Mickey Free

Mickey Free

Free (date unknown)

Free (date unknown)
Born 1848 (1848) or 1851 (1851)
Died 1913 or 1915
Other names Felix Telles, Felix Ward
Occupation US Army Indian scout

Mickey Free (b. 1848 or 1851; d. 1913 or 1915), birth name Felix Telles,[1] was an Apache Indian scout and bounty hunter on the American frontier.[2][3] Following his kidnapping by Apaches as a child, Free was raised as one and became a warrior before his time as a scout, serving at Fort Verde between December 1874 and May 1878.[1]

Free's mother was Jesusa Martinez, a Mexican woman who had been held captive by Apaches. His father has been the subject of dispute, with some saying he was an Apache who took Martinez for his wife, and others suggesting that he was Santiago Tellez, who was reportedly part Irish.[4][5] Free's given name at birth was Felix. In 1859, now widowed, Jesusa and her two children, Felix and his sister Teodora, met and moved in with John Ward,[6] an Irishman who had migrated to the Arizona Territory and started a ranch. The August 26, 1860 United States Census for the Sonoita Creek settlement in the Arizona Territory indicates that Felix Ward was 12 years old (making 1848 his year of birth), his sister Teodora was 10, and his sister Mary was 5 months. Jesusa Martinez was listed as 30 years old and John Ward as 54 years old.[7] A half-brother, Santiago Ward, later claimed his birth as July 25, 1860,[8] but this contradicts the census record. John Ward and Jesusa had five children before his death in 1867.[3]

Felix was abducted at age 12 in 1860 by a Coyotero Apache raiding party. The kidnapping had lasting implications for relations between the Apache Nation and the United States. John Ward, believing that his stepson had been taken by Chiricahua Apaches, insisted on military intervention.[9] The events which followed became known as the Bascom Affair[10] and triggered the Chiricahua Wars.[11] On 4 February 1861, on orders to retrieve the child at all costs, Second Lieutenant George Nicholas Bascom encountered a group of Chiricahua Apaches at Apache Pass, led by Cochise, son-in-law of Mangas Coloradas.[12] Cochise denied all knowledge of the child and Bascom had the Apaches surrounded, informing Cochise they would be held as hostages until the child was returned. Cochise escaped and captured his own hostages to offer in exchange, but Bascom refused.[13] A series of violent retaliatory actions followed from each side before the Chiricahua Apaches eventually declared war.

Free was adopted and raised by Nayundiie, a White Mountain Apache, and became foster brother to Tlol-dil-zil, later known as John Rope.[14][15] He joined the U.S. Army's Apache Scouts on 2 December 1872, and within two years had been promoted to the rank of sergeant, and later to first sergeant. He was posted to Camp Verde to serve as an interpreter, where he met Al Sieber.[14] Free served as a scout for George Crook.[16]

In his time as a bounty hunter, Free tracked the Apache Kid, who at one point had a $15,000 reward on his head.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 Ayers 2010, p. 17.
  2. ↑ Heard 1997, pp. 110-111.
  3. 1 2 Sweeney 1991, p. 427.
  4. ↑ Worcester 1979, p. 75.
  5. ↑ Hayes.
  6. ↑ Arizona Highway, PDF, pg. 25, 28-29, July 2003
  7. ↑ "Image: Titus-1860-census.jpg, (1573 × 2400 px)". latinamericanstudies.org. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  8. ↑ C. M. Palmer Jr. (3 August 2014). "What became of Mickey Free?" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  9. ↑ Kessel 2001, p. 90.
  10. ↑ Chamberlain 2007, p. 213.
  11. ↑ Mort 2013, p. Chapter 1.
  12. ↑ Sweeney 1991, p. 154.
  13. ↑ Bourke 2003, p. 18-19.
  14. 1 2 Thrapp 1991, p. 518.
  15. ↑ Rope 1971, p. 135.
  16. ↑ Vandervort, Bruce (2005). Indian Wars of Canada, Mexico and the United States, 1812-1900. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415224727.
  17. ↑ Griffith 1969, p. 183.

Bibliography

  • Ayers, Steve (2010). Camp Verde. Arcadia. ISBN 978-0738579122. 
  • Bourke, John Gregory (2003). Charles M. Robinson, ed. The Diaries of John Gregory Bourke: November 20, 1872-July 28, 1876. University of North Texas. ISBN 978-1574411614. 
  • Chamberlain, Kathleen P. (2007). Victorio: Apache Warrior and Chief. University of Oklahoma. ISBN 978-0806138435. 
  • Griffith, A. Kinney (1969). Mickey Free, manhunter (1st ed.). Caldwell Idaho Caxton Printers. ISBN 978-0870041303. 
  • Heard, Joseph N. (1997). Handbook of the American Frontier: The far west. Scarecrow. ISBN 978-0810832831. 
  • Hayes, Celia. "Mickey Free – Apache Indian Scout". 
  • Kessel, William B. (2001). William B. Kessel, Robert Wooster, ed. Encyclopedia of Native American Wars and Warfare. Facts on File. ISBN 978-0816033379. 
  • Mort, Terry (2013). The Wrath of Cochise: The Bascom Affair and the Origins of the Apache Wars. Pegasus. ISBN 978-1605984223. 
  • Rope, John (1971). Keith H. Basso, ed. Western Apache Raiding and Warfare. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0816502974. 
  • Sweeney, Edwin R. (1991). Cochise: Chiricahua Apache Chief. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806126067. 
  • Thrapp, Dan L. (1991). Encyclopedia Frontier Biography: A-F. University of Nebraska. ISBN 978-0803294189. 
  • Worcester, Donald E. (1979). The Apaches: Eagles of the Southwest. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806114958. 

Further reading

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