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Submitted: 3/16/11 • Approved: 5/28/21 • Last Updated: 5/31/21 • R490314-G0-S3
US Army
Spanish American War
January 3, 1850 - August 7, 1945
Chiricahua Apache
*Obituary
ref:http://www.manataka.org/page95.html
(accessed March 2011)
Chief Benito Altaha Gray Horse, 95, for the past 18 years a colorful figure on the streets of Hot Springs, died yesterday afternoon at 4 o'clock at the Salvation Army. He had been in ill health for the past four months.
He was a familiar character to both residents and visitors, with his long braided hair and his easy manner, and true to Indian code, he was a great lover of nature. He wrote poetry and was an accomplished musician, performing for local civic clubs on several occasions in years past.
Born in Arizona on January 3, 1850, Chief Gray Horse served with the noted Apache Chief Geronimo from the time he was 19 years old to his 36th year. At Fort Marion, Florida he was selected scoutmaster of a group of Indian boys and sent to Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, where he became patron of the boy's dormitory. He began to study at Carlisle and learned to read and write. He later won a four-year scholarship offered to the Quakers and attended school in Germany, specializing in medicine. While in Germany, he was forced to serve one year in the German Army, relatives said.
For six years following graduation, he practiced medicine in Cuba and served in the Army during the Spanish-American War.
From Cuba, he went to Galveston, Texas, where his first wife and two children were drowned in the Galveston flood. His only surviving son, who was with him at a Dallas fair at the time, served in aviation and was killed during World War I.
By natural instinct, he was a linguist, speaking from five to seven languages; among them Cuban, Mexican, Apache, German, and English.
His second wife, Louise Henrietta Gray Horse, resides in Hot Springs. They have three children; one son, Benito Geronimo Gray Horse, and two daughters, Teewahnee and Napanee Gray Horse, all of Hot Springs.
Funeral services will be held Thursday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock at the Gross Chapel, with the Rev. Jesse Reed, pastor of Park Place Baptist Church, officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. The Chief will be buried in his Indian regalia.
Contributed on 3/16/11 by pvhwdh
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Record #: 490314