years - - it was whispered that when the army finally captured him, he was wearing a coat.
made of one hundred scalps. This was not true but the rumor made its way into the books .
of the time. When Geronimo was asked about this grizzled old coat, he would appear .
mystified by the comments of American visitors. [Smith, Chiefs, p. 75] .
Such folklore fueled popular curiosity about Geronimo and he exploited that .
interest to become a successful businessman. He was keen to learn the ways of the .
Americans and he profited quickly from his new business knowledge. For a price he .
gladly posed for a portrait, and for a little extra, usually fifty cents per photograph, he .
added his signature. [www.geronimo.com] Geronimo regularly received visitors at Ft.
Sill, ranging from the curious to academics to museum artists. Many bought anything .
that belonged to the infamous Indian warrior, from a bow to a feather in his hat. One .
story is that several men on their way to see him found an eagle feather and stuck it in.
his hat for a picture. Later that day another visitor bought the "sacred feather" for $5; a .
high price but it was from Geronimo! [Martin, Geronimo, p. 224.].
He had become a businessman and started to market himself in several ways, such.
as at fairs and exhibits. In 1898 he attended (with an army escort), his first major public .
event, the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska. During the train journey to .
Omaha, at each station he cut the buttons off his coat and sold them for 25 cents each, at .
a time when you could buy a complete steak dinner for 25 cents. He gladly sold his hat .
for five dollars and of course an "eagle" feather cost the customer even more. [Martin,.
Geronimo, p. 316] Between train stations, Geronimo would carefully sew new buttons on .
his coat and get a new hat from the supplies he brought for the journey.
On "Army Day" at the fair, promoters sought extra publicity by arranging a .
