Copper Tobacco Canteen, Commemorating Apache Scout Kayitah
fourth quarter 19th century

crafted of copper, featuring a U.S. cavalry button on the lid and a central copper button with the inscription: Fort Bowie 4th Cavalry US Army Scout SGT Kyetena 1886

length 3-1/2 inches x width 3-1/4 inches

Kayitah (Chiricahua Apache, 1856-1934) scouted for the U.S. Army during the Geronimo Campaign in 1886. Along with Lieutenant Charles Gatewood and another Apache scout, Martine, Kayitah played an instrumental role in Geronimo's final surrender on September 4th. When interviewed about their story, the scouts stated:

Lieutenant Gatewood told us two scouts that he wished us to go on alone, try to locate Geronimo and have a talk with him. We therefore left Liet. Gatewood and his soldiers in the camp by the river, and we two, Kayitah and Martine, climbed another mountain in which we were sure that Geronimo was camped. We realized the danger of this proceeding, but we had promised General Miles that we would try our best to bring back Geronimo.
 
At two o'clock that afternoon we came near to the place where his camp was pitched. Between his camp and us, Geronimo had his men stationed out among the rocks with their guns guarding the camp against attack. We proceeded carefully as we could but they saw us coming. We knew that they might shoot at us any moment. In fact there was much danger of their doing this. However, Kayaitah had a cousin in Geronimo's camp who recognized him and did not want to see him killed. He therefore jumped on a rock without permission from Geronimo and called to us and asked why we were coming. We replied that we were messengers from General Miles and Liet. Gatewood and that we wished to discuss peace with Geronimo.
 
He then told us that we might come into the camp. We did this and he and his warriors joined us and together we all filed back to where his real camp was pitched.
 
We talked over the reasons for which we had come into the camp. Geronimo told us that while he had in the past broken faith with the American soldiers, he was now willing to surrender and make peace.
 
Geronimo then had cooked some mescal and from this he took in his two hands enough of this mescal to make a lump about the size of a man's ear. This he squeezed together, wrapped it up and told us to take this to Liet. Gatewood. He said that this was a token of his surrender and that when the mescal had been sent there would be no reason for Gatewood to doubt his earnestness in planning to give up.
 
Kayitah stayed with Geronimo. Martine was sent back to Gatewood with the mescal.
 
After faithfully serving the U.S. Army, Kayitah and the Apache scouts were sent to Florida and imprisoned at Fort Pickens alongside Geronimo and his band. Upon his release, Kayitah moved to the Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico where he lived out the remainder of his life.

  €œApache Campaigns - Fort Huachuca - U.S. Army. € in Huachuca Illustrated: A Magazine of the Fort Huachuca Museum (1999: 106 €“107).