"For two centuries, the Spaniards attempted to settle and convert the nomadic, war-like Apaches of the Southwest. In the end, they failed, because the tribe was committed to a nomadic way of life and had no interest in the religion.

Iowa-bred Hendrina Hospers was probably unaware of that when in 1905, as a budding missionary in her early 20s, she was sent by the Reformed Church to establish a program for Apaches at Oklahoma's Fort Sill in the Indian Territory.

The Chiricahua division of the tribe was being held captive there, after its 1886 final surrender to the Army in Arizona. Among them, the aging Geronimo was the most notorious.

Being youthful, Miss Hospers was excited by the challenge she faced. Family in Iowa, however, remained anxious for her safety.

As she would say a half century later in an interview: "I never felt the least fear, nor did I ever carry a weapon, nor did I need it."

Actually she got along quite well at Fort Sill, teaching, preaching and presiding over funeral services."

Get the Story:
Trail Dust: Missionary offered a lifetime of hope, help to the Apaches (The Santa Fe New Mexican 3/27)

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