Juh

The home range of the Janeros Nednhi was usually in the remote wilderness of the Sierra Madre Occidental (called by the Apache "Blue Mountains") of northern Mexico, therefore they likely called themselves Dzilthdaklizhéndé - "Blue Mountain People". They constituted the northern local group of the Nednhi and lived from the Animas Mountains and Florida Mountains in SW New Mexico south into the Sierra del Tigre,^[3] Sierra San Luis, Sierra de Carcay, Sierra de Boca Grande, west beyond the Aros River to Bavispe (derived from the Opata word Bavipa - "place where the river changes direction") in NE Sonora, and east along the Janos River and Casas Grandes River toward the Lake Guzmán in the northern part of the Guzmán Basin in NW Chihuahua. They were named Janeros after the Presidio and town Janos in northern Chihuahua, with which they were usually at peace and traded their goods (often stolen in neighboring Sonora).

Most descriptions focused on him being a very large and stocky man. He stood over six feet and weighed 225 pounds.^[1]

Juh was a natural leader, and had a stutter. Because of this, Geronimo often acted as a conduit for Juh's words.^[4]

Some sources say he was Geronimo's cousin. He married Ishton, who was Geronimo's sister,^[5] and had a son with her who was later known as "Asa" Daklugie.^[6] He had also two sons called Delzhinne and Daklegon.

Historians believe that Juh planned and executed an 1871 attack in which Lt. Howard Bass Cushing was killed, in the Whetstone Mountains of southern Arizona.^[7] A noted U.S. Army Indian fighter, Cushing had made disparaging comments about Cochise that offended Apache sensibilities, and he relentlessly pursued the Apaches (specifically Cochise) around southern Arizona and northern Sonora. At the same time, Cushing became a focus of Juh's attention. The ambush and fight in which he was killed may have been intended to teach him a lesson. It was widely thought at the time that Cochise was himself responsible for the planning and execution of the battle, but a description of the Apache leader does not match eyewitness accounts, including the observation that the Apache leader didn't speak much, but directed his fighters with gestures and hand signals during the battle. The Apache leader most closely matching the physical and behavioral description was Juh.^[8] Dan Thrapp made this observation in his book The Conquest of Apacheria. Later, the fact was confirmed by Asa Daklugie (Juh's son) in Eve Ball's (1980) book about the Chiricahuas, Indeh.^[9]

Juh died on September 21, 1883,^[10] while trying to cross the Aros River near Casas Grandes, Chihuahua. Accounts of his death vary, and some contemporary sources were skeptical of the report, saying "dispatches have Juh the Apache chief killed again."^[11] One version is that he was drunk and fell off his horse, breaking his neck. His son Asa Daklugie said that he was not drunk, but after trading ammunition from Casas Grandes he had a heart attack, fell off his horse as a result and died before a physician could arrive to help him.^[12] Other sources and local stories claim that Juh fell fatally into the river while trying to jump off a cliff with his horse.^[13] After his death Mangus (Mangas Coloradas' surviving son) took care of his family, and was the last Apache chief to surrender. Juh was buried by his sons and his band on the bank of the river.

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