wounding a number
of others. A full-out gun battle followed that lasted six
hours in which at least four more soldiers were killed. Others
who were wounded would later die as well.
Two months
later, he and his band traveled to
Arizona, where they were
involved in the Battle of Cibecue on
August 30, 1881. He and his small band, which never numbered more than about
40 warriors continued to make raids until he was captured in a
surprise attack and sent to the San Carlos Reservation.
The U.S. Cavalry never caught Nana and his
men, but fought them in at least seven engagements. Finally,
when the band once more fled to Mexico, the U.S. Army gave up
for a time, hoping the Mexicans would take care of the
problem, as they had done with
Victorio.
 Nana
soon joined forces with
Geronimo and continued fighting for
two more year until he was captured in a surprise attack by
General George Crook in 1883 and was sent to the San Carlos
Indian Reservation in
Arizona. He later escaped with
Geronimo
and fought with him during his last days of resistance. In
1886, both warriors once again were forced to surrender to
General George Crook, and taking no chances with them, they
and their warriors were sent to a prison in Fort Marion,
Florida. In 1894, he was allowed to return west, not to his
homeland, but to
Fort Sill,
Oklahoma. He died and was buried
there two years later on May 19, 1896. He was 96 years old.
He had the longest fighting career of any of the
Apache
warriors.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America,
updated August, 2010.
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