‘I should have never surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive.’
Geronimo, who led natives in battles against colonial powers for 36 years, evading capture and escaping captivity several times. After being detained by General Nelson Miles as a prisoner of war, Geronimo eventually acquiesced to civilisation, allowing himself to be an exotic attraction at fairs. Yet on his deathbed he proclaimed to his nephew ‘I should have never surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive.’